Navigating Continuing Education Requirements for Pharmacy Professionals
Continuing education (CE) is a cornerstone of professional development in the pharmacy field. It ensures that pharmacists and pharmacy technicians remain up-to-date with the latest advancements, regulations, and best practices. This article provides a comprehensive overview of CE requirements for various pharmacy professionals, including pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and those with specialized certifications.
Continuing Education for Pharmacists
Pharmacists are required to engage in continuing education to maintain their licenses and ensure they provide the best possible care to their patients.
General Requirements
Pharmacists need at least 30 hours of approved CE in order to renew a regular (non-initial) active license. The Texas State Board of Pharmacy (TSBP) considers several accreditation types as approved, with the most common being the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE). A complete list of approved programs can be found in Board rule 295.8(e).
Specific Requirements in Texas
In Texas, House Bill 3285 (86R) mandates that the board encourage pharmacists to participate in a program that provides a comprehensive approach to the delivery of early intervention and treatment services for persons with substance use disorders and persons who are at risk of developing substance use disorders, such as a program promoted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) within the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
Initial Renewal
If you're renewing for the first time AFTER your 30-day renewal, you will need to meet a few specific CE requirements. You may also need CE if you wish to maintain specific certifications during your initial renewal period (e.g., sterile compounding, immunization, etc.).
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Record Keeping and Audits
Pharmacists are required to maintain certificates of completion of approved continuing education for three years from the date of reporting the hours on a license renewal application (Board rule 295.8(f)(1)). The Board has the authority to conduct an audit of pharmacist CE records for verification of reported CE credits (Board rule 295.8(f)(2)). Upon written request, a pharmacist will be required to provide to the board copies of completion certificates for all CE hours reported during a specified time period. Failure to provide all requested records during a specified time period constitutes prima facie evidence of failure to keep and maintain records and may result in disciplinary action.
Inactive Licenses
A pharmacist with an inactive license is not required to report any CE hours at the time of renewal.
Reactivating an Inactive License
To reactivate an inactive license, CE is required.
Disciplinary Actions
If you have CE requirements you need to complete as a result of disciplinary action, that is a separate process.
Specialized Certifications
If you'd like to update your license with a specific certification (preceptor, pharmacist immunizer, certified in sterile compounding, and/or certified in drug therapy management), you can find initial continuing education requirements. Once you've completed the required CE and any other initial certification requirements, you may submit either the board certification update form or the drug therapy management form, depending on which certification(s) you've obtained.
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Preceptor Certification
Complete preceptor CE requirements, including initial certification, can be found in Board rule 283.6. The Texas Consortium on Experiential Programs (TCEP) is the approving body for continuing education for preceptors.
Continuing Education for Pharmacy Technicians
Pharmacy technicians, like pharmacists, must also engage in continuing education to maintain their certifications and stay current in their field.
General Requirements
Certified pharmacy technicians are required to complete continuing education to renew their certification. Continuing education ensures that certified pharmacy technicians stay current on the latest research and developments in pharmacy practice. Learning about new treatments and medications helps you stay current as a pharmacy technician. The National Pharmacy Technician Association (NPTA) offers a wide range of ACPE-accredited CE courses for members to keep their CPhT certification up to date.
PTCB Requirements
The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) CPhT certification is valid for two years. During this time, you can work towards the continuing education requirements needed for renewal. Below are the continuing education requirements to renew PTCB CPhT certification:
A minimum of 20 hours of continuing education, which must include:
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- One hour of pharmacy law CE
- One hour of patient safety CE
These must be pharmacy-technician specific and offered by ACPE-accredited, or approved, providers.
After you’ve completed these requirements, renewal should be quick and easy, as PTCB connects directly with CPE Monitor. NPTA provides statements of credit for each continuing education course you complete with NPTA, so you can easily upload your proof of participation.
PTCB certificants are required to recertify to maintain active certification. Many employers and/or State Boards of Pharmacy require CPhTs to maintain their PTCB Certification. The purpose of recertification is to ensure that certificants stay current in their field through the completion of Continuing Education (CE) and/or training, skill and competency assessments.
PTCB Certified Pharmacy Technicians (CPhTs) are required to recertify every two (2) years to maintain certification. PTCB’s CPhT recertification requirements correspond to the biennial renewal schedule for professional pharmacist licensure as governed by State Boards of Pharmacy. CPhTs must complete all continuing education hours within the two (2) year recertification cycle (on or before the expiration date). No CE hours completed before certification is granted may be used to satisfy recertification requirements.
During each two (2) year recertification cycle, CPhT Certificants are required to complete a minimum of twenty (20) hours of CE containing subject matter listed within PTCB’s Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam® (PTCE®) Content Outline. For recertification candidates, one (1) hour of the twenty (20) hours must be in the subject of pharmacy law and one (1) hour must be in the subject of patient safety (refer to Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) definition of patient safety, defined in the ACPE Policy and Procedures Manual). To qualify as pharmacy technician subject matter, a CE activity must contain subject matter listed in PTCB’s PTCE Content Outline.
For renewal applications submitted after September 1, 2020, PTCB requires a minimum of 15 T-specific CE hours and accepts a maximum of 5 P-specific CE hours completed from ACPE-accredited providers.
CSPT Requirements
CSPTs are required to recertify every year to maintain certification. This annual requirement is consistent with the training and competency requirements required by USP and other authoritative bodies. To be eligible for recertification, a CSPT must be an active PTCB CPhT or CPhT-Adv in good standing.
When a PTCB CPhT or CPhT-Adv certification is renewed along with the CSPT certification, a minimum of 10 Compounding CEs (earned any time over the two-year CPhT or CPhT-Adv renewal cycle) and the CSPT Competency Attestation Form are required to be submitted at the time of renewal. No CE hours and/or CSPT Competency Attestation Forms completed before certification is granted may be used to satisfy recertification requirements. In addition, CE hours/CSPT Competency Attestation Forms cannot carry over to a future recertification cycle.
CPhT-Adv Requirements
CPhT-Adv certificants must satisfy the CPhT CE requirements plus an additional five (5) hours of CE in any pharmacy topic for a total of twenty-five (25) during each two (2)-year recertification cycle. For recertification candidates, one (1) hour of the twenty-five (25) hours must be in the subject of pharmacy law and one (1) hour must be in the subject of patient safety.
CPTEd Requirements
Certified Pharmacy Technician Educators (CPTEds) are required to recertify every two (2) years to maintain certification. During each two (2) year recertification cycle, CPTEds are required to complete a minimum of ten (10) hours of continuing education (CE) in education and instruction subject matter. CPTEds must complete all continuing education hours within the two (2) year recertification cycle (on or before the expiration date). No CE hours completed before certification is granted may be used to satisfy recertification requirements.
Resources for Continuing Education
Several organizations and platforms offer continuing education resources for pharmacy professionals.
ACPE
The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) ensures that all continuing education providers have the highest standard of quality and current course information. This national council ensures that information and standards are uniform between providers.
CPE Monitor
The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) launched the continuing pharmacy education monitoring service in 2011. This electronic monitoring system, called CPE Monitor, was designed in partnership with ACPE to provide a centralized place to track continuing education credits. The CPE Monitor platform makes it easier for you as a technician to track your credits and it makes it easier for State Boards of Pharmacy and certification agencies, like PTCB, to verify technicians’ compliance with continuing education requirements.
Setting up a CPE Monitor Account is super simple. You’ll need to visit the NABP to create an account. There are both options for a free account or a paid plan with more features.
Free Account Features:
- CPE Activity Upload
- Easily Downloadable List of Your Activity
- Free, easy-to-use mobile app
The paid account includes all of the features of the free account as well as some expanded benefits:
- Upload of non-ACPE accredited credits
- Breakdown of renewal requirements by state
- Licensing status screen to show progress
- Cycle deadline alerts
- Transcript for each license
- ACPE activity search
- CPD tools
CE Broker
National Pharmacy Technician Association (NPTA) is an approved provider of continuing education for the Florida Board of Pharmacy, which uses CE Broker. NPTA does NOT report completed CE to CE Broker; that is the responsibility of the pharmacy technician.
PharmCon/FreeCE
As an approved Florida Board of Pharmacy provider of continuing education programs for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, PharmCon/FreeCE reports credits to CE Broker for Florida licensed participants who have provided their license number, including prefix, in their profile. PharmCon/FreeCE reports credits to CPE Monitor for participants who have provided their ePID number in their profile.
PharmCon is an approved course provider of continuing education for nurses by the Florida Board of Nursing and the California Board of Nursing. FreeCE courses (PharmCon accredited) meet pharmaco-therapeutics/pharmacology requirements for American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Category 1 Continuing Education Hours for certification renewal. The same hours submitted to renew certification may be submitted to a State Board of Nursing for re-licensure. American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) accepts formally approved continuing education sponsored by organizations accredited or approved by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE).
NPTA
Being a NPTA CE+ or NPTA Elite member gives you access to free pharmacy technician continuing education programs. This makes it affordable and convenient to earn your continuing education credits. From our webinars to online CE courses, you’ll be able to complete your CE on your own time and from the comfort of your home.
University of Florida College of Pharmacy Office of Continuing Education
The University of Florida College of Pharmacy Office of Continuing Education (ACPE) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) to provide continuing education for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
CPD is an approach to lifelong learning. ACPE defines CPD as a self-directed, ongoing, systematic and outcomes-focused approach to lifelong learning that is applied into practice. It involves the process of active participation in formal and informal learning activities that assist individuals in developing and maintaining continuing competence, enhancing their professional practice, and supporting achievement of their career goals.
The principles of CPD have already been incorporated into continuing education systems in several countries, including Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. In the US, several national pharmacy organizations, including ACPE, have adopted statements or policy regarding CPD.
Types of Continuing Pharmacy Education (CPE) Activities
Continuing pharmacy education (CPE) activities are categorized into three types: knowledge-based, application-based, and certificate programs. Prior to educational program planning and accreditation, each educational activity will be reviewed by CPE Office faculty and categorized into one of the activity types based on the activity objectives, purpose, content, desired learning outcomes, and activity length. All accredited activities will align with the office’s mission and goals and will meet the educational needs of pharmacists and/or pharmacy technicians. These CPE activities are primarily constructed to instill, expand, or enhance practice competencies through systematic achievement of specified knowledge, skills, attitudes, and performance behaviors.
Ensuring Quality and Integrity in CE Programs
The Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education reflect the values of the continuing education community and have been adopted by six accrediting bodies, representing multiple health professions. Accredited continuing education is an appropriate place to discuss, debate, and explore new and evolving topics, these areas need to be clearly identified as such within the program and individual presentations.
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