Failed the PEBC Exam 3 Times? Your Path to a 4th Attempt Starts Here.

Receiving an unsuccessful result on a PEBC exam is tough. Receiving it for a third time can feel devastating. After investing so much time, effort, and hope into your goal of becoming a licensed pharmacist in Canada, it’s natural to feel like you’ve hit a dead end. But this may not be the end of your journey.

There is a structured path to a fourth and final attempt, and it begins with demonstrating a renewed commitment to your learning. In this post, we’ll explain how it works.

Understanding the PEBC Three-Attempt Rule

The Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (PEBC) has a policy that generally limits candidates to three attempts for each of the Qualifying Examinations (MCQ and OSCE) and the Evaluating Exam (EE). For many, this rule represents a hard stop on their path to licensure.

However, the PEBC allows for an appeal for a fourth and final attempt if a candidate provides compelling evidence that they have taken significant steps to remediate their knowledge and skill gaps.

How to Qualify for a Fourth Attempt

To have your appeal considered, you need to prove you’ve done more than just study the same material again. The PEBC requires evidence of structured remedial education, typically in the form of Continuing Education courses accredited by the Canadian Council for Continuing Education in Pharmacy (CCCEP).

Every CCCEP-accredited course has associated with it a certain number of credits called Continuing Education Units (CEUs), which roughly correspond to the number of hours it is expected to take to complete the course including the quizzes or assessments. To be considered for a 4th attempt, you will need to complete 78 CEUs.

What Continuing Education Courses should you take?

While there are many free courses available, they are often not the best source for studying for the PEBCs.

These free courses are usually free for a reason: they are sponsored by a pharmaceutical company. This has a number of implications that make them unsuitable for the PEBCs:

1. They don't overlap with the PEBC syllabus — Free courses are often free because they are sponsored by a drug company and overlap with the sponsor's non-expired patent portfolio. But this often leads to courses that are highly focused only on new therapies, which limits their usefulness for a broad exam like the PEBCs.
2. They do not result in many credits — Because of this narrow focus, drug-company-sponsored courses often only provide 0.5 to 1.0 credits each, so you would need to complete many of them to reach the 78 CEU credits the PEBC requires.

Fulfill Your Remedial Requirements with PharmAchieve

Our courses are not drug-company sponsored, which eliminates questions of bias and narrow focus. Our courses also result in large numbers of credits, and the following list of courses is thought to highly overlap with the PEBC exam syllabus.

1. Complete 33 Ontario Minor Ailments Package — This course provides 50 CEUs and covers the assessment, triaging, and prescribing for 33 minor ailments, which are all testable on both the PEBC EE and PEBC MCQ exam syllabus.
2. Certified Diabetes Educator Prep Course — This comprehensive diabetes course results in 20 CEUs and also has good overlap with the PEBC EE and PEBC MCQ syllabus. The PEBC has publicly committed to testing common conditions more frequently. With about 13% of Canada's population having diabetes, you will likely encounter some questions on your PEBC exams relating to diabetes. The course also has the side benefit of enabling you to bill for MedsCheck for Diabetes in Ontario if you become a licensed pharmacist.
3. Gastrointestinal Disorders, Sexual Health and Urinary Disorders, or Musculoskeletal and CNS Disorders. These Minor Ailments courses from our national package each provide 8 CEUs. If you took courses 1 or 2 above, taking one of these courses is all you need to achieve your 78 credits!
4. Point of Care Testing (2.5 CEUs) — This course is already included in PharmAchieve's EE course and is likely to be included in our PEBC MCQ course when the PEBC implements its next syllabus change. The good news is that if you are a PharmAchieve EE student with an active subscription, you already have access to this course.

Your Action Plan for Success

Feeling overwhelmed? Let’s break it down into clear, manageable steps:

1. Review Your PEBC Feedback: Carefully analyze the feedback from your previous attempts. This is your roadmap to understanding exactly which competency areas require the most attention.
2. Contact PEBC: It is always best to contact the PEBC directly to understand the specific requirements and process for submitting an appeal for a fourth attempt based on your individual circumstances.
3. Enroll in a Structured CEU Program: Choose a course that not only provides the necessary CEUs but also offers a comprehensive review of the material. Our expert instructors and proven curriculum are designed to do just that.
4. Create a New Study Strategy: Your fourth attempt requires a different approach. Focus on understanding concepts, not just memorizing facts. Use our practice questions and mock exams to simulate the real test and build your stamina.

An unsuccessful attempt is not a reflection of your potential, but rather an indication that a new approach is needed. This is your chance to regroup, rebuild, and return stronger than before. Your dream of practicing pharmacy in Canada is still within reach.