Your BCPP Examination Preparation Journey

Every person’s journey to preparing for and achieving the Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacist (BCPP) credential is unique. However, hundreds of BCPPs have shared tips and techniques that assisted in their success. Customize the tips below to your background and situation. Good Luck!

	Seek Opportunities in Mental Health Shadow or work with mental health clinicians (e.g., pharmacists, nurses, psychiatrists) Find a mentor Become actively involved as a volunteer in AAPP or other state/national organizations Attend the AAPP Annual Meeting and/or other psychiatric conferences
	Build your Clinical Knowledge Base AAPP’s BCPP Preparatory Products Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach (mental health and neurology chapters) Applied Therapeutics: The Clinical Use of Drugs (mental health and neurology chapters) APA Practice Guidelines Take ACPE accredited continuing education programs in psychiatry, neurology, and substance use disorders
	Apply Knowledge in a Mental Health Setting Consider residency training, employment, and/or volunteering Work-up patients and discuss with your mentor or colleagues Actively participate in interdisciplinary patient rounds Treat patients in ambulatory care settings Answer drug information questions Lead patient medication education groups Complete patient consults
	Advance the Application of your Mental Health Knowledge Teach other learners such as students and residents Complete scholarly activities such as authoring or peer reviewing publications, attending in-service presentations, or participating in a quality improvement initiative Learn by attending journal club presentations and reviewing landmark studies such as CATIE, STAR*D, STEP-BD Complete a medication use evaluation (MUE) Write or revise a drug monograph and present to the P&T Committee
	Prepare Extensively for the Exam Join a study group by emailing the AAPP email list for interested parties Review the Board of Pharmacy Specialties Psychiatric Pharmacy Content Outline for the exam domains and the weight assigned to each Study statistics and practice calculations (e.g., OR, NNT, NNH). In addition to the AAPP Review Book, a recommended resource is the Clinical Pharmacist’s Guide to Biostatistics and Literature Evaluation Take and retake the quizzes available within the recommended resources to identify strengths and any remaining weaknesses Practice application-level exam questions through AAPP or other recertification products with psychiatry, neurology, and/or substance use disorder content (e.g., select ambulatory care and pharmacotherapy specialty products)