Harmonizing PharmD Program Requirements: Can We Agree to Uniform Standards for International Students?

April 8, 2010 9:03 AM

Harmonizing educational standards for international students granted advanced standing is an issue of interest to state Boards of Pharmacy. This issue and many more will be discussed at the session “Boards of Pharmacy and ACPE – Mining the Standards,” a special pre-meeting program held the day before the start of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy^® (NABP^®) 106th Annual Meeting. The session, which will take place Saturday, May 22, from 2 - 4 PM, provides a unique opportunity to discuss critical issues related to PharmD program standards for students admitted based on international degrees from non-accredited schools, and granted credits which may lead to advanced standing.

At this special session, an expert panel, comprised of a representative of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), college of pharmacy representatives, and board of pharmacy leaders, will examine ways to harmonize standards for pharmacy programs admitting students with degrees from international, non-accredited programs of pharmacy, with existing ACPE standards and boards of pharmacy requirements.

The granting of advanced standing for students with degrees from international, non-accredited programs of pharmacy is an option that boards of pharmacy must carefully review as satisfying a condition of licensure. Presently, state regulations and statutes require either graduation from an ACPE-accredited PharmD program or Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee^TM (FPGEC^®) Certification. The expert panel will address questions such as the following: How are core courses of the doctor of pharmacy program completed by International students being evaluated and accepted at United States institutions to ensure equivalent education and training in pharmacy practice and pharmacist care? Are the pharmacy programs’ requirements used in granting advanced standing in accordance with state statutes and regulations? How should ACPE accreditation standards be applied at schools of pharmacy that offer the option of advanced standing to students admitted with non-accredited international degrees?

Session leaders addressing such questions to begin down the path to harmonization of standards, will include Jeffrey W. Wadelin, PhD, associate executive director and director, professional degree program accreditation, Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education; Howard C. Anderson, Jr, RPh, executive director, North Dakota State Board of Pharmacy; and Daniel Robinson, PharmD, professor, dean, College of Pharmacy, Western University of Health Sciences.

For more information on the 106th Annual Meeting, which will be held May 22-25, 2010, at the Hyatt Regency Orange County, in Anaheim, CA, please contact the NABP Meeting Services Department at 847/391-4406 or via e-mail at custserv@nabp.net. Full descriptions of all special programs and continuing pharmacy education sessions, as well as meeting registration forms, may be found on the NABP Web site.