Pharmacist : 3131

[bitoyzz]

hi i came here 2yrs ago as a temporary foreign worker.  just waiting for my permanent residence to be approved. best of luck to us

[waitin4hubby]

hi waitin4hubby. Did u take the eval exam already? I plan to this year,God willing. Anyway, lets n0t be overwhelmed with the registrati0n..just do it one step at a time..i suggest reading shargels comprehensive pharmacy review book is a good start even if some of u are waiting 4 imigrati0n apr0val coz it covers alm0st all topics for pebcs eval exam.

Hi bitoyzz,
Yup I passed my Evaluating on my first attempt, now struggling to do my Qualifying, but I am also working in Shoppers as a pharmacy assistant. This whole process isn't that easy and can be very frustrating. You are right we should take it one step at a time. Comprehensive Pharmacy Review is the best reference for Evaluating. You can say it was my only reference apart from a Naplex Question book and Stoklosa for calculation.

[Wandering Soul]

Hi bitoyzz,
Yup I passed my Evaluating on my first attempt, now struggling to do my Qualifying, but I am also working in Shoppers as a pharmacy assistant. This whole process isn't that easy and can be very frustrating. You are right we should take it one step at a time. Comprehensive Pharmacy Review is the best reference for Evaluating. You can say it was my only reference apart from a Naplex Question book and Stoklosa for calculation.

I am getting bored while studying ....... how to conquer that boredom guys...any suggestion..??

[waitin4hubby]

I am getting bored while studying ....... how to conquer that boredom guys...any suggestion..??

Don't study when you are not in the mood, because then you won't get anything. Try to get in the mood by thinking about your future, because if you don't study, all the previous hard work will go to waste but if you do, you will have a bright future. That's how you motivate yourself, have a reason to achieve that goal in your life!

[ved2003]

Hi waiting4hubby

Can we work as pharmacy assistant without getting license?

I know it is very long procedure.

[Wandering Soul]

Don't study when you are not in the mood, because then you won't get anything. Try to get in the mood by thinking about your future, because if you don't study, all the previous hard work will go to waste but if you do, you will have a bright future. That's how you motivate yourself, have a reason to achieve that goal in your life!

yea thought abt future brings me back to bookssss

[waitin4hubby]

Hi waiting4hubby

Can we work as pharmacy assistant without getting license?

I know it is very long procedure.

Hi,
It's very hard to get into it. And now they are upgrading the role of pharmacy assistants to pharmacy technicians which means even the assistants have to go through PEBC exams to be certified. They just started this last year. So employers now prefer to have certified technicians, unless you have good connections and someone personally knows you.
That is why when I first came to Canada I joined a pharmacy technician diploma course of about 7 months. I know it's weird working  as an assitant when you are a pharmacist but I wanted to stay in my field and didn't want to waste my time doing odd jobs. It's very hard and can get frustrating if you are not doing anything initially. Because I did the course I had to do co-op training in a pharmacy, that way I got into the system and as they say got the "Canadian experience" which is hard to get for the first time. Still after the course it took me 6 months and some volunteer work to get a permanent job as a pharmacy assistant.

So you see it's not as easy as it looks. But yes if you get a chance it is a very good idea to work as an assistant while you prepare for the exams because you get a good idea and practice of the Canadian pharmacy system which will definitely be an asset when you work as a pharmacist.

[waitin4hubby]

And yes you don't need license to work as a pharmacy assistant, it's just hard to get into the system initially.

[ved2003]

Thanks a lot 4 all information

[bitoyzz]

hi all. I applied online and in pers0n to any pharmacies big and small and luckily only öne called me for an interview .i was accepted even tho i didnt hav d canadian experience. S0me employers considers our experiences outside canada. To survive, i took jobs n0t related to my field until i got d pharmcy asst job. Exposure to the cnadian ph system helps me in my review.  Thats why for those of you n0t yet here, read read read n0w coz its hard when you are working full time and study but yet u hav to do it. So the trick here is persistence and discipline

[Wandering Soul]

hi all. I applied online and in pers0n to any pharmacies big and small and luckily only öne called me for an interview .i was accepted even tho i didnt hav d canadian experience. S0me employers considers our experiences outside canada. To survive, i took jobs n0t related to my field until i got d pharmcy asst job. Exposure to the cnadian ph system helps me in my review.  Thats why for those of you n0t yet here, read read read n0w coz its hard when you are working full time and study but yet u hav to do it. So the trick here is persistence and discipline

yea i know but.....

[MowSow]

Wanted to share this good news with Pharmacist community here,

I received my MR on 11-1-12 letter date was 5-1-12.

I wish good luck to every1 for their smooth processing and yeah of course fast one as well.

WOW congratulations !! so fast !!
Almost 10 months waiting for buffalo and still nothing !!

[MowSow]

Hello folks!

I would like to share some information that may be of some help to all the pharmacists hoping to get licensed in Canada. I guess by now everyone knows about PEBC exams. So I won't talk about that. Rules and regulations vary with each province as each province has its own regulatory body so I will only talk about Ontario.

Ontario College of Pharmacists (OCP) has now made it mandatory for all International graduates to take Canadian Pharmacy Skills (CPS) offered at University of Toronto. Although on their website they mention that it's only for those who can't pass their PEBC Qualifying exam at first attempt but from what I see practically they are asking everyone to do it, even after passing PEBC Qualifying!

CPS admission requirement is a valid IELTS result with an overall band of 6.5 and completion of PEBC Evaluating Exam. CPS has 2 parts each about 2.5 months long. Each course costs about $6500 so in total you need to spend $1300. That's a lot of money. For those who don't have it on them will have to get student plans/loans from the bank. CPS, although expensive is actually a bridging program which teaches and gets you familiar with the pharmacy system in Canada so that you will be as competent as a local graduate!

As you all may be knowing after passing PEBC Qualifying, you have to fulfill the provincial requirements like passing a jurisprudence exam, IELTS test, and completing your studentship and internship before you can get your license. If you pass both parts of CPS, then you can straight away start your studentship and internship even before passing your PEBC Qualifying.

Do keep in mind that CPS is a requirement for Ontario only. Other provinces may have other ways of getting into the system. But yes they are making it harder to be licensed in Ontario. Moreover the Ontario government has started cutting pharmacy funds too which is creating problems in the job market at the moment. But don't worry they will always need pharmacists, due to dispensing rights, even doctors walk to pharmacis to get their medications!

If you come to Canada with determination and perseverance nothing can stop you from excelling!

Thanks a lot for your post, I was going to take the CPS course anyway. It makes it a guarantee that you will pass the exam,assuming you have already good knowledge and study well. Imagine not taking it to save $13K and failing! The time you are wasting waiting to take it again is equivalent to 5 five times that amount that you could be making if you were working. So everyone do yourself a favor and take the class.
But I have a couple of questions for you, is it possible to use the IELTS general test results we took for the PR application to apply for CPS, or do they require the specialty exam !?
My other question is; how can you pass both CPS part before passing the PEBC evaluating exam, if that same exam is a requirement for admission to CPS!? that part of your comment does not make any sense !?
Thanks and good luck everyone !!

[bitoyzz]

hi mow sow, as what i understood from the University of Toronto's CPS course, they require that u pass the ph eval exam and ielts. so for international ph graduates, (i just dont know for US ph graduates), pebc has to evaluate your docujments, once its approved, you are eligible to write the ph eval exam...then english test (not sure if the one you had is ok), then you can enroll at U of T for cps..then, if you pass the cps, you can apply to take the qualifying exam (2parts mcq AND osce)...goodluck

[MowSow]

hi mow sow, as what i understood from the University of Toronto's CPS course, they require that u pass the ph eval exam and ielts. so for international ph graduates, (i just dont know for US ph graduates), pebc has to evaluate your docujments, once its approved, you are eligible to write the ph eval exam...then english test (not sure if the one you had is ok), then you can enroll at U of T for cps..then, if you pass the cps, you can apply to take the qualifying exam (2parts mcq AND osce)...goodluck

Thanks for your reply. But unfortunately you have not told me anything new. PEBC already evaluated my application and approved me to sit on the evaluation exam.
My question was about the paradox in the message I quoted previously.
"""how can you pass both CPS parts before passing the PEBC evaluating exam, if that same exam is a requirement for admission to CPS!? """