Pharmacy Technicians on the Road to Regulation Focus on ...

council report
the intent to evaluate the program
for achievement of student learning
outcomes, feasibility of delivery and
improved access to the profession of
pharmacy in Canada.
Admission criteria are the same
as for those students applying locally
and access will be open to anyone
who meets the entry criteria and
has the legal authority to attend
the program in Egypt (i.e. students
from other jurisdictions are eligible
provided they have the authority to
study in Egypt.) Students will also
be required to complete the last four
weeks of the program in Toronto.
Applicants will need to have completed
the PEBC evaluating exam
and fluency prior to enrolling in the
pilot program, but would still be required
to meet all of the remaining
entry-to-practice requirements, including
studentship, internship, the
jurisprudence exam and the PEBC
qualifying exam.
There was recognition of the
need to ensure that graduates of the
program achieve the same learning
outcomes as students in the local
program and that a pilot such as this
would assist in determining the feasibility
of offering such a program on
an ongoing basis.
Council approves Pilot
<strong>Pharmacy</strong> Technician
Bridge Training Program
for Internationally trained
individuals
Centennial College, in response to
a call for proposals, has received
funding from the Ontario Ministry
of Citizenship and Immigration to
develop and pilot a program for
international applicants pursuing
registration as a pharmacy technician.
The proposal was to design
a program that would be approved
by the College and could be accessed
and sustained through the
Community College system in Ontario
over the long term.
International graduates applying
for a certificate of registration
as a pharmacy technician, like the
international pharmacist graduates,
will need to complete an
approved program that will provide
them with the learning opportunities
needed to ensure they achieve
the knowledge, skills and judgment
at least equivalent to the graduates
of CCAPP accredited pharmacy
technician programs. This Bridging
Program will include language
training and orientation to the
Canadian health care system, in
addition to the knowledge and
skills needed for practice as a pharmacy
technician in Ontario.
In order to be eligible, applicants
must have either completed
the OCP certification exam or,
have completed an international
pharmacy or pharmacy technician
academic program and 2000
hours of eligible pharmacy practice
experience in any jurisdiction (credentials
and practice experience to
be assessed by PEBC).
Sale of Non-Approved
Marketed Health Products
Council reviewed all information
and correspondence received to
date arising from the recently
released position statement by
NAPRA (National Association of
<strong>Pharmacy</strong> Regulatory Authorities)
and the corresponding advisory
notice sent to all pharmacists in
Ontario reminding them that, in
accordance with the long standing
position of the College, pharmacists
should not sell products that
have not been approved by Health
Canada and/or obtained from
bona fide sources.
Although Council was made
aware that Health Canada is
working to address this matter
through regulatory proposals,
Council remains concerned that
permitting unapproved products to
be sold does not provide adequate
assurance that such products are
safe to be sold in pharmacies.
Without such assurances from
Health Canada, Council agreed
that the College’s advice to pharmacists
should remain unchanged.
Accordingly, Council unanimously
affirmed the College’s long
standing position that in order to
assure public safety and protection,
pharmacists only purchase
and sell products that have been
approved by Health Canada and
obtained from bona fide sources.
This means that pharmacists
should not sell a marketed health
product without a Drug Identification
Number (DIN), Natural
Health Product Number (NPN)
or Drug Identification Number
for Homeopathic Medicine (DIN-
HM), and further, should not
purchase or accept for sale any
marketed health products, including
natural health products, that
do not possess a DIN, NPN or
DIN-HM.
8 pharmacyconnection • May/June 2010