The complete duration of the program is 24 weeks: 12 weeks of classroom instruction followed by 12 weeks of Practicum. During the initial 12 weeks of classroom instruction, registrants have 4 days of classes each week at the UBC Point Grey Campus. The following 12 weeks of the Internship practicum provides International Pharmacy Graduates (IPGs) with a Canadian pharmacy practice experience that duplicates the Office of Experiential Education (OEE) experience received by the undergraduate students at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UBC. At the end of the program is a one-day mock-OSCE experience (Getting Ready) to allow participants to assess their newly acquired skills and competencies.
This program consists of several modules outlined below. IPGs who have never been licensed to practice in any Canadian province are required to complete all program modules. Pharmacists who have previously been licensed to practise in Canada, and are looking to re-enter practice or update competencies may choose to take one or more individual classroom modules. The modules are designed to be interactive rather than didactic in nature, ensuring that students participate in 'hands on' learning.
Please click on module titles for course outlines.
Communication Skills: including Canadian workplace culture, problem solving, interpersonal communication and written communication
Therapeutics: provides an introduction to Drug Therapy Problems (DTPs), the Therapeutic Thought Process (TTP), Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs), Drug Interactions (DIs) and Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM); case studies will be used extensively to allow registrants to apply information presented during the lectures
Patient Dialogue Skills: Role Play sessions, some of which will utilize Standardized Patients (SPs). During this module, students will be exposed to more than 140 role plays that include patient counselling (both prescription and self care scenarios), ethical, business, administrative and inter-professional scenarios. The extensive use of video taping will assist the students to review and improve their counselling skills.
Health Care Systems Overview: including jurisprudence, practice management, ethics, BC PharmaCare and PharmaNet systems and substance abuse
Practice Skills Lab: all aspects of prescription dispensing plus selective aspects of drug information and Over-The Counter (OTC) medications
Internship Practicum: this component is designed to provide Canadian pharmacy practice experience and is modelled after the undergraduate Office of Experiential Education (OEE). This 12-week community pharmacy Internship is mandatory for all IPGs attending the program to allow for a Canadian pharmacy experience. During the Internship, students are mentored by the OEE Department of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and expected to complete various assignments. This Internship is accepted by the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia as completion of the Structured Practical Training requirements for licensure.
"Getting Ready": This one-day session at the end of the program will provide detailed information on possible resources to be used in preparation for the national pharmacy licensing examinations. It will include strategies for written test-taking, as well as an opportunity to do practice performance assessments of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) format commonly used in licensure examinations. This session, while part of the Canadian Pharmacy Practice Programme, is open to other registrants, depending on space allowances.
The schedule, with potentially some minor variations, will be similar to the following:
| Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thur | Fri | Sat | |
| AM: 9:30 to 12:30 |
Therapeutics |
Health Care Systems Overview |
Patient Dialogue Skills |
Practice Skills Lab |
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| PM: 1:30 to 4:30 |
Therapeutics |
Communications |
Patient Dialogue Skills |
Practice Skills Lab |
