By Josep M. Guiu-Segura, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP, FFIP
Member, BPS Board of Directors
If you’re a pharmacist practicing outside the United States and wondering whether preparing for a BPS certification examination is worth the time commitment and financial investment, my clear advice is: Yes, it is. BPS certification represents a global standard in advanced pharmacy practice—and our patients, no matter where they live, benefit from it. It’s a global symbol of professional competence. Knowing that at the end of 2024, there were over 62,000 BPS certifications spanning over 50 countries made me confident that the exam content for each certification program would be relevant far beyond borders and applicable to my daily practice in Spain.
My personal journey with board certification began with a strong mentor. I was fortunate to work at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, Spain, where the head of the pharmacy department, Dr. Josep Monterde, was an advocate for BPS Board Certification. He believed deeply in the value of certification and actively promoted it within the pharmacy team. His leadership led to a growing number of BPS-Certified pharmacists at our institution. Later, Maria Josep Carreras, the first Spanish pharmacist to earn BPS Board Certification, helped hundreds of colleagues across the country by launching a national preparation course on oncology pharmacy through the Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacists (SEFH).
I earned my first BPS board certification in pharmacotherapy (BCPS), and as my practice evolved, I pursued board certification in oncology pharmacy (BCOP). Like many international pharmacists, I initially found the BPS application process daunting. But the Candidate’s Guide clearly outlined the steps: I submitted my pharmacist license, practice experience and documentation for proof of eligibility. It was a manageable process, and one that proved transformative.
In the U.S., institutions often reward certified pharmacists with higher pay or mandate certification for senior roles. Elsewhere, including in Spain, positions in specialized areas such as oncology-hematology pharmacy increasingly list “BCOP preferred.” However, it’s essential to recognize that career advancement frameworks outside the U.S. may not officially recognize US certifications within national professional development or specialization pathway. Consequently, pursuing certification often becomes a personal commitment to professional excellence rather than a direct career requisite.
While board certification remains a personal commitment to some, advancing pharmacy practice remains a global imperative. As healthcare continues to evolve, pharmacists are being called upon to meet increasingly complex patient needs. This means delivering advanced clinical services and taking on specialized roles that may extend beyond entry-level practice. Many of today’s pharmacists are not only engaged in direct patient care, but also serve as leaders in educating the broader pharmacy workforce and conducting research to implement evidence-based medication management.
In a recently published report, FIP’s global workforce vision emphasizes the importance of clearly defined professional pathways with a strong focus on the “Advanced and Specialist Development” of pharmacists. From foundational to advanced levels of practice, the development continuum emphasizes the need for structured education and credentialing pathways that support the growth of the pharmacy workforce and ultimately improve patient care. BPS board certification complements this vision by recognizing and validating the maintained competency and capability of advanced and specialist pharmacists, which is essential to competently meet complex health needs worldwide. Board certification provides a robust, externally validated framework that countries can recognize without needing to recreate a certification program separate from BPS board certification. By encouraging lifelong learning and underpinning competency frameworks, BPS certification aligns perfectly with FIP’s global workforce vision.
Preparing for board certification is not only professionally rewarding but also personally rewarding. When undertaken within a group setting, you create a community driven by a shared sense of purpose: advancing pharmacy practice. As therapeutic fields increasingly specialize into precision-based subspecialties, healthcare systems require rapid, reliable methods to verify pharmacists’ competencies. Board certification delivers a portable, credible qualification useful in credentialing and privileging processes, ultimately reassuring patients that their pharmacist meets internationally recognized professional standards.