Psychiatric Pharmacy

Psychiatric pharmacy addresses the pharmaceutical care of patients with psychiatric-related illnesses. As a member of a multidisciplinary treatment team, the psychiatric pharmacy specialist is often responsible for optimizing drug treatment and patient care by conducting such activities as monitoring patient response, patient assessment, recognizing drug-induced problems, and recommending appropriate treatment plans. Those who are granted certification in this specialty may use the designation Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacist and the initials BCPP, as long as certification is valid.

Eligibility Requirements

The minimum requirements for this specialty certification are:

• Graduation from a pharmacy program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) or a program outside the U.S. that qualifies the individual to practice in the jurisdiction.
• Current, active license to practice pharmacy in the U.S. or another jurisdiction.
• Completion of four (4) years of practice with at least 50% of time spent in psychiatric pharmacy activities (as defined by the BPS Psychiatric Pharmacy Content Outline)
  OR
  Completion of a specialty (PGY2) residency* in psychiatric pharmacy plus one (1) additional year of practice with at least 50% of time spent in psychiatric pharmacy activities (as defined by the BPS Psychiatric Pharmacy Content Outline)
  *Effective January 1, 2013, only residencies accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists or other recognized bodies are creditable for this purpose.
• Achieving a passing score on the Psychiatric Pharmacy Specialty Certification Examination

Examination Content

(Refer to the Psychiatric Pharmacy Content Outline for details.)

• Domain 1: Clinical Skills and Therapeutic Management (65% of the examination)
• Domain 2: Education and Dissemination of Information (25% of the examination)
• Domain 3: Clinical Administration (10% of the examination)

Recertification

Recertification of Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacists (BCPP) requires an assessment of a practitioner's knowledge and skills through one of two methods:

• Achieving a passing score on the 100-item multiple choice recertification examination, based on the content outline of the certification examination;
  OR
• Earning 100 hours of continuing education credit provided by a professional development program approved by BPS.

A current, active license to practice pharmacy is required for recertification.