How does continuing education work for Pharmacists?

[Joleybear]

30 hours of continuing education every 2 years. At the risk of sounding dumb, is this like, every week I need to go to a class for an hr or 3 for months or can this be done all at once over the course of a couple weeks, or at home/online if you have a family, etc? And is this college credit 30 hrs or HOURS in a day 30 hrs?

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[The DD]

Most of the CE credits you earn can be done online. Even live CE credits can be done by attending webinars on line. Depending on which state you hold a pharmacist license in, each state has different requirements, you can do 30 credits easily over the two year renewal period. A great source for this is Pharmacist Letter. You can buy a subscription to Pharmacist Letter, some employers may pay for this, register which state you are licensed in, and they will tell you how many CE units you need and what type you need i.e. regular credits, live credits, law credits. You can even get immunization education credits if you hold an immunization approval and need those credits to renew that. It is very easy to accomplish this, definitely nothing to worry about. Each credit is approximately 1 hour of studying time or attendance time.

 

[Joleybear]

Most of the CE credits you earn can be done online. Even live CE credits can be done by attending webinars on line. Depending on which state you hold a pharmacist license in, each state has different requirements, you can do 30 credits easily over the two year renewal period. A great source for this is Pharmacist Letter. You can buy a subscription to Pharmacist Letter, some employers may pay for this, register which state you are licensed in, and they will tell you how many CE units you need and what type you need i.e. regular credits, live credits, law credits. You can even get immunization education credits if you hold an immunization approval and need those credits to renew that. It is very easy to accomplish this, definitely nothing to worry about. Each credit is approximately 1 hour of studying time or attendance time.

Oh thank God. I thought I needed like 30hrs as in of college work lol like 2 semesters! Lol. Thanks so much. 🙂 I could easily do 30 hrs of studying/classes on top of work. I worked 45-60hrs a week with up to a 19 hrs shift while I had 2 kids and was pregnant so Im good lol. I just hate attending actual school!

 

[zelman]

30 hours of continuing education every 2 years. At the risk of sounding dumb, is this like, every week I need to go to a class for an hr or 3 for months or can this be done all at once over the course of a couple weeks, or at home/online if you have a family, etc? And is this college credit 30 hrs or HOURS in a day 30 hrs?

States that allow college courses to be used for CE usually give them a 10:1 conversion, so if you wanted to take a 3 credit course, it would meet the required number of hours. However, you're getting way ahead of yourself.

 

[Joleybear]

States that allow college courses to be used for CE usually give them a 10:1 conversion, so if you wanted to take a 3 credit course, it would meet the required number of hours. However, you're getting way ahead of yourself.

I have kids and a lot of responsibility so I need to look way ahead and make sure I can manage so I just had to ask.

 

[confettiflyer]

I pretty much banged out 30 hours of CE in one sitting the day before I had to finish it.

My BOP just randomly audits if people did it or not, otherwise I just swear under penalty of perjury that I did it. But you'd be dumb to lie on that thing (because 30 hours of CE doesn't take that long and most are free).

Now that I'm board certified I've got stupid modules to crunch through that require a small amount of brain power. Ugh, I miss my mindless smoking cessation CE modules!

 

[Joleybear]

I pretty much banged out 30 hours of CE in one sitting the day before I had to finish it.

My BOP just randomly audits if people did it or not, otherwise I just swear under penalty of perjury that I did it. But you'd be dumb to lie on that thing (because 30 hours of CE doesn't take that long and most are free).

Now that I'm board certified I've got stupid modules to crunch through that require a small amount of brain power. Ugh, I miss my mindless smoking cessation CE modules!

I really need coaching to understand how all of this works. lol. I mean, I'm bright, but I know nothing about the medical community yet except what I have learned in the last few months. I didn't even know what residency was and I just decided one day - I'm going to be a Pharmacist. Lol. So far so good. I have 101% in my Chem class now and I got an A last semester, despite doing awful in H.S. so I guess I'm decent at it. I just really need to look up more about how things will work AFTER I'm out of school. Like I have no idea why you wouldn't be board certified to begin with. What does that entail? Does everyone do it? Lol. I got a few years to catch up, but I definitely am behind all of the people who knew what they wanted to do since day 1. I am also 27 and have had a family life more than anything for years so I am still readjusting. lol. Please forgive my ignorance and basic questions...

 

[BidingMyTime]

I really need coaching to understand how all of this works. lol. I mean, I'm bright, but I know nothing about the medical community yet except what I have learned in the last few months. I didn't even know what residency was and I just decided one day - I'm going to be a Pharmacist. Lol. So far so good. I have 101% in my Chem class now and I got an A last semester, despite doing awful in H.S. so I guess I'm decent at it. I just really need to look up more about how things will work AFTER I'm out of school. Like I have no idea why you wouldn't be board certified to begin with. What does that entail? Does everyone do it? Lol. I got a few years to catch up, but I definitely am behind all of the people who knew what they wanted to do since day 1. I am also 27 and have had a family life more than anything for years so I am still readjusting. lol. Please forgive my ignorance and basic questions...

Most pharmacists aren't board certified, the ones who are generally work in hospital. Getting board certified entails a lot of studying, money, and passing a test (that has a high failure rate.) And then recertifying.

Your #1 concern should be how you are actually going to get a pharmacist job in Chicago. I know you believe it it will be a piece of cake, but reality is, it won't be. At this point, your #1 concern should be getting a technician (you can't get an intern job until you are actually in pharmacy school, but there is no legal difference in IL anyway.) Your *ONLY* hope of getting a job in Chicago, is to to have a good working experience with your future pharmacist employer as a pharmacy technician/intern. If you are serious about wanting to do the impossible, get a pharmacist job in Chicago in 2023 or whenever you plan to graduate, then you need to get a technician job *NOW*.

 

[Digsbe]

CE is easy, "live" CE can be an online webinar. Just note some state boards require CE in specific subjects though (med errors, immunization, cultural competence, etc.)

 

[RxPreceptor]

CE/renewal periods can also differ by state. These are no big deal even with a messed up overnight schedule. Worry about passing boards & finding a job first and foremost though.

I just get in a habit of doing online live CEs, a few every week (avg 4 CEs/Week) stacks up in no time at all. Just like how you should study for boards...1-2 hours a day vs. cramming; I'm tired of reading about all these multiple attempts @ the NAPLEX, the person usually just takes it again the soonest allowable date.

 

[BidingMyTime]

. Worry about passing boards & finding a job first and foremost though.

Actually, her current worry should be passing the pre-requisities and then the PCAT....she has a LOOOONG way to go before she is even accepted to pharmacy school, much less worry about passing boards and getting CE.

And, I know she doesn't want to hear this, her biggest concern will be getting a job in the hyper-saturated city of Chicago, which she has already stated it is "impossible" for her to move from.

 

[PharmD.girl]

I agree that Pharmacist Letter is the easiest way to get your CE. My previous retail employer provided a free subscription. Every month there is a brief newsletter and you answer a few questions for 1 CE. You can even scroll through each page to find out if a topic has a question needed to be answered by looking at the bottom of the screen. I still read each topic because it gets you up to speed on all new studies/meds usually in a short paragraph. Each one takes 15-20 minutes max (just check the box that said it took you an hour). No need to log in every month because you can access newsletters for CE a year old so you can get all of those done plus many more offered on the site for the whole 30 hours at one time. Includes law CE as well. Luckily, my state does not require any live CE so I never had to worry about that. Wonderful resource especially for retail pharmacists; I used to refer to it as my pharmacist bible.

 

[owlegrad]

I agree that pharmacists letter is the bee's knees.

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