Between December 2021 and April 2022, Gulf Medical University – College of Pharmacy, in collaboration with IVPN-Network, partnered to deliver the first version of the 12-weeks online preparatory course for professional pharmacists who are seeking to become Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS). 50+ hours of online training and 2 BCPS-like mock exams were delivered by 12 experts from 5 different countries. Dr. Yara Alkhoury, who obtained her PharmD degree from GMU and currently working as Inpatient Pharmacist and the Lead pharmacist at the behavioral science pavilion in the Inpatient pharmacy department of Sheikh Khalifa Medical City – Abu Dhabi, UAE, was among the active participants of this course. Dr. Yara, immediately after finishing this preparatory course, sat for the BCPS exam in the Spring 2022 period, and in July 2022, she became a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS). Dr. Yara shared her experience with this preparatory course and its influence on her preparation for the exam, as mentioned in the below testimony.
Dr. Yara commented: “With the pharmacist’s role becoming ever more specialized, the BCPS board has been my target since I started my career as a hospital pharmacist. BCPS is one of the most challenging certifications for pharmacists with a passing percentage of 60% only! With BCPS exam being the broadest, you can really get any and all clinical questions thrown at you and this is why preparation was important. I was thrilled to pass at the first attempt with the help of GMU-IVPN team and I encourage all pharmacists to sit for the exam as it fosters a great clinical learning experience and it brings on enhanced credibility to pharmacists among the healthcare team.”
Dean Sherief Khalifa commented: “Our partnership with IVPN Network has resulted in a high quality preparatory course for BCPS. We are excited to see course participants achieving their goal of becoming board certified by the US Board of Pharmacy Specialties. We are especially proud of Dr. Yara Alkhoury, a PharmD graduate from Gulf Medical University!”