To ensure pharmacists fully understand their ethical, legal, and professional obligations when prescribing for minor ailments, a scope of practice regulatory change effective as of January 1, 2023, the College has developed a mandatory Orientation for Minor Ailments Prescribing module.
The orientation module is available at no cost and should take approximately one hour to complete.
To support understanding of this scope of practice change, all Part A pharmacists must complete the mandatory Orientation for Minor Ailments Prescribing module about their ethical, legal, and professional obligations before prescribing for minor ailments. Completion is required regardless of a pharmacist’s practice setting or whether they choose to prescribe for minor ailments. This decision was made by the Board in June 2020, based on the fact that the regulation change applies to the profession as a whole rather than to a specific to area of practice.
Pharmacy interns and Emergency Assignment (EA) pharmacists have the same scope of practice as a pharmacist, subject to the supervision requirements set out in the terms, conditions, and limitations on their certificate of registration. The mandatory orientation module is designed to ensure pharmacists (including EA) and interns fully understand their ethical and legal requirements of prescribing for minor ailments prior to engaging in this practice. It is the expectation of the College that they also have the necessary knowledge, skills and judgment to safely deliver this service when providing patient care.
No. Following the initial implementation of prescribing for minor ailments in 2023, the OCP considers prescribing for minor ailments as part of usual practice and has moved to incorporate this expanded scope into its entry to practice, operations and quality assurance assessments. For pharmacists who were licensed after December 31, 2023, the College’s expectation is that the information covered in the OCP Orientation for Minor Ailments Prescribing module has been covered in curriculum and as part of entry to practice preparation.
Therefore, you are not required to inform the College that you have completed the Orientation for Minor Ailments Prescribing module. However, the College expects that, prior to prescribing for minor ailments, you understand your ethical, legal, and professional obligations described in the module and that you possess the required knowledge, clinical skills, and judgment to safely assess and prescribe medications for minor ailments.
It is the expectation of the College that pharmacists possess the required clinical skills, judgment and knowledge of legislative requirements and practice standards to safely prescribe medications for minor ailments. To refresh their clinical knowledge and increase their comfort in assessing and prescribing for minor ailments, pharmacists may consider additional education opportunities. A list of online continuing education courses related to minor ailments is available on the College’s website. These clinical education courses are optional, and pharmacists will not be expected to attest to their completion.
The mandatory Orientation for Minor Ailments Prescribing module should take approximately one hour to complete, and it does not have to be completed in a single session. Users may continue their progress at any time.
No, the mandatory Orientation for Minor Ailments Prescribing module is available free of charge on the College’s website.
The mandatory Orientation for Minor Ailments Prescribing module is designed to ensure all Part A pharmacists fully understand their ethical, legal, and professional obligations when prescribing for minor ailments. The content is not clinical in nature, although optional continuing education courses are available for registrants.
To support understanding of the scope of practice change authorizing pharmacists to prescribe for minor ailments, all Part A pharmacists must complete the mandatory Orientation for Minor Ailments Prescribing module about the legislative requirements regardless of their practice setting or whether they choose to prescribe for minor ailments. This decision was made the Board in June 2020, based on the fact that the regulation change applies to the profession as a whole and not to a specific area of practice.
The mandatory Orientation for Minor Ailments Prescribing module is presented in an online browser-based format that may be accessed by any desktop computer, tablet, or smartphone. The module is narrated and will require audio capability; however a transcript of the narration is also available in the module’s menu tab. Quizzes to assess knowledge are embedded within the module though scores are not recorded and pharmacists do not need to achieve a particular grade to pass or complete the orientation.
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