PACE

To apply for PACE, you must have already met the education requirement and be registered as an intern or intern technician. As an intern/intern technician, you can (and are encouraged to) gain practice experience to prepare for the Jurisprudence, Ethics and Professionalism Exam, PACE and the PEBC Qualifying Exam (particularly the OSCE or OSPE). These three registration requirements can be done in any order.   

Your intern/intern technician certificate of registration is valid for one year and must be valid until the final date of your PACE assessment.

The list of PACE practice sites is constantly changing as assessors are selected and released daily. You should check the list of available practice sites frequently as this will change. Please note that site releases only happen during the College’s hours of operation (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., excluding statutory holidays).   

Rather than just looking in your hometown, you should also look for sites in surrounding communities that are a reasonable commuting distance from your home. It may be necessary to travel or stay somewhere else temporarily.  

We are actively recruiting assessors through all College communication channels and recommendations from the OCP practice advisors. We review assessor applications continuously and hold online assessor training workshops throughout the year.  

Yes, you may select a site that is part of your employer’s organization provided you have not trained, worked or volunteered at that site, and you have no prior relationship with the staff. For example, your PACE practice site could be part of the same hospital network or the same pharmacy chain or banner of your current workplace. You must declare your relationship to the practice site on the online application. A College registration advisor will review the circumstances to determine if you and your proposed assessor will be allowed to complete PACE together. Please review the bias or conflict of interest in PACE document  to understand how your assessor’s ability to objectively assess you as a candidate may be affected.  

If you are currently employed as an intern technician at an in-patient hospital pharmacy and are looking for a hospital-based PACE site, please e-mail [email protected] with your name and OCP number before applying for PACE. An OCP staff member will confirm your place of practice and provide you with next steps.  

When you select a PACE site and proposed start date, your request is sent to the assessor. They will determine their availability and may need to adjust the start date. You should wait until your PACE has been confirmed by the College before you make any unalterable commitments about time off work or accommodations.  

Most PACE candidates are unpaid. The College does not require assessors or their pharmacy practice site to pay PACE candidates because they are attempting to meet a practice-based registration requirement. Some organizations may choose to pay candidates who are employed by them.  

If you need to or decide to discontinue PACE at any time after your start date has been confirmed and before the end of your assessment, you must immediately inform the College at  [email protected] and provide your reason(s) for not being able to complete PACE.  

Yes, assessment accommodations for applicants with a documented disability are provided as outlined in the Application Process section of the PACE policy. The online PACE application asks if you require assessment accommodations. Requests for accommodation must be received by the College with no less than six weeks’ notice of your preferred PACE start date.    

No, you may not take a vacation break during or between your orientation and assessment phases. You should not plan any time off until at least four weeks after your PACE start date to ensure sufficient time to complete your entire assessment. If an unexpected illness or emergency arises during your PACE, you must contact the College as soon as possible by e-mailing  [email protected]. 

If a situation develops during the assessment period that you believe may have affected your performance, you should immediately inform your assessor and/or a College registration advisor by emailing [email protected]. You should also review the PACE Administration Appeals policy. 

You are responsible for finding your own pharmacy professional coach. You may want to prepare a resume and cover letter that states you are searching for a coach to help you prepare for your PACE. When you meet a potential coach, you can share your performance profile and (if available) your learning action plan, and discuss the areas for improvement that were identified by your PACE assessor.  

Pharmacies that are looking for pharmacy professionals may be interested in helping you if you are close to becoming fully registered. Check job postings and professional networks for pharmacist and pharmacy technician employment opportunities.  

The coach you choose should be someone you believe genuinely wants to help you succeed in preparing for your next PACE attempt. You could ask your PACE assessor to be your coach, but they are not required to do so.  

You should consider someone who meets the following characteristics:

• Provides pharmaceutical care to patients on a regular basis (i.e., identifying drug therapy problems, creating therapeutic plans, monitoring and following-up with patients)
• Is proficient in their ability to provide feedback and guidance
• Is in good standing with OCP with no terms, conditions or limitations on their certificate of registration (see OCP’s Public Register for this information)
• Demonstrates professionalism
• Models effective communication with patients, colleagues, and other health care professionals
• Is aware of and up to date on developments in practice
• Supports and understands the PACE model
• Promotes patient-centred care
• Has teaching or preceptor experience (optional)

Your coach’s practice site should: 

• Promote patient-centred care;
• Provide sufficient practice opportunities to meet the candidates learning action plan goals and address their competency gaps (e.g., suitably high prescription count, variety of patients);
• Be a positive environment with sufficient staffing conducive to teaching and learning; and 
• Have passed its recent pharmacy assessment and is entitled to operate in Ontario (see OCP’s Public Register). 

You are required to report your PACE development practice site in your OCP account as you should be performing the authorized acts of the profession to prepare for your next PACE attempt. 

If you fail PACE twice, you will have to:

1. Make a request to a panel of the Registration Committee. The request should explain what the candidate has done to improve their practice competence since their first PACE attempt. The panel may order the candidate to complete additional education, examinations and/or training before they may apply to re-attempt PACE. 
2. Pay a reassessment fee (see line 21) to gain access to the PACE application.

Both these requirements will apply to the third and any subsequent PACE attempts.