Continuing Education Guide

Process for Maintaining Certification

All CPS certifications must be maintained every three years through the completion of Continuing Pharmacy Education (CPE). The process is designed to ensure certificants remain current with the latest standards and practices within their specialty.

CPE Requirements

Certificants are required to complete 30 hours of CPE within their three-year cycle. A significant portion of these hours must be specific to the content outline of your specialty certification to ensure focused, relevant learning. All CPE must be from providers accredited by a recognized body, such as the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE).

The Maintenance Process

Step 1: Earn CPE. Throughout your three-year maintenance cycle, complete the required hours of CPE that are relevant to your certification specialty.

Step 2: Log Activities. You can enter your CPE activities in your online Candidate Portal as you complete them. This allows you to track your progress toward meeting the requirements.

Step 3: Submit Your Application. Once all requirements are met, submit your maintenance application and pay the fee through your portal. The earliest you can submit is one year before your due date. We recommend submitting at least four weeks prior to your expiration to ensure timely processing.

All submitted applications are subject to review and approval. While the review process typically takes 3-5 business days, it can take up to two weeks during peak periods or if your application is selected for a random audit. If audited, you will be required to provide official documentation for all logged CPE.

Other Educational Activities

In addition to standard CPE courses, certificants can earn credit through various professional activities that contribute to their expertise and the advancement of the pharmacy profession. Below are alternative ways to meet your maintenance requirements.

Preceptorship Hours

CPS certified pharmacists who precept pharmacy students or residents in their CPS certification specialty area can earn a maximum of 10 hours of Continuing Pharmacy Education (CPE) for this activity each maintenance cycle.

You must precept students for at least one academic quarter, semester, or an entire clinical rotation. A letter from the sponsoring institution (on official letterhead and signed by the appropriate authorizing person) must be obtained indicating your responsibilities as a preceptor and the dates and hours of your preceptorship. This letter should be kept on file in case your application is audited. This option does not apply to orienting new staff to your workplace.

Making CPE Presentations

CPS certified pharmacists who present or teach accredited Continuing Pharmacy Education (CPE) programs can apply the same number of hours of CPE toward their own certification maintenance as was awarded to the program participants.

• CPE recognized for this option is limited to a total of 10 CPE hours per maintenance cycle.
• This activity must be outside the individual's expected job responsibilities in their current position.
• Credit is only available for one presentation of a course or program per maintenance cycle, even if the same content is presented multiple times.

Writing Books/Journal Articles

10 hours of CPE will be awarded to CPS certified pharmacists who are the primary or secondary author of a book, an editor of a book, have authored a book chapter, or have authored a peer-reviewed journal article.

Additionally:

• The publication date of the work must fall within your current certification maintenance cycle.
• You are limited to claiming credit for one article or book authorship per maintenance cycle.
• All publications must be directly related to your certification specialty area.
• You must retain proof of authorship (e.g., a copy of the title page or article with your name and publication date) in case of an audit.

Credit for CPS Activities

CPS CPE Module Reviewer or Author: 10 hours of CPE will be awarded to certificants who serve as reviewers or writers of a CPS CPE module. You are limited to a maximum of 10 hours for this activity per maintenance cycle. A certificate issued by CPS should be kept for your records.

Volunteer Content Expert: Members of CPS content teams (e.g., Exam Development Committee, Standard Setting Panel) receive 10 hours of CPE once every three-year cycle after their first year of participation. This CPE is only valid for maintaining a CPS certification. When logging this activity, enter "Volunteer" as the accreditor.

Academic Credit

Academic credit from an accredited college or university is accepted if the course content relates to the core competencies of your certification. All coursework must be completed within your current maintenance cycle.

Recognized Accrediting Organizations

For continuing education credit to be accepted for maintenance, the activity must be accredited by one of the agencies below:

• Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) - This is the primary accrediting body recognized by CPS.
• State Boards of Pharmacy
• Nationally recognized professional pharmacy organizations (e.g., ASHP, APhA, AMCP)
• Accredited colleges or universities (Schools of Pharmacy)
• Providers of Continuing Medical Education (CME) accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), provided the content is directly applicable to your pharmacy specialty.

All continuing education programs must provide evidence of accreditation in the form of a certificate of completion issued to participants. While documentation is not required at the time of online submission, you must be able to produce it if your application is selected for an audit.