Examination Blueprint

The Jurisprudence, Ethics and Professionalism exam blueprint outlines the key topic areas to be tested and the relative weight of each of the topics (i.e., percentage of multiple choice questions). These sample questions show the general format of the exam questions.

NAPRA’s Ethical, Legal and Professional Responsibilities competency that is assessed on the exam is found on the competency table.

jump to Jump To:

Print Page

Candidates are expected to be aware of the various acts and regulations, standards and policies related to each section of the exam. Refer to the Prepare for the Exam page for links to the official legislation and other resources.

Candidates are provided with NAPRA’s National Drug Schedules and the Prescription Regulation Summary Chart (also available in French) for reference during Part I (i.e., Conditions for Sale and Controlled Substances) of the exam.

The subtopics within each topic area are provided below to clarify each section and help guide exam preparation. The exam consists of 100 multiple choice questions.

Conditions for Sale (8% of exam)

  • NAPRA Drug Schedule I (includes controlled substances)
  • NAPRA Drug Schedule II
  • NAPRA Drug Schedule III

Controlled Substances (15% of exam)

  • Prescription requirements and record keeping
  • Opioid agonist therapy (e.g., methadone)
  • Loss and disposal
  • Narcotics Safety and Awareness Act and Safeguarding our Communities Act (Patch for Patch)

Pharmacy Operations (12% of exam)

  • Standards of operation
  • Ownership and accreditation
  • Designated Manager

Drug Preparation and Distribution (15% of exam)

  • Prescription requirements and record keeping
  • Patient records
  • Labelling, packaging, mailing/delivery
  • Compounding/manufacturing

ODB Formulary and Interchangeability (5% of exam)

  • Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) Act
  • Drug Interchangeability and Dispensing Fee Act

Standards and Scope of Practice (25% of exam)

  • Controlled Acts and scope of practice for pharmacists
  • Controlled Acts and scope of practice for pharmacy technicians
  • Documentation and reporting requirements
  • Professional responsibilities and professional misconduct

Ethics (20% of exam)

  • Applications of ethical principles
  • Confidentiality and privacy
  • Professional boundaries and judgment
  • Self-regulation

Total = 100%


Examination Scoring

A criterion-referenced pass/fail standard is determined for each examination. This process involves the participation of a representative group of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians using a common standard setting procedure to determine how many correct answers a candidate must obtain to meet the minimum passing standard. This standard setting method takes into account the difficulty of each test item for a minimally competent candidate in determining a final pass score for each examination.

Each successful candidate’s performance must meet or exceed the final pass score. A candidate’s performance is not compared to any other candidate’s performance and there is no pre-set pass/fail quota for the examination.

All test items on the examination undergo a complete item analysis to help ensure that candidates’ final scores are both fair and valid. Any test item failing to perform in the anticipated manner is eliminated from scoring and the total minimum performance level (or pass score) for the examination is adjusted accordingly for all candidates.

If you have questions about the Jurisprudence, Ethics and Professionalism Exam e-mail jurisprudence@ocpinfo.com.