Frequently Asked Questions |
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Course Fee:
An introductory video is available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3XniQQGBE0
Toronto (Mississauga): CAN $2,000.00 plus GST of 5%. After July 1, 2010, an additional 8% will be added from the combined GST + PST (8%) as the Hamonized Sales Tax (HST).
The full amount for the course can be paid by credit card using our secure online registration system.
Cancellation: A refund for your registration fee minus an administration fee of 25% of the course registration fee will be issued if you cancel in writing at least fifteen (15) business days prior to the scheduled course date. However, if written notification is received less than 15 days before the start date, or if you fail to attend the course, the registration fee will not be credited.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is your success rate with your course?
A: It is difficult to determine our success rate since the final OSCE results are sent only to the persons taking the OSCE examination. We rely on all attendees of our OSCE preparatory course to send their pass / fail results to us. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, attendees always do not send us their final results. Based on the emails we do receive, we would roughly estimate the success rate between 85% - 90%.
Q: How often do you run your OSCE preparatory course?
A: The course is run twice a year, usually in the Spring and Fall prior to the PEBC examinations.
Q: Why do you not offer courses in therapeutics to help people with the Part 1 (MCQ) portion of the examination?
A: It is very difficult to effectively cover many areas of therapeutics in a short period of time. It would take many weeks to try to cover several areas of therapeutics. Many people who take our OSCE preparatory course travel from overseas and cannot take several weeks off work to attend a MCQ course.
NEW: We may offer MCQ training online in the future.
Q: Is your course tax deductible?
A: According to Revenue Canada, a qualifying educational program must "last at least 3 consecutive weeks and requires a minimum of 10 hours of instruction or work in the program each week (not including study time)". Because the OSCE course offered by Agro Health is only 1 week, it does not qualify for tax credits. For more information about the educational tax credit, please refer to the following website: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/p105/p105-e.html.
Q: Who do you use as instructors?
A: All instructors and lecturers are licensed and qualified pharmacists in Canada. All the pharmacist-evaluators used for the role playing exercises are licensed pharmacists in Ontario. Standardized (actor) patients from the University of Toronto Standardized Patient Program are used in all role playing scenarios. The standardized patients are highly qualified instructors that provide useful feedback to students during the course.
Q: Does the course cover accommodations and meals?
A: Participants are responsible for their own travel costs and accommodations. Lunch and nutrition breaks are provided for. There are special hotel accomodation rates at each hotel venue. If you are booking accomodation at the hotels, please quote Agro Health Associates, and you should pay the special rate.
Arrangements can be made to share a room; however, registrants must do this on their own.
Q: What are the times of the course?
A: The course starts at 9:00 a.m. every day. The day finishes at about 4:30 - 5 p.m. depending on how many questions there are.
Q: What sort of food is served at the venues?
A: The food is always buffet style, so attendees can select whatever food they want. The food caters to vegetarian and most special religious diets. There is a continental breakfast in the mornings: coffee, tea, juices, muffins.
Q: Why do you limit the number of course attendees to 24 people?
A: We limit the number of attendees to 24 people because we prefer to give individual attention to all attendees. A large component of the training involves role playing which is difficult to do with large numbers of attendees. In addition, there are many extra people (standardized patients and pharmacist-evaluators) involved with the training which makes it logistically difficult.
Q: How is your course structured?
A: The course emphasizes the elements weighed most heavily on the PEBC OSCE examination (pharmaceutical care and communication skills). Please see www.pebc.ca for more information. We also cover federal jurisprudence, ethics and a review of commonly used Canadian references. A variety of teaching methods are used, with a major emphasis on role playing and problem solving. The last day of training involves a mock OSCE exam with standardized patients and pharmacists evaluators.
Q: Do you offer your course in other locations other than Toronto?
A: Unfortunately, no. It is very difficult to run this course in other cities since there are so many people involved in the training. The last day of training involves about 20 additional people.
Q: How long have you been running your OSCE preparatory course?
A: Approximately 9 years.
Q: How can I prepare for the OSCE component of my examinations?
A: This is a difficult question to answer, but here are some suggestions:
1. Work on your English speaking and writing skills. It is very important to speak English clearly. Many foreign trained pharmacists underestimate the importance of this.
2. Work in a Canadian pharmacy as a technician or volunteer for several months. Ask the pharmacist if he or she can ’mentor’ you and coach you to learn the operation of a dispensary. Watch and learn from the pharmacist when he or she counsels patients. This can be very useful.
3. Learn Canadian ’national’ drug laws (jurisprudence).
4. Learn all the ethical terms and when you would use them.
5. Read about pharmaceutical care (now called 'Patient Care') and good patient communication. Most of the OSCE is about this!
6. Make certain you can find information quickly in the CPS (Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialities).
7. A very useful website is http://www.pharmacyintern.ca (Pharmacyintern | PEBC Exam Forum). This is a reputable site and has lots of useful information.
8. Review the information on www.pebc.ca. Make certain you know what to expect when you enter a station.
Q: Who can I contact for more information?
A: Call Agro Health Associates at 905-335-3232 ext. 223 or email us at mail@agrohealth.com
