Certification

Psychiatric Pharmacy - Questions Needed

General Needs

The Psychiatric Pharmacy Certification Item Bank is in greatest need of items for Domain 2 (Education and Dissemination of Information) and Domain 3 (Clinical Administration). However items are also needed for Domain 1 (Clinical Skills and Therapeutic Management).

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 2: Education and Dissemination of Information. Interpret, generate, and/or disseminate knowledge in psychiatric and neurologic pharmacy. Domain 2 includes 8 distinct tasks with the same 8 knowledge statements applicable to each task (knowledge statements are listed in the content outline). The relative priority of the task and knowledge statements is listed below beginning with the highest priority.

Tasks
  • Assess the effectiveness of medication education (including consideration of patient-specific parameters).
  • Evaluate the quality and effectiveness (including cost-effectiveness) of medication-related services provided to patients with psychiatric and neurologic disorders.
  • Collaborate in the generation of new knowledge to foster the safe, effective, and economical use of pharmacologic agents.
  • Provide public information talks and/or write consumer-oriented literature regarding mental health issues, medication use, and substance abuse (e.g., professional presentations and publications).
  • Integrate new information to establish recommendations for clinical use.
  • Provide formal and informal education to the treatment team, trainees, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals.
Knowledge statements
  • Knowledge of procedures to assess medication education.
  • Knowledge of regulatory and ethical issues related to research in patients with psychiatric and neurologic disorders (including competency, confidentiality, informed consent and patient rights).
  • Knowledge of generalizability of research findings.
  • Knowledge of clinical versus statistical significance.
  • Knowledge of regulatory guidelines and information resources for medication education.
  • Knowledge of medication educational methods.
Domain 3: Clinical Administration. In collaboration with other healthcare professionals and administrators, advocate, recommend, design, implement, monitor, and modify systems and policies to optimize medication therapy in the treatment of patients with psychiatric and neurologic disorders. Domain 3 includes 5 distinct tasks with the same 5 knowledge statements applicable to each task (knowledge statements are listed in the content outline). The relative priority of the task and knowledge statements is listed below beginning with the highest priority.

Tasks
  • Assess prescribing patterns for patients with psychiatric and neurologic disorders.
  • Develop and implement medication use policies in collaboration with other healthcare providers and/or agencies to optimize patient outcomes.
  • Develop and/or implement strategies for providing pharmacy series appropriate to the needs of patients with psychiatric and neurologic disorders.
  • Act as an advocate for patients rights, including competency, confidentiality, and informed consent.
Knowledge statements
  • Knowledge of clinical practice guidelines for treatment of patients with psychiatric and neurologic disorders.
  • Knowledge of position statements of the American Psychiatric Association, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, and other similar groups.
  • Knowledge of reimbursement policies of federal, state, and private agencies as related to the provision of psychiatric healthcare.
  • Knowledge of performance improvement methods (e.g., peer review, adverse event monitoring, medication use evaluation).
Domain 1: Clinical Skills and Therapeutic Management. Collaborate with other healthcare professionals in pursuing optimal medication therapy management for patients with psychiatric and neurologic disorders. Domain 1 includes 12 distinct tasks with the same 26 knowledge statements applicable to each task (knowledge statements are listed in the content outline).

There is a specific need for questions for the following tasks in this domain.
  • Establish measurable therapeutic goals in collaboration with the treatment team, patient, family, and/or caregiver(s).
  • Identify target symptoms that respond to non-pharmacologic interventions (e.g., cognitive-behavior therapy, electroconvulsive therapy, alternative therapies).
  • Conduct a mental status examination.
  • Interpret the results of additional clinical data obtained by other healthcare professionals (e.g., physical examination, laboratory data, neurologic testing, psychological testing).
There is a specific need for questions for the following knowledge statements in this domain.
  • Knowledge of pharmacoeconomics.
  • Knowledge of interviewing methods (e.g., mental status exam, psychiatric interview).
  • Knowledge of frequency and relative importance of monitoring parameters.
  • Knowledge of relative and absolute contraindications.
  • Knowledge of physical assessment (e.g., vital signs, movement disorders).
  • Knowledge of epidemiology.
  • Knowledge of laboratory and diagnostic tests (including imaging).
  • Knowledge of therapeutic monitoring.
  • Knowledge of therapeutic end points.
  • Knowledge of assessment measures (e.g., rating scales, inventories, quality of life).
  • Knowledge of onset, course, and prognosis.
Lastly, we have a general need for Domain 1 and 2 questions in the following therapeutic areas:
  • Generalized anxiety disorder
  • Impulse control/aggression
  • Mental disorders due to a general medical condition (e.g., HIV-psychosis, hyperthyroidism, depression secondary to chronic medical conditions)
  • Other psychiatric disorders (e.g., somatoform, dissociative, factitious, sexual/gender identity adjustment disorders)
  • Phobic disorders
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-related disorders
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Headache/migraine
  • Pain
  • Special populations - developmentally disabled (including medication use and other psychiatric disorders not included above)
  • Special populations - long-term care that is not age specified
  • Eating disorders
  • Personality disorders