Revisiting the relationship between examination pass rate and eligibility pathway among candidates for pharmacist board certification

Abstract

BackgroundPharmacists with specialized knowledge and skills are able to seek board certification from the Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS). In 2018, BPS conducted research to evaluate the relationship between eligibility pathways (i.e., completion of a postgraduate year 2 [PGY-2] specialty residency, completion of a postgraduate year 1 [PGY-1] residency plus 2 years of practice experience, or 4 years of practice experience) and certification examination pass rate. The study found statistically significant differences in pass rate based on eligibility criteria across all 6 specialties studied. There was a trend for higher pass rates in cohorts of examinees eligible for board certification based on completion of postgraduate residency training. ObjectivesThis study aimed to compare examination pass rates among different eligibility cohorts for board certification in recognized pharmacy practice specialties and compare contemporary findings with previously published findings. DesignThis cross-sectional study was conducted on data retrieved from BPS certification applications and examination administration records. Setting and participantsExaminees in the United States and Canada for 9 BPS certification programs. Outcome measuresA chi-square analysis was used to identify whether there were differences in pass rate among eligibility pathway cohorts. ResultsA total of 14,894 examinees met inclusion criteria; 6312 (42.4%) of the 14,894 examinees analyzed were eligible via practice experience, 5768 (38.7%) were eligible via PGY-1 completion, and 2814 (18.9%) were eligible via PGY-2 completion. A statistically significant difference was found for the relationship between pass rate and eligibility pathway for 8 of 9 BPS certification examinations analyzed (significant: ambulatory care pharmacy, critical care pharmacy, cardiology pharmacy, infectious diseases pharmacy, oncology pharmacy, psychiatric pharmacy, pediatric pharmacy, pharmacotherapy; not significant: solid organ transplantation pharmacy). Post hoc analyses showed that, in most cases, the PGY-2 eligibility cohort outperformed the PGY-1 eligibility cohort, which in turn outperformed the practice experience pathway cohort. ConclusionAnalysis of contemporary BPS certification examination administration data yields statistically significant differences among the pass rates by eligibility pathway, replicating previous findings and expanding the scope of the analysis.