Nearly 61,000 active pharmacists are certified by the Board of Pharmacy Specialties for 15 specialties. In March and April, the organization found a 63.9% average all-time pass rate among seven certification exams.
The American Pharmacists Association established the Board of Pharmacy Specialties in 1976 to recognize pharmacists who can work at advanced practice levels, according to its website.
In March and April, 1,544 out of 2,458 examinees successfully passed certification exams, the organization said.
For each exam, the all-time pass rates for each specialty are:
Ambulatory care — 67% pass rate
Compounded sterile preparation — 80%
Emergency medicine — 60%
Geriatric — 53%
Infectious diseases — 75%
Pharmacotherapy — 60%
Solid organ transplantation — 52%
The first-time pass rates are:
Ambulatory care — 75% pass rate
Compounded sterile preparation — 82%
Emergency medicine — 62%
Geriatric — 58%
Infectious diseases — 83%
Pharmacotherapy — 69%
Solid organ transplantation — 58%
In January 2025, the Board of Pharmacy Specialties will publish certification exam results for cardiology, critical care, nuclear, nutrition support, oncology, psychiatric and pediatric specialties.