Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 28, 2025
A Pathway Association Study Tool for GWAS Analyses of Metabolic Pathway Information
Published on: July 1, 2020
Revisiting the relationship between examination pass rate and eligibility pathway among candidates for pharmacist
Background:
Pharmacists with specialized knowledge and skills are able to seek board certification from the Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS). In 2018, BPS conducted research to evaluate the relationship between eligibility pathways (i.e., completion of a postgraduate year 2 [PGY-2] specialty residency, completion of a postgraduate year 1 [PGY-1] residency plus 2 years of practice experience, or 4 years of practice experience) and certification examination pass rate. The study found statistically significant differences in pass rate based on eligibility criteria across all 6 specialties studied. There was a trend for higher pass rates in cohorts of examinees eligible for board certification based on completion of postgraduate residency training.
Objectives:
This study aimed to compare examination pass rates among different eligibility cohorts for board certification in recognized pharmacy practice specialties and compare contemporary findings with previously published findings.
Design:
This cross-sectional study was conducted on data retrieved from BPS certification applications and examination administration records.
Setting And Participants:
Examinees in the United States and Canada for 9 BPS certification programs.
Outcome Measures:
A chi-square analysis was used to identify whether there were differences in pass rate among eligibility pathway cohorts.
Results:
A total of 14,894 examinees met inclusion criteria; 6312 (42.4%) of the 14,894 examinees analyzed were eligible via practice experience, 5768 (38.7%) were eligible via PGY-1 completion, and 2814 (18.9%) were eligible via PGY-2 completion. A statistically significant difference was found for the relationship between pass rate and eligibility pathway for 8 of 9 BPS certification examinations analyzed (significant: ambulatory care pharmacy, critical care pharmacy, cardiology pharmacy, infectious diseases pharmacy, oncology pharmacy, psychiatric pharmacy, pediatric pharmacy, pharmacotherapy; not significant: solid organ transplantation pharmacy). Post hoc analyses showed that, in most cases, the PGY-2 eligibility cohort outperformed the PGY-1 eligibility cohort, which in turn outperformed the practice experience pathway cohort.
Conclusion:
Analysis of contemporary BPS certification examination administration data yields statistically significant differences among the pass rates by eligibility pathway, replicating previous findings and expanding the scope of the analysis.
Related Concept Videos
01:12First Pass Effect
Depending on the route of administration, drugs can be metabolized in the liver, intestine, lungs, and vasculature. Orally administered drugs are first absorbed through the...
01:24Factors Influencing Drug Absorption: Presystemic Elimination
01:18Drug Elimination: Overview
Excretion refers to removing a drug from the body, either in its unchanged form or as its metabolites. Nonvolatile and polar drugs are primarily excreted through the kidneys, with other pathways including bile, sweat, saliva, and milk. Volatile drugs such as anesthetic gases are excreted via the...
01:17Kinetics of Drug Elimination
Drug clearance depends on the rate of drug elimination and its plasma concentration. Another important parameter is the half-life of a drug, which is the time required for its concentration to decrease by half. In most cases, drug clearance follows first-order...
01:23Factors Influencing Bioavailability: First-Pass Elimination
01:09Clearance Models: Physiological Models
The organ's clearance rate depends on the blood flow to the organ and the extraction ratio (E). The extraction ratio describes the organ's...