Lessons · Pharmacy · the two examinations, and why only one of them is national
Two examinations, and only one of them is the same everywhere
A pharmacist sits two papers. One is a national competency examination, the same in every state. The other is a jurisprudence examination about the law that governs pharmacy practice, and law differs by state, so that paper is tied to the state you are licensing in.
Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.
In beta. This lesson was written for Hone and has not yet been checked by a licensed pharmacist. Practice material, not professional advice. What that means.
What it is for
Every other profession on this site can be told the reassuring thing: the examination is national, only the paperwork differs. It is not true here, and the difference is expensive rather than academic. Practising in a second state can mean sitting a second law paper, and a candidate who has budgeted for one examination and one application has budgeted for the wrong road. Some states run their own jurisprudence examination rather than the shared one.
How to think about it
Ask which two papers your state requires by name, and note which of them is the law one, because that is the one that follows the state rather than you. Then, if a move is even possible later, find out what that state does about the law paper before you need to know. Which of my two examinations would I have to sit again somewhere else? Boards set these rules and change them, so any figure you plan around has to come from your own board's page rather than from here or from somebody who qualified in a different year.
Worked example
A national competency examinationThe same paper wherever you sit it.
A jurisprudence examination about lawLaw is a state's own, so this paper is tied to the state.
Some states run their own versionRather than the shared one, which is a further reason to ask by name.
The law paper is the one that follows the stateSo a move can mean sitting it again.
Your turn
Name the subject of the paper that is tied to a state rather than national.
The second examination is about
Solve one, graded on the server
The trap
Carrying over the assumption from every other licensed profession that the examination is national and only forms differ. Here one of the two papers is about the state itself. Boards set these rules and change them, so any figure you plan around has to come from your own board's page rather than from here or from somebody who qualified in a different year.