Colorado pharmacists are required to complete 24 hours of State Board of Pharmacy-approved continuing pharmacy education during each two-year licensure period. The State Board accepts educational activities accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), six hours of pharmacy-related continuing medical education, and up to four hours earned through attendance at regularly scheduled Board of Pharmacy meetings.
For more information about the laws regulating Colorado pharmacists visit the Board of Pharmacy.
Look for the ACPE logo and program number on information about the program. If the program number is followed by a “P”, it is accredited for pharmacists. If the program number is followed by a “T”, it is approved for technicians.
At this time, pharmacists can attend technician programs, but credits from technician programs cannot be used for re-licensure.
Colorado does not specify any certain types of CE as long as the programs meet the requirements of the State Board of Pharmacy.
You are responsible for keeping a record of your credits. The board does not collect records of CE credits except during an audit. As many as 5% of pharmacists can be audited during any licensing period. If you are audited, you will need to submit copies of records for 24 hours of CE you have obtained during the licensing period ending on October 31. If you are not audited, you simply check a box asserting that you have obtained the 24 hours of CE. Obviously, it’s important to keep your CE records, since you never know when you will be audited.
Keep the CE statement of credit in your records at home. However, if you lose or misplace it, the accredited organization that issued the statement is required to maintain those records for six years.
Each state has different requirements. Check with the board of pharmacy in the state in which you are licensed.
According to the requirements provided by the Department of Regulating Agencies in Colorado (DORA), if a student becomes licensed within one year of completing his or her pharmacy education, he or she will not be required to have CE for the first licensing period. So, if you are a 2010 graduate, you should begin collecting CE credits after October 31, 2011.
If as a resident pharmacist you are maintaining your license, then you must fulfill the CE requirements. If you have a license from a state other than Colorado, the rules of that state will apply. So, check with your state’s board of pharmacy.
Because the School of Pharmacy schedules many seminars and series on a variety of topics, not all are accredited for CE. Any program that is accredited for pharmacist CE will show the ACPE logo and approved number of credits.
The School of Pharmacy currently offers a limited number of continuing education activities. View current CE activities at Our Offerings [SOP>Resources>Continuing Education>Our Offerings] and on the school’s Facebook page[LINK – there seem to be several].
You can search a nationwide database of CE activities at the ACPE website. Select P.L.A.N. (Pharmacists' Learning Assistance Network), then enter parameters such as activity format (home study, live), location, date range and topic to find a suitable CE program.
Other organizations that provide continuing pharmacy education activities include the American Pharmacists Association, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and the Colorado Pharmacists Society.
You can also search Google for additional resources.
Check out the courses that are currently available through the organizations listed above. Then follow the registration instructions.