Question Topics

"Most Wanted"

These topics represent the areas of the examination that are in the most need of being supplemented due to changes in practice. However, questions pertaining to any segment of the examination content outlines will be gratefully received. There is a separate list of topics for each specialty.

| Nuclear Pharmacy | Nutrition Support Pharmacy | Oncology Pharmacy |

| Pharmacotherapy | Psychiatric Pharmacy |

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NUCLEAR PHARMACY - QUESTIONS NEEDED

Procurement
Determines product specifications
Receives radiopharmaceutical shipments

Compounding
Maintains an appropriate and safe compounding environment
Aseptic environment
Verifies the identity, integrity, package labeling
Develops procedures for extemporaneous compounding
Maintains a radiopharmaceutical record

Dispensing
Dispenses prescriptions
Develops policies and procedures
Supervises and reviews the activities of nonpharmacist personnel

Provision of Information and Consultation
Regulations which affect the practice of nuclear pharmacy

Research and Development
Laboratory evaluation of new radiopharmaceuticals
Formulation of new radiopharmaceuticals
Quality control testing

Questions on drug interactions and drug interventions for new drugs are needed.

• Thyrogen
• Thyrotropin alfa for injection

Questions dealing with PET drugs would also be very useful


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NUTRITION SUPPORT PHARMACY - QUESTIONS NEEDED

PEDIATRICS
Interpretation of Blood Gases
Nutritional management of Bone Marrow Transplants
Identification and treatment of Acid/Base disorders
Hypovitaminosis D
TPN Safety Guidelines
HIV/AIDS Questions with Good References
Metabolic changes in Malignancy and management of SNS
Case-based Vitamin Deficiencies
Policy and procedure
Management of interdisciplinary teams and their activities
Compounding issues (Ca/PO4)

GENERAL NUTRITION SUPPORT
Cysteine HCL
Phosphorus doses relative to urinary calcium excretion
Pharmacoeconomics and SNS
Prevention and Treatment of Catheter Sepsis
Oral Rehydration Salts (SBS and Jejunostomies)
Immune Enhancing Diets and Clinical Outcomes
Initiating and Advancing Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition
Anabolic Steroids and SNS
Micronutrients and Burns
Intradialytic parenteral nutrition (IDPN)
Ethics and SNS
Psychosocial aspects of SNS
New Literature on Cardiovascular Patients
Internet Resources and SNS
Management of Parenteral Multivitamin Shortage
Fat Soluble Vitamins
Bioelectrical Impedence Analysis (BIA)
New Nutritional Assessment Techniques
Geriatric Nutrition
Renal replacement therapies (CAVH, CAVHD, CVVH and CVVHD) and SNS
Nutrient/drug interactions
Nutrition support protocols and disease state management
Cost associated with SNS
Nutrition product formulary
Quality control procedure/Indicators
Pharmaceutical calculations/formulas/mEq/mg/mMol
Quality Control / 797
Bariatric surgery
Patient outcome indicators
Patient compliance (home care)
Cost with SNS
Compounding, especially Ca/PO4
Research


DO NOT WRITE ITEMS IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS:
Arginine
Short Chain Fatty Acids in the Colon
Carnitine
Glutamine
Propofol
Human Growth Hormone
Trace Element Deficiency
Medicare and reimbursement


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ONCOLOGY PHARMACY - QUESTIONS NEEDED

HIGHEST PRIORITY

Domain 2 - Interpret, generate, and/or disseminate knowledge in oncology as it applies to oncology pharmacy practice.

02/01	Retrieve and evaluate relevant oncology literature
02/04	Provide formal and informal education and consultation to the professional community and assess the effectiveness of these activities.
	K-17 oncology literature and information retrieval systems
	K-18 study design and methodology
	K-19 common study endpoints (e.g., response, adverse events, economics, quality of life, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics)
	K-20: Selective strengths and limitations of different study designs
	K-26 oncology drug development process

Domain 3 - In collaboration with other professionals, patients, and the public, recommend, design, implement, monitor, and modify systems and policies to optimize the use of drugs in patients with cancer

03/02	Assess/Evaluate pharmacy services provided to patients with cancer for compliance with established standards and guidelines.
03/03	Share expertise with patients and the health-care community regarding regulatory and ethical issues related to patients rights (e.g., assisted suicide, confidentiality, informed consent, alternative therapies).
	K-28 Established methodology for developing clinical practice guidelines
	K-30 National accreditation, regulatory standards and legislation (e.g., JCAHO, HCFA, OSHA, OBRA, DEA, ASHP Oncology Pharmacy Practice Residency Standards)
	K-31 Reimbursement policies of federal and private agencies as related to the provision of care to patients with cancer
	K-32 Quality improvement strategies to avoid medication misadventures (e.g., processing of chemotherapy orders, protocol reviews)
	K-35 Medication utilization evaluation (MUE) process

Domain 4 - Collaborate with other professionals and the public in addressing public health issues (e.g. risk factors, prevention, screening, cancer survivorship) as they relate to oncology pharmacy practice

04/03	Advise and direct the public and consumers to appropriate resource groups, organizations, and agencies.

	K-37 Cancer prevention strategies
	K-39 Alternative treatment approaches for the prevention and treatment of cancer
	K-40 The impact of health-care systems on the availability of cancer prevention and treatment options.

LOWER PRIORITY

Domain 1 - Collaborate with other health professionals in pursuing optimal drug therapy for patients with cancer. This requires that the oncology pharmacist collects and interprets pertinent clinical data, and assumes personal responsibility for successful drug therapy outcomes.

01/02	Establish therapeutic goals in collaboration with the patient and other professionals.
01/07	Effectively document and communicate findings and recommendations regarding pharmacotherapeutic treatment with other professionals, patients and family.

Questions are needed to address any of the tasks within Domain 1 for:

Nutrition support/altered nutrition status
Psychosocial issues
Circadian drug delivery
Radiation sensitization

Also, questions are needed to update information (changes in last 1-2 years) within Domain 1 for:

Breast Cancer
Lung Cancer
Colorectal Cancer
Prostate Cancer


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PHARMACOTHERAPY - QUESTIONS NEEDED

General Needs

The Pharmacotherapy Certification Item Bank is in greatest need of items for Domain 3 (Health System- Related Pharmacotherapy) and Domain 2 (Retrieval, Generation, Interpretation and Dissemination of Knowledge in Pharmacotherapy). However items are also needed for Domain 1 (Patient-Specific Pharmacotherapy) which address updated issues in many therapeutic areas (i.e., new drugs, guidelines, etc).

We invite you to write items for the Domain you are most comfortable with. Please see the lists below for specific needs within each Domain.

Please review the content outline to reacquaint yourself with the specific tasks and knowledge statements associated with each Domain as we are in need of questions across the many task and knowledge statements.

 

Specific Needs

Domain 03 Health System-Related Pharmacotherapy

Note Domain 03 includes 8 distinct tasks, while the same 10 knowledge statements are applicable to each task (knowledge statements are listed in the content outline).  Questions are needed for ALL task/knowledge statement categories in this domain. The relative priority of the task statements are listed below beginning with the highest priority.

• 03/07 Monitor the plan and implement appropriate modifications
• 03/06 Collaborate to implement the plan
• 03/04 Develop justification for and garner support for the implementation of the plan
• 03/05 Design measures to monitor the success of the plan during and following implementation
• 03/08 Educate appropriate audiences on results of health system-related pharmacotherapy problem assessment and recommended solutions
• 03/01 Collect data to characterize/identify health system-related problems in providing optimal health care
• 03/02 Interpret data to characterize health system-related problems
• 03/03 Design a plan to improve the delivery and quality of pharmacotherapy

 

Domain 02 Retrieval, Generation, Interpretation and Dissemination of Knowledge in Pharmacotherapy

***We do NOT need any pharmacoeconomic questions.

There is a general need for Domain 02 questions for all task/knowledge categories. Listed below are the highest priority areas.

• 02/03/01 Knowledge of principles and methods of educating health care students and professionals
• 02/04/03 Knowledge of granting agencies and their application procedures
• 02/04/06 Knowledge of survey procedures
• 02/04/07 Knowledge of data management
• 02/04/01 Knowledge of how to define a research hypothesis
• 02/06/01 Knowledge of structure and interrelationships within an organization for a practice setting (e.g., interdepartmental and intradepartmental) in adverse drug event reporting
• 02/06/03 Knowledge of process/procedures for reporting to USP problems observed with medical devices and laboratory products
• 02/06/04 Knowledge of process/procedures for reporting in the biomedical literature adverse drug reactions, and problems observed with drug products, medical devices and laboratory products

 

Domain 01 Patient-Specific Pharmacotherapy

Domain 01 has a robust pool of items, however, the majority are within the task 01/03/03 (Design a therapeutic plan for patient-specific problem(s)…..select appropriate therapy). Thus if you have a good idea for one of those types of questions, consider modifying it to fit into one of the tasks listed below. Items are lacking in the following task/knowledge categories.

• 01/08/01 Identify appropriate documentation methods
• 01/08/02 Select the relevant information to document patient care outcomes consistent with the therapeutic plan
• 01/06/02 Recognize patient education barriers
• 01/06/04 Assess patient’s knowledge/skill acquisition
• 01/06/03 Select and utilizes appropriate methods to educate patients regarding drug therapy
• 01/01/02 Perform relevant physical assessment
• 01/01/03 Interview patient, family, and health-care team members to augment patient’s medical history, medication history and review of systems
• 01/01/04 Request additional pertinent data
• 01/04/01 Communicate with and educate health-care practitioners in a manner appropriate to the training, skills and needs of that health professional
• 01/04/02 Document the recommended therapeutic plan in a manner appropriate for the medical record, health professionals, patients, lay people, and health-care managers
• 01/05/03 Order laboratory tests
• 01/05/04 Administer drugs or biologicals (e.g., immunizations, parenteral contraceptives)
• 01/05/05 Perform laboratory tests (e.g., venipuncture, pulmonary function testing or point of care testing)
• 01/05/06 Supervise administration of medicine by technical personnel

 

Therapeutic Areas in need of contemporary items testing Pharmacotherapy of patients with

Diabetes mellitus type 1 and 2 ***new oral drugs and insulins	Dementia
End stage renal disease/dialysis ***managing Ca, Phos, anemia, etc	Urinary tract infections
ADHD	Post menopausal symptoms
obesity	Allergic rhinits
Schizophrenia	Rheumatoid arthritis
Metabolic syndrome	Peripheral arterial disease
pain	Epilepsy (including status epilepticus)
Lifestyle modifications	Abdominal infections
Smoking cessation	Stress ulcer prophylaxis
Urinary incontinence	ICU sedation
Infertility	Menstrual disorders
Contraception	Psoriasis
Constipation/diarrhea	Anemias
Ophthalmic problems (glaucoma, infection)	Sleep disorders
Parkinsons disease