Pharmacy Technician Certification Board To Introduce Updated Certification Exam On November 1

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) will introduce its updated Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam (PTCE) on November 1. The updated exam measures the knowledge pharmacy technicians need to effectively support pharmacists and advance patient safety in today's pharmacies. Candidates who apply for PTCB certification before November 1 will be given the current PTCE, and those who apply on or after November 1 will take the updated exam.

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Updates to the PTCE resulted from PTCB's latest Job Analysis Study, which involved a total of 25,712 pharmacy technicians from every state and practice setting. Consistent with industry best practices and National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) standards, PTCB evaluates the evolution of pharmacy technician roles by conducting this study on a regular basis. Based on the newest data collected, PTCB analyzed the requirements of the occupation to update the PTCE.

"The PTCE is the foundation of PTCB's certification program. We continually strive to ensure the PTCE is current and accurately tests the knowledge required in all sectors of pharmacy practice," said PTCB Executive Director and CEO Everett B. McAllister, MPA, RPh. "The updated PTCE is psychometrically sound, and reflects the results of our latest study across all practice settings, including community, hospital, and federal."

The updated PTCE more strongly emphasizes certain knowledge areas, including medication safety and pharmacy information systems. Extensive work went into reorganizing the test and creating more specific knowledge groupings, or 'domains,' each with sub-domains. The updated exam has nine domains, instead of three, with revised proportions of emphasis. The length of the exam and quantity of questions (90 multiple choice) will not change.

The PTCE is delivered at 237 Pearson Professional Centers nationwide and military test centers. Detailed information on PTCB's program and the updated PTCE is available at http://www.ptcb.org/get-certified/prepare/important-changes#.Uh0OwRvOvAQ.

About PTCB
The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) advocates a single national standard for pharmacy technician certification that is recognized and supported by the profession. The goal of PTCB's national certification program, which services the more than 274,000 currently active certified pharmacy technicians (CPhTs) nationwide, is to enable pharmacy technicians to work more effectively with pharmacists to offer safe and effective patient care and service. PTCB was established in 1995 and is governed by five pharmacy organizations—the American Pharmacists Association, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists, the Michigan Pharmacists Association, and the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. Pharmacy technicians may apply for certification online at www.ptcb.org.

SOURCE Pharmacy Technician Certification Board