Licensure Info

Please click here for information on how to become licensed as a pharmacist: Pharmacist Licensure download in word format.

For information on registration as a pharmacy technician, or for further information on reciprocity/license transfer of your pharmacist license or foreign pharmacy graduate requirements, see below:

Information For Pharmacist Reciprocity

“Licensure Transfer” and Licensure Transfer Application

Step One - Applicant logs onto www.napb.net, under: Licensure Transfer" and Licensure Transfer Application and follows the directions for Reciprocity and MPJE.

Step Two –After Applicant receives official application from the National Board, please submit the Official Application to the West Virginia Board of pharmacy –The applicant must mail the completed Official Application to the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy along with two hundred and fifty five dollars ($255.00) for the Errors and Omissions Examination fee within 90 days. The West Virginia Board of Pharmacy requires that the applicant completes the Errors and Omissions Examination process within one (1) year from the issue date on the official application.

When the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy receives your completed application and fee we will mail you our “Pharmacy Laws and Legislative Rules of West Virginia” Governing The Practice Of Pharmacy Controlled Substances Act 2008 Edition. If you have questions regarding the MPJE call the NABP at (847) 391-4406.

When you are prepared to take the Errors and Omissions Examination, pleased call the Board office to schedule. When you call the Board office to schedule the Errors and Omissions, please be prepared to give us three (3) dates, you choose the time of day you want your exam scheduled. We schedule exams at 10:00 A.M. and 1:30 P.M.

In order to be licensed in West Virginia, you will be required to pass the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination (MPJE) and the Errors and Omissions Examination. You must obtain a test grade of 70% on the Errors and Omissions Examination and a grade of 75 on the MPJE with an average of 75% between the two examination scores.

The Errors and Omissions Examination consists of multiple prescriptions which you must view and write down any error or omission regarding the written prescription or label which would make it unsafe for the patient or in violation of state or federal law. Some of these questions may be multi-part and require more than one answer. This exam may be administered on a computer. These questions are worth 90 points total. You will also be given a situation in which you must counsel the inspector as if they were the patient and this question constitutes 10 points. The time limit for the Errors and Omissions Examination is 45 minutes for the written part and 5 minutes for the counseling question. You may bring a PDA like a Palm Pilot with electronic references to use for your counseling question and you may bring and use a calculator during the Errors and Omissions Exam for any questions requiring calculations.

The MPJE is a two-hour, computer-adaptive examination that consists of 90 multiple-choice test questions. Of these, 60 questions will be used to calculate the test score. You will need to familiarize yourself with the specific federal and state pharmacy laws and regulations as they apply in West Virginia. To get information regarding sitting for the MPJE, you will need to get on the NAPB web site at: NABP will then issue you an Authorization to Test for which you will need to schedule an appointment to take the MPJE at a computer testing center.

Pharmacy Technicians

Legislative Rule for Pharmacy Technicians: § 15-7-2. Definitions.

2.2. "Pharmacy Technician" means registered supportive personnel who work under the direct supervision of a pharmacist who have passed an approved training program.

TEN (10) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1- I would like to become nationally certified as a pharmacy technician, and would like to know how I do it, how much it costs, and where I had to go to take the certification exam?

ANSWER: We accept either the PTCB or the NHA national certification. They have their own requirements and testing. You can research them at their websites: · www.ptcb.org, and · www.nhanow.com/pharmacy-technician.aspx

2- If I am already nationally certified, or if I get nationally certified, can I go ahead and practice as a PT in West virginia?

ANSWER: No. You must first get registered with the State.

3- So, how do how do I become registered in West Virginia with my national certification?

ANSWER: You must do a 20 hour training under a pharmacist-in-charge and make application to the Board with proof of national certification and the 20-hour training.

4- If I am registered in another state how can I become registered in West Virginia (reciprocity or license transfer)?

ANSWER: You must have proof as to the state you are registered in and complete the twenty (20) hour training period with your PIC.

5- I'm not nationally certified or registered in another state. How can I become a West Virginia registered pharmacy technician?

ANSWER: You must first register with the Board as a trainee, and work 2,080 hours in a pharmacy in its training program within a two (2) year period. Upon completion of the training program, you are then eligible to apply to take the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy Technician Examination to become registered.

6- What type of questions are on the West Virginia Pharmacy Technician Examination?

ANSWER: Legislative Rules pertaining to Pharmacy Technicians: Series 7 Registration of Pharmacy Technicians (refer to Pharmacy Laws and Legislative Rules of West Virginia page 120), you will need to know a lot of Brand and Generic Drug names, and a lot of good old common sense.

7- Do I need continuing education to be a West Virginia registered pharmacy technician?

ANSWER: NO.

7- I am nationally certified by PTCB or NHA. Do I need continuing education to keep my certification.

ANSWER: They have their own requirements for maintaining their certifications. You can research them at their websites: · www.ptcb.org and · www.nhanow.com/pharmacy-technician.aspx

8- If I am not working do I have to renew my registration?

ANSWER: Not necessarily. If you do not renew, this will cause your registration to lapse. See next question.

9- If I am not working and I do not renew my license in the designated renewal period are there any consequences?

ANSWER: You would have to complete a reinstatement application and take the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy Technician Examination and pay a fee of Two hundred and sixty ($260.00) dollars.

10- Do I have to let the Board know where I am working?

ANSWER: You must notify the Board in writing as to your place of employment and any change of address.

Pharmacy Technician Trainee

2.3. "Pharmacy Technician Trainee" means an individual currently engaged in a pharmacy technician training program which has been approved by the Board and who is under the direct supervision of a pharmacist (page 120).

TEN (10) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1- Do I have to register with the Board of Pharmacy just to work in the pharmacy?

ANSWER: YES

2- How do I register to work as a trainee.

ANSWER: The pharmacist-in-charge (PIC) must complete a Pharmacy Technician Trainee Notification Form and make a copy and put the copy on the wall in the pharmacy and mail the original to the Board office.

3- How long can I work as a pharmacy technician trainee?

ANSWER: You must work approximately two (2) years and have two thousand eighty (2,080) hours in the pharmacy.

4- What if I cannot get the 2,080 hours in a two year period.

ANSWER: You may try to get nationally certified (see above) or you can petition the Board for more time provided you can show good cause for the need for the extension (e.g. medical leave during the two-year period that prevented you from working the needed hours).

5- How old do I have to be to work in a pharmacy?

ANSWER: You may work as a trainee under the age of 18 however, to become registered in West Virginia you must be 18 years old.

6- Do I have to be a high school graduate to work as a pharmacy technician trainee?

ANSWER: No. However, before you can become a pharmacy technician registered in West Virginia, you must be a high school graduate or you must have a General Education Development Diploma (GED) issued by the Board of Education.

7- Will my hours count if I change jobs within my two (2) year training period?

ANSWER: Yes-as long as they can be verified.

8- How large of a name tag do I need to wear?

ANSWER: Your name tag should contain lettering of a legible size.

9- What do I need to wear?

ANSWER: Pharmacy technicians and pharmacy technician trainees shall wear appropriate clean attire and a coat, jacket, or apron of a color other than white.

10- Who can work the cash register?

ANSWER: If the cash register is located out of the immediate pharmacy area, a nonregistered person may complete the transaction on purchases of prescription drugs, and ask the patient if he/she requires counseling by the pharmacist. If the cash register for such transactions is located within the pharmacy area, any personnel within that area must be either a registered pharmacy technician or a pharmacy technician trainee.

Foreign Pharmacy Graduate

A Foreign Pharmacy Graduate whose undergraduate pharmacy degree was conferred by a recognized school of pharmacy outside of the fifty (50) United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, may establish educational equivalency by obtaining a Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee Certificate (FPGEC) form the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP).

To Obtain an FPGEC Certificate, you must pass the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE), the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEEL), and the Test of Spoken English (TSE).

Beginning January 1, 2003, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) will require foreign-educated pharmacists to have earned their professional degree from a five-year curriculum program in order to apply for Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee (FPGEC) Certification.

The program change affects only those foreign-educated pharmacists who have earned a pharmacy degree after January 1, 2003 .

The new curriculum requirements do not apply to foreign-educated pharmacists who have earned a four-year degree prior to January 1, 2003.

Applicants who receive FPGEC certification meet the educational requirement for licensure and may sit for the licensure exam provided they meet all other qualifications for licensure as a pharmacist.

You will need an application for initial license as a registered intern if you plan to work in this State prior to licensure. Upon successfully completing the FPGEC Exam, send a copy of your certificate with your application to become an intern in West Virginia. Fifteen hundred (1500) Intern hours are required by the State of West Virginia prior to taking the NAPLEX and only up to five Hundred (500) of those hours may have been served in a foreign country. After passing the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination (FPGEC), and getting your 1500 Intern hours you may then apply to take the NAPLEX and State Examination.