The Value of Multiple Specialty Certifications
The advanced generalist practitioner manages a wide variety of patients and diseases with complex healthcare issues. They possess an advanced level of knowledge, skills, and experience with a broader breadth of patient/practice focus. The advanced focused practitioner manages a focused, medically complex population of patients, therapies, and/or technologies. They possess an advanced level of knowledge, skills, and experience with a narrow patient/practice focus. Maintaining a broad, advanced generalist certification, such as BCPS or BCACP, in addition to another specialty certification with narrower, focused competencies allows pharmacists to remain peripherally aware of developments in practice areas, disease states, and therapeutics outside of their daily practice.
Patients rarely present with a single disease state. Medication regimens often impact multiple body systems. Given these complexities, pharmacists with multiple certifications may be better positioned to provide integrated, holistic care.
Pharmacists are expected to be the medication expert on the healthcare team, regardless of whether a drug information question or consultation is directly related to their specialty practice area or not. Multiple certifications can provide board certified pharmacists with the confidence of a broader competency mastery.
Pharmacotherapy (BCPS) is attainable after PGY1 pharmacy residency completion or three years of practice and can be a stepping stone for new practitioners to secure a job that allows the pharmacist to specialize further and obtain a second certification.
Maintaining multiple certifications may increase career opportunities. Broad, advanced generalist certifications (i.e., BCPS, BCACP) can be particularly portable, regardless of career path.
Find Specialty Specific Requirements for Achieving Certification and Maintaining Certification
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Maintaining Multiple Specialty Certifications
Multi-Certified pharmacists holding more than one BPS certification are assessed only one annual maintenance certification fee of $125 USD. The annual fee is not required in a recertification year, but the recertification application fee is required for each certification.
When applying for recertification or a new certification, all outstanding annual fees must be paid. Failure to pay the annual certification maintenance fees may result in suspension of the certification.
For more information about the annual maintenance certification fee visit the Upcoming Deadlines, Dates, and Fees webpage.
BPS has approved programs for multiple specialty continuing pharmacy education (CPE) recertification offerings since 2014. A former policy allowed multiple specialty certificants to claim up to six CPE annually for multiple specialty recertification and up to 42 CPE over the seven-year certification cycle. The BPS Board of Directors revisited the policy and voted to remove the six CPE annual restriction, effective February 1, 2018. With the launch of the BPS pilot continuing professional development (CPD)-recertification framework, board-certified pharmacists with a certification cycle beginning January 1, 2024, or after may earn up to 40 CPE for multiple specialty recertification out of 80 total CPE required (plus 20 CPD units required for successful recertification). CPD activities that align with multiple specialty examination content outlines may be claimed for CPD units for more than one specialty. (up to all 20 CPD units).
For more information, please visit the Recertification Guide, Frequently Asked Questions, and specialty webpages.
| Dual/Multiple Specialty Recertification Offerings | Professional Development Program |
|---|---|
| 2023 Multiple Specialty Offering for BCPS and BCCCP (3 CPE) | Clinical Reasoning Series: Anticoagulant Monitoring for Patients in the Critically Ill Setting & Perioperative Management of the Bleeding Patient (*release date anticipated late 2023 or early 2024) |
| 2023 Multiple Specialty Offering for BCPS and BCCCP (1.5 CPE) | Clinical Reasoning Series: Role of Tenecteplase vs Alteplase, neurological focus (*release date anticipated late 2023 or early 2024) |
| 2023 Multiple Specialty Offering for BCPS and BCCCP (1.5 CPE) | Clinical Reasoning Series: Role of Tenecteplase vs Alteplase, neurological focus (*release date anticipated late 2023 or early 2024) |
| Dual/Multiple Specialty Recertification Offerings | Professional Development Program |
|---|---|
| 2023 Multiple Specialty Offering for BCCCP and BCPPS (1.5 CPE) | Intensive Study: Dazed and Confused – clearing the haze for the recognition and treatment of hyperactive delirium with severe agitation* (*release date anticipated late 2023 or early 2024) |
| 2023 Multiple Specialty Offering for BCCCP and BCPPS (1.5 CPE) | Intensive Study: Dream of the Endless: Updates in Procedural Sedation* (*release date anticipated late 2023 or early 2024) |
| 2023 Multiple Specialty Offering for BCPS, BCCCP, and BCPPS (1.5 CPE) | Intensive Study: Making the Grade: Approaches to Drug Allergy Management* (*release date anticipated late 2023 or early 2024) |
| 2022 Multiple Specialty Offering for BCPS, BCPPS, and BCCCP (1.5 CPE) | Intensive Study: Judging an Article by Its Cover: Assessing Bias in Primary Literature |
| 2022 Multiple Specialty Offering for BCPS, BCPPS, and BCCCP (1.5 CPE) | Intensive Study: Status Epilepticus in Adults and Children |
| 2022 Dual Specialty Offering for BCPS and BCCCP (1.5 CPE) | Intensive Study: The Beast in the Belly, Complications and Management: Liver Failure |
| Dual/Multiple Specialty Recertification Offerings | Professional Development Program |
|---|---|
| 2023 Dual Specialty Offering for BCACP and BCGP (1 CPE) | Clinical Session – Filtering Out the Old, and Reabsorbing the New: Updates in Management of Chronic Kidney Disease (*release date anticipated late 2023 or early 2024) |
| 2023 Dual Specialty Offering for BCACP and BCGP (1.5 CPE) | Clinical Session – Weighing In: The Risks and Benefits of Treating Obesity in Adults and Older Adults* (*release date anticipated late 2023 or early 2024) |
| 2023 Dual Specialty Offering for BCACP and BCGP (1.5 CPE) | Clinical Session – The Cholesterol Limbo: How Low Should You Go?* (*release date anticipated late 2023 or early 2024) |
| 2022 Dual Specialty Offering for BCACP and BCGP (1.5 CPE) | Clinical Session – Anything ARNI Can Do, SGLT2i Can Do Better? Debate of Pharmacologic Therapies in HFpEF |
| 2022 Dual Specialty Offering for BCACP and BCGP (1 CPE) | Clinical Session – Sweet Dream or Nightmare: Managing Sleep Complaints in Older Adult |
| 2022 Dual Specialty Offering for BCACP and BCGP (1.5 CPE) | Clinical Session – Breaking Down Neurodegenerative Diseases: Pharmacy Updates in Managing Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases |
Growth in Multiple Specialty Certifications
Learn more about the value of obtaining and maintaining multiple specialty certifications.
The Why Behind my BPS Board Certifications
In this leadership blog, Elizabeth Beckman PharmD, BCPS, BCPPS, BCCCP, chair of the BPS Pediatric Pharmacy Specialty Council, shares the why behind her board certifications and what holding multiple certifications means to her.
Click HereThe Value of Dual Certification
In this leadership blog, former BPS Board Member Karen Gunning, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP shares how the recertification courses needed to maintain two certifications has improved the care she provides patients in her Leadership Blog on the value of dual certification.
Click HereThe Benefits of Maintaining Multiple Certifications
In this podcast, BPS Board-Certified Pharmacists Samantha Karr, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP, Cyrine Haidar, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP, and Mark Adams, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP discuss the benefits of maintaining multiple certifications.
Click HereGrowth in Multiple Specialty Certifications
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Find a Multi-certified Pharmacist
BPS offers the ability to search for a list of certificants with multiple specialty certifications.
