Ambulatory Care Pharmacy

Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Specialty Certification (BCACP)

Target Population: Pharmacists who provide integrated, accessible healthcare services for ambulatory patients in a wide variety of settings, including community pharmacies and clinics. 

Program Purpose: To validate that the pharmacist has the advanced knowledge and experience to optimize therapy for ambulatory patients who administer medications themselves or with the assistance of a caregiver.

Currently, there are more than 5,760 BPS Board-Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacists.

Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Specialty Council Members

The purpose of the BPS Specialty Councils is to develop standards and eligibility requirements for board certification, develop examinations and passing standards for certification, and review and approve professional development programs for recertification of board-certified pharmacists. Specialty council members are at the heart of the peer-reviewed and peer-developed nature of BPS Board Certification.

Christie Schumacher, [Chair] PharmD, BCPS, BCACP, BCCP, BC-ADM, CDCES, FCCP

Schumacher is a Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice at Midwestern University College of Pharmacy, Downers Grove Campus and serves as the PGY2 Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residency Program Director. She practices as a clinical pharmacist at Advocate Medical Group – Southeast Center providing chronic disease management through a comprehensive collaborative practice agreement for a variety of internal medicine disease states, including but not limited to, heart failure, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. She received her B.S. in Biochemistry and PharmD from the University of Michigan and completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at Midwestern University.

Lauren G. Pamulapati, [Vice Chair] PharmD, BCACP

Pamulapati is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy. She provides chronic disease management in a VCU Health family medicine clinic under a collaborative practice agreement, and she manages patients with diabetes through a Remote Patient Monitoring Program. Pamulapati received her PharmD from VCU School of Pharmacy before completing a PGY1 Pharmacy Residency at the University of Colorado Hospital, followed by a PGY2 Ambulatory Care Residency at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. Her professional interests include diabetes, telehealth, transitions of care, practice advancement, and postgraduate training.

Joshua Bayer
Joshua Bayer, PharmD, BCPS, AAHIVP

Bayer is a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Primary Care at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs’ River Valley Outpatient Clinic (La Crosse, WI) and the Wausau CBOC which are part of the Tomah VA Medical Center. At the VA he works under a scope of practice providing chronic disease management for a variety of disease states in Primary Care. He received his PharmD from the University of Michigan before completing a PGY1 residency at the Milwaukee VAMC.  He previously practiced as a clinical pharmacist at the University of Colorado Hospital Infectious Disease Clinic providing care to patients living with HIV, hepatitis C, STIs, and other infections as well as a Medical Home Pharmacist with Vivent Health in Denver, CO providing chronic disease management and HIV treatment and prevention services.

Katie Cardone, PharmD, BCACP, FNKF, FASN, FCCP

Katie Cardone is an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Albany, NY. Dr. Cardone has served as an ambulatory care pharmacist in nephrology for 15 years, while also having experience in medication therapy management, public health outreach, and community pharmacy. She serves as residency program director for the College’s PGY2 ambulatory care residency and as program director for the ACPHS Doctor of Pharmacy program. Her research focuses on optimizing medication outcomes in patients with kidney disease. Dr. Cardone is a fellow of the National Kidney Foundation, the American Society of Nephrology, and the American College of Clinical Pharmacy.

Hillary Duvivier, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP, NCPS

Commander Hillary Duvivier is a U.S. Public Health Service Officer and is assigned to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Health Service Corps (IHSC) in Miami, Florida. As the second Clinical Pharmacist serving as an Advanced Practitioner Provider with diagnostic and prescriptive authority for IHSC, she focuses on the management of chronic diseases, transitions of care, as well as provides care in the acute clinic and the inpatient unit for a 600+ bed facility. She completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency with the Indian Health Service (IHS) and later lead the establishment of the second IHS PGY2 Ambulatory Care Residency.

Clark Kebodeaux, PharmD, BCACP

Clark Kebodeaux, PharmD, BCACP, is a Clinical Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Science at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy. Dr. Kebodeaux currently practices in an interprofessional ambulatory clinic at the Bluegrass Community Health Center—a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that is an accredited Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) with a focus on diabetes, substance use disorders and underserved populations. Dr. Kebodeaux currently serves as the Residency Program Director for the PGY1 University of Kentucky Community-Based Residency Program and preceptor for PGY2 Ambulatory Care Residency at Bluegrass Community Health Center/University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy.

Jessica W. Merrey, PharmD, MBA, BCPS, BCACP, BCGP

Dr. Jessica Merrey is the Lead Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Ambulatory Care at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. She received her Doctorate of Pharmacy at The Medical University of South Carolina and Masters in Business Administration from the Citadel, in Charleston, South Carolina. She completed a PGY-1 pharmacy practice residency with emphasis in primary care at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina. Dr. Merrey is Board Certified in Pharmacotherapy, Ambulatory Care, and Geriatric Pharmacy. She previously served on the Board of Pharmacy Specialties Geriatric Specialty Council.

Katherine Montag Schafer, PharmD, BCACP, CDCES

Montag Schafer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Minnesota. She is a faculty member with the St. John’s Family Medicine Residency Program and practices at M Health Fairview Phalen Village Family Medicine Clinic. As an Adjunct Assistant Professor with the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, she is a preceptor for students on their APPE patient care elective rotation. She is a graduate from North Dakota State University College of Pharmacy and completed PGY1 Pharmacy Practice and PGY2 Ambulatory Care training at Hennepin County Medical Center.

Jennifer Rosselli, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP

Rosselli is a Clinical Associate Professor at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from St. Louis College of Pharmacy and completed a Pharmacy Practice residency at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Belleville, IL. She collaborates with primary care providers in a Federally Qualified Health Center to provide outpatient diabetes management and cardiometabolic risk reduction services at two SIHF Healthcare clinics. Her service, teaching, and research interests include diabetes care and support in adults, expanding the role of pharmacists in primary care, and enhancing well-being among pharmacy learners, pharmacists, and pharmacy personnel.

Brandon Sucher, PharmD, BCACP, CDCES, AE-C

Sucher is a Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice at Regis University School of Pharmacy. He currently practices within an anticoagulation scope of practice as a telehealth Clinical Pharmacy Practitioner at the Veterans Affairs Eastern Colorado Health Care System. Previously, he practiced in a variety of settings such as community pharmacy, Veterans Affairs primary care, and a patient-centered medical home interprofessional teaching clinic, where he focused on a variety of collaborative patient care initiatives and helped patients optimize care for anticoagulation, asthma, COPD, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. He earned a Doctor of Pharmacy from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy and subsequently completed a Primary Care Specialty Residency with the University of Mississippi Medical Center. His professional interests include the impact of supplemental instruction on student progression, leader-development, and evidence-based medicine for the treatment of chronic diseases.

Eligibility Requirements

An applicant for board certification in Ambulatory Care Pharmacy must demonstrate all of the eligibility requirements listed below prior to sitting for the initial certification examination. Once all of the requirements below are met, an applicant will be deemed eligible to sit for the Ambulatory Care Pharmacy specialty certification examination. If an applicant achieves a passing score on the Ambulatory Care Pharmacy specialty certification examination, they may use the designation Board-Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist, or BCACP.

  • Graduation from a pharmacy program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) or a program outside the U.S. that qualifies the individual to practice in the jurisdiction.
  • A current, active license/registration to practice pharmacy in the U.S. or another jurisdiction.
  • Demonstration of practice experience1 in one of three ways:
    •  At least four years of Ambulatory Care practice experience after licensure/registration as a pharmacist1 within the past seven years, with at least 50% of time spent in the scope defined by the exam content outline; or
    • Successful completion of a PGY1 pharmacy residency2 within the past seven years, plus at least two years of Ambulatory Care Pharmacy practice experience after licensure/registration as a pharmacist1 with at least 50% of time spent in the scope defined by the exam content outline; or
    • Successful completion of a PGY2 pharmacy residency in Ambulatory Care Pharmacy within the past seven years.

1All practice experience must be completed post-licensure/registration as a pharmacist. All applicants intending to demonstrate eligibility for any BPS certification examination utilizing the practice experience pathway must provide an attestation from their employer, on company letterhead, that verifies this experience accurately represents at least 50% of time spent in some or all of the activities defined by the applicable certification content outline. In addition, this practice experience must have occurred within the seven years immediately preceding the application. For more information, click here. A sample employer verification letter is available here.

2American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP)-accredited/candidate status PGY1 pharmacy residency, residencies accredited under the ASHP Accreditation Standard for International Pharmacy Practice Residency Programs, or Canadian Pharmacy Residency Board (CPRB)-accredited Year 1 pharmacy residency.

The rationale for the appropriateness of the requirements for BPS certification programs are based upon the following:

  • BPS recognizes individuals who graduate from a recognized school or college of pharmacy within the candidate’s jurisdiction. Those jurisdictions recognize and evaluate programs on the extent to which it accomplishes its stated goals and is consistent with the concept that pharmacy is a unique, personal service profession in the health science field. In the United States, the responsibility for recognizing schools and colleges of pharmacy falls to the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE).
  • The rationale for requiring licensure or registration of pharmacists within their jurisdiction is based upon the fact that for public protection, all pharmacists must be licensed or registered. This is considered a baseline requirement to be a pharmacist specialist. In the United States, BPS recognizes the licensure process administered by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP). The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) aims to ensure the public’s health and safety through its pharmacist license transfer and pharmacist competence assessment programs. NABP’s member boards of pharmacy are grouped into eight districts that include all 50 United States, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Bahamas, and all 10 Canadian provinces.
  • The experiential component is required to help assure practical application of components of the specialty knowledge being certified. There are multiple pathways to meet the practice experience requirement. The faster eligibility pathways recognize accredited residencies through the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP). The ASHP residency accreditation program identifies and grants public recognition to practice sites having pharmacy residency training programs that have been evaluated and found to meet the qualifications of one of the ASHP’s residency accreditations standards. Thus, accreditation of a pharmacy residency program provides a means of assurance to residency applicants that a program meets certain basic requirements and is, therefore, an acceptable site for postgraduate training in pharmacy practice in organized health care.
  • Passing the BPS pharmacy specialty examination helps assure knowledge consistent with the validated content outline for the BPS specialty.

The appropriateness of the BPS program requirements are consistent with the Council on Credentialing in Pharmacy’s Resource Paper titled: Scope of Contemporary Pharmacy Practice: Roles, Responsibilities, and Functions of Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians.

Upcoming Deadlines

Individuals who meet the eligibility requirements for the BCACP examination can find more information about examination dates and fees for certification examinations here. 

Candidate's Guide

The Candidate’s Guide is intended for use by pharmacists who are interested in becoming certified as specialists by BPS in any of the BPS-recognized specialty practice areas. To review critical information for BPS Certification Examinations, visit this page.

Content Outline for BCACP

For the Fall 2023 Examination, refer to the Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Content Outline found in the BCACP Examination Specification document for details.

For 2024 Examinations and forward, refer to the Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Content Outline found here for details.

Important Resources

Preparatory Courses for BCACP Examinations

Certification is a significant differentiator, and the rigorous exam process requires concentrated study. Successful candidates are well prepared, and a number of available resources can assist pre-qualified applicants.

Suggested preparation for the examination might include:

  • The study of journal articles, textbooks or other publications related to the Content Outline.
  • Attendance at continuing education programs and courses in specialized pharmacy practice.
  • Participation in study groups and examination preparation courses.
  • Reviewing the sample examination items provided in order for candidates to familiarize themselves with the various item formats which are presented on the exam. Sample question performance should not be interpreted as an indicator of exam performance.

To maintain its strict, independent standards for certification, BPS does NOT provide review information, preparatory courses, or study guides. However, such materials are available from outside organizations, state or local professional associations and colleges of pharmacy. Potential applicants may contact the professional associations noted below for additional study resources.

The Board of Pharmacy Specialties provides the following program listing for informational purposes. This list is not an exhaustive list of options available for examination preparation. BPS does not endorse or provide preparatory courses for Board Certification Examinations.

Ambulatory Care Pharmacy

BPS partners with Prometric to provide the examination. BPS does not have any other partnerships for the certification or recertification application process. BPS partners with professional development program (PDP) providers to provide continuing education (CE) for recertification and the relationship is noted here. Any organization claiming a relationship with BPS for the application process or providing CE labeled ‘BPS-approved’ outside of the organizations listed should be reported to BPS immediately.

Certification for Applicants Outside the U.S.

BPS would like to offer some helpful tips to candidates outside of the United States in order to make their application experience easier. To learn more about applying for board certification as a pharmacist outside of the U.S., visit this page.

Apply for ADA Accomodations

BPS complies with the relevant provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For applicants looking to request special accommodations in their application process, more instructions can be found on this page.

Frequently Asked Questions

After review of the BPS Candidates Guide and specialty certification page, some applicants may still have questions. Visit this page to see frequently asked questions from pharmacists pursuing board certification like you!

Sample Examination Items

Sample Items for BCACP Examinations

The sample examination items for BCACP examinations are made available by BPS for the purposes of familiarizing certification candidates and other stakeholders with the structure and format of BPS Certification Examinations. This is not meant for use as a self-assessment. Performance on any of these items does not correlate with performance on the actual examination.

The content of these examples is meant to be illustrative of actual examination items, but these items do not appear on the certification examination and are not meant to identify the scope of the examination. For a more comprehensive indication of the scope of the certification examination, please refer to the BCACP Exam Content Outline.

Examination items are in multiple-choice format. The great majority of examination items are multiple-choice with a single response from among four options. Some examinations may include a small percentage of items that require selection of multiple (three or four) responses from among a larger set of available (up to eight) options. Examinations items may also be supplemented by an image.

View the examination items down below.

Which physical assessment finding would be consistent with an exacerbation of heart failure?

Rales
Systolic murmur
Lobar consolidation
S2 gallop

Correct!

Incorrect!

A 40-year-old patient presents to the primary care clinic and is diagnosed with group A streptococcal pharyngitis. The patient reports no other recent illnesses and no known drug allergies. Which agent is the most appropriate for antimicrobial therapy?

Penicillin
Azithromycin
Cephalexin
Levofloxacin

Correct!

Incorrect!

A woman with a history of poison-ivy allergic contact dermatitis presents with well-demarcated patches of erythema on her body as well as vesicles that are oozing and weeping on her face and hands. Which drug is most appropriate for this patient?

Topical diphenhydramine
Oral prednisone
Oral diphenhydramine
Topical triamcinolone

Correct!

Incorrect!

A pharmacy manager at a rural community outpatient clinic is thinking about starting a diabetes disease management service. What is the first step the pharmacist should take to justify this new service?

Collect patient data to assess the need for the service.
Develop a mission statement to provide a focus for the service.
Perform a SWOT analysis to determine if the service is justified.
Perform a thorough financial analysis to determine start-up costs.

Correct!

Incorrect!

In designing a clinical trial, how can inherent differences between groups at baseline be minimized?

Use of a control or comparison group
Blinding of patients and investigators
Regression models with the statistical analysis
Random assignment of patients to study groups

Correct!

Incorrect!

When making an evidence-based decision, which source would provide the highest level of evidence?

Patients with chronic migraines randomly assigned to placebo or feverfew to assess effectiveness are followed for 3 months.
A cohort of patients are followed for 5 years to examine the persistence of blood pressure lowering with lisinopril.
Meta-analysis of studies of the relationship between aspirin and bleeding events in patients with acute ischemic syndromes is performed.
An analysis of extracted data from a national medical and pharmacy claims database is used to evaluate the interaction between omeprazole and clopidogrel.

Correct!

Incorrect!

In order to assess the effect of a potential metabolic enzyme inhibitor on the clearance of warfarin, which study design would be most appropriate?

Randomized crossover study with a washout period between phases
Single-blind (investigator only), two-group parallel, controlled study
Double-blind, two-group parallel, controlled study
Single-phase study with comparison of warfarin clearance to a population average in the literature

Correct!

Incorrect!

Which study would meet "no more than minimal risk" criteria and therefore allow an institutional review board (IRB) to complete an expedited review?

Evaluation of an approved drug for an additional unapproved indication
The expected risk for severe adverse events is minimal
The expected risk is limited to mild adverse events only
Additional testing performed on previously collected patient blood samples

Correct!

Incorrect!

According to recommendations from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), what is the minimum number of allotted Comprehensive Medication Reviews (CMR) and targeted medication reviews for medication therapy management (MTM) for which Medicare patients are eligible?

Quarterly CMR with targeted medication reviews monthly
CMR twice annually with annual targeted medication reviews
CMR every 5 years with annual targeted medication reviews
Annual CMR with quarterly targeted medication reviews

Correct!

Incorrect!

When developing a new Exposure Control Plan, which action should the pharmacist recommend for exposure to patients known to have hepatitis C?

Test for antigen to the hepatitis C virus.
Treat with interferon-alfa.
Administer hepatitis C vaccine.
Test for antibody to the hepatitis C virus.

Correct!

Incorrect!

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Recertification Requirements for BCACP

Pharmacists who earn the designation Board-Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist® (BCACP) are required to maintain their certification over a seven-year period by completing one of the following recertification pathways:

Option One: Recertification Examination

  • For BCACP with certification beginning January 1, 2023 or earlier: Achieve a passing score on the recertification examination administered by BPS.
  • For BCACP with certification beginning January 1, 2024 or later: Achieve a passing score on the recertification examination administered by BPS and self-report 20 completed units of continuing professional development (CPD) in MyBPS. For more information on CPD, review the FAQ. To maintain an active certification in good standing, a minimum of two units of assessed CPE from BPS-approved professional development programs or self-reported CPD must be reported each year.

OR

Option Two: Professional Development Program

  • BCACP with certification beginning January 1, 2023 or earlier: recertification via professional development program requires 100 units of assessed CPE from BPS-approved professional development programs offered by:
  • BCACP with certification beginning January 1, 2024 or later: recertification via professional development program requires 100 units, comprised of 80 units of assessed CPE from BPS-approved professional development programs offered by:
    • The American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) in collaboration with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).
    • Additionally, 20 units of continuing professional development (CPD) must be completed and self-reported in MyBPS. For more information on CPD, review the FAQ. To maintain an active certification in good standing, a minimum of two units of assessed CPE from BPS-approved professional development programs or self-reported CPD must be reported each year.
    • BCACP may participate in recertification from any BPS-approved BCACP programs. The Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Preparatory Review and Recertification Course offered by any of the approved providers may only be completed for recertification credit up to two times, in nonconsecutive years, during the seven-year certification cycle.

 

Year certified/recertified

New cycle start

(begin earning recert units)

Cycle expiration

(deadline to meet recert reqs)

Units required 

(PDP = professional development program)

20161/1/201712/31/2023100 units assessed CPE via BPS-approved PDP
20171/1/201812/31/2024100 units assessed CPE via BPS-approved PDP
20181/1/201912/31/2025100 units assessed CPE via BPS-approved PDP
20191/1/202012/31/2026100 units assessed CPE via BPS-approved PDP
20201/1/202112/31/2027100 units assessed CPE via BPS-approved PDP
20211/1/202212/31/2028100 units assessed CPE via BPS-approved PDP
20221/1/202312/31/2029100 units assessed CPE via BPS-approved PDP
20231/1/202412/31/2030100 units (80 units assessed CPE via BPS-approved PDP + 20 units CPD)
2024 onward1/1/2025 onward12/31/2031 onward100 units (80 units assessed CPE via BPS-approved PDP + 20 units CPD)

For full details regarding recertification, please refer to the BPS Recertification Guide.

Board-Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacists® are required to pay the BPS Annual Certification Maintenance fee of $125 each year during years one through six and the $400 recertification fee in year seven. Individuals with more than one BPS Certification are assessed one BPS Annual Certification Maintenance fee each year. 

Upcoming Deadlines

Candidates are required to recertify every 7 years. Certificants must submit their recertification application no later than the deadline of August 4. BPS encourages candidates to submit their recertification application as early as January 1 of their recertification year.

Candidates who intend to recertify via examination should note the availability of the recertification examination and related application deadlines. Candidates recertifying their BCACP credential by examination can find more information about examination dates and fees here

Candidates who intend to recertify via continuing education (CE) MUST submit their recertification application by the deadline date of August 4 even if they have not completed their CE requirements.

The deadline to complete the required CE for recertification is December 31 for all specialties. The board-certified pharmacist is responsible for submitting an application that is completely and accurately filled out. Incomplete and/or unpaid applications will not be processed.

Recertification Guide

The Recertification Guide is intended for use by candidates renewing their certification. To review critical information for recertifying with the Board of Pharmacy Specialties, visit this page.

CPE Providers

BCACP with certification beginning January 1, 2023 or earlier: recertification via professional development program requires 100 units of assessed CPE from BPS-approved professional development programs offered by: 

BCACP may participate in recertification from any BPS-approved BCACP programs. The Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Preparatory Review and Recertification Course offered by any of the approved providers may only be completed for recertification credit up to two times, in nonconsecutive years, during the seven-year certification cycle. 

BCACP with certification beginning January 1, 2024 or later: recertification via professional development program requires 100 units, comprised of 80 units of assessed CPE from BPS-approved professional development programs offered by: 

Additionally, 20 units of continuing professional development (CPD) must be completed and self-reported in MyBPS. For more information on CPD, review the FAQ. To maintain an active certification in good standing, a minimum of two units of BPS-approved, assessed CPE or self-reported CPD must be reported each year. 

BCACP may participate in recertification from any BPS-approved BCACP programs. The Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Preparatory Review and Recertification Course offered by any of the approved providers may only be completed for recertification credit up to two times, in nonconsecutive years, during the seven-year certification cycle. 

Content Outline for BCACP

For the Fall 2023 Examination, refer to the Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Content Outline found in the BCACP Examination Specification document for details.

For 2024 Examinations and forward, refer to the Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Content Outline found here for details.

Important Resources

Apply for ADA Accomodations

BPS complies with the relevant provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For applicants looking to request special accommodations in their application process, more instructions can be found on this page.

Frequently Asked Questions

After review of the BPS Recertification Guide, some applicants may still have questions. Visit this page to see frequently asked questions from pharmacists renewing their board certification like you!

Sample Examination Items

Sample Items for BCACP Examinations

The sample examination items for BCACP examinations are made available by BPS for the purposes of familiarizing certification candidates and other stakeholders with the structure and format of BPS certification examinations. This is not meant for use as a self-assessment. Performance on any of these items does not correlate with performance on the actual examination.

The content of these examples is meant to be illustrative of actual examination items, but these items do not appear on the certification examination and are not meant to identify the scope of the examination. For a more comprehensive indication of the scope of the recertification examination, please refer to the BCACP Exam Content Outline.

Examination items are in multiple-choice format. The great majority of examination items are multiple-choice with a single response from among four options. Some examinations may include a small percentage of items that require selection of multiple (three or four) responses from among a larger set of available (up to eight) options. Examinations items may also be supplemented by an image.

View the examination items down below.

Which physical assessment finding would be consistent with an exacerbation of heart failure?

Rales
Systolic murmur
Lobar consolidation
S2 gallop

Correct!

Incorrect!

A 40-year-old patient presents to the primary care clinic and is diagnosed with group A streptococcal pharyngitis. The patient reports no other recent illnesses and no known drug allergies. Which agent is the most appropriate for antimicrobial therapy?

Penicillin
Azithromycin
Cephalexin
Levofloxacin

Correct!

Incorrect!

A woman with a history of poison-ivy allergic contact dermatitis presents with well-demarcated patches of erythema on her body as well as vesicles that are oozing and weeping on her face and hands. Which drug is most appropriate for this patient?

Topical diphenhydramine
Oral prednisone
Oral diphenhydramine
Topical triamcinolone

Correct!

Incorrect!

A pharmacy manager at a rural community outpatient clinic is thinking about starting a diabetes disease management service. What is the first step the pharmacist should take to justify this new service?

Collect patient data to assess the need for the service.
Develop a mission statement to provide a focus for the service.
Perform a SWOT analysis to determine if the service is justified.
Perform a thorough financial analysis to determine start-up costs.

Correct!

Incorrect!

In designing a clinical trial, how can inherent differences between groups at baseline be minimized?

Use of a control or comparison group
Blinding of patients and investigators
Regression models with the statistical analysis
Random assignment of patients to study groups

Correct!

Incorrect!

When making an evidence-based decision, which source would provide the highest level of evidence?

Patients with chronic migraines randomly assigned to placebo or feverfew to assess effectiveness are followed for 3 months.
A cohort of patients are followed for 5 years to examine the persistence of blood pressure lowering with lisinopril.
Meta-analysis of studies of the relationship between aspirin and bleeding events in patients with acute ischemic syndromes is performed.
An analysis of extracted data from a national medical and pharmacy claims database is used to evaluate the interaction between omeprazole and clopidogrel.

Correct!

Incorrect!

In order to assess the effect of a potential metabolic enzyme inhibitor on the clearance of warfarin, which study design would be most appropriate?

Randomized crossover study with a washout period between phases
Single-blind (investigator only), two-group parallel, controlled study
Double-blind, two-group parallel, controlled study
Single-phase study with comparison of warfarin clearance to a population average in the literature

Correct!

Incorrect!

Which study would meet "no more than minimal risk" criteria and therefore allow an institutional review board (IRB) to complete an expedited review?

Evaluation of an approved drug for an additional unapproved indication
The expected risk for severe adverse events is minimal
The expected risk is limited to mild adverse events only
Additional testing performed on previously collected patient blood samples

Correct!

Incorrect!

According to recommendations from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), what is the minimum number of allotted Comprehensive Medication Reviews (CMR) and targeted medication reviews for medication therapy management (MTM) for which Medicare patients are eligible?

Quarterly CMR with targeted medication reviews monthly
CMR twice annually with annual targeted medication reviews
CMR every 5 years with annual targeted medication reviews
Annual CMR with quarterly targeted medication reviews

Correct!

Incorrect!

When developing a new Exposure Control Plan, which action should the pharmacist recommend for exposure to patients known to have hepatitis C?

Test for antigen to the hepatitis C virus.
Treat with interferon-alfa.
Administer hepatitis C vaccine.
Test for antibody to the hepatitis C virus.

Correct!

Incorrect!

Share the quiz to show your results !

Subscribe to see your results

Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Sample Questions

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Certification Verification

BPS offers the ability to search and verify a Board-Certified Pharmacist by name or credential number.Â