The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy is home to the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Committee (FPGEC), which will be your first point of contact in your licensing process. You must first earn FPGEC Certification through credential verification and exams before you can qualify for next steps.
The process you need to follow will be highlighted in the Eligibility for Licensing section below.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 50% of all pharmacists work in what is considered a retail setting (independent or chain retail drugstores), and an estimated 32% of all pharmacy jobs are in the hospital, clinical and home health settings. Pharmacists in the United States also find work with pharmaceutical companies in research or sales roles; in insurance companies working with medical benefit packages; or with government agencies working in health policy and services.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is projecting a 2% decrease in new jobs available to pharmacists from 2020 to 2030. As of May 2020, the national median annual wage for pharmacists was $128,710 and New Jersey had an annual mean wage for pharmacists of $124,690. Refer to the U.S. Dept. of Labor website for the most current data.
Communication skills and knowledge of medical information systems are important factors in career success for pharmacists. Their responsibilities in advising both doctors and patients continue to grow with the development of new medicines, disease management methods, and opportunities to monitor patient treatment plans to prevent potential harmful drug interactions.
Reform in pharmacy education in the U.S. now means that new pharmacy graduates will only qualify for licensing if they hold a 5-year professional degree—a PharmD or its equivalent. This change went into effect for all students graduating on or after January 1, 2003.
While five years is now the standard for U.S. professional degrees in pharmacy, this is not the case worldwide. Foreign-educated pharmacy candidates who graduate from a 4-year program after January 1, 2003, cannot qualify for the FPGEC Certification with their current degree. Not even post-graduation internships, work experience, continuing education certificates, or extra coursework can count towards the 5-year minimum.
Currently, there are only two ways for you to become eligible if you are in this situation:
The process for getting a license as a pharmacist in New Jersey is as follows:
The purpose of the FPGEC Certification Program is to document the educational equivalency of your foreign pharmacy education. For specifics, refer to the most current FPGEC Application Bulletin on the NABP website: 2021 FPGEC Application Bulletin.
The following outlines the process:
Pass the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE). The FPGEE will be explained in more detail in the section on testing.
– Important Notes on the FPGEC Certification
Your foreign credential evaluation does not occur early in the Certification Program. If you graduated from your pharmacy institution in or after 2003 and believe that your pharmacy degree may not be equivalent to a 5-year professional (PharmD) degree, you are participating in this process at your own risk. Candidates like you have spent a lot of time and money before learning they are disqualified based on the credential evaluation. Get advice early on from FPGEC or a PharmD program to understand if your degree is likely to qualify.
You will need to complete at least 1,440 hours of practical experience as a pharmacy intern for your licensure by examination application. You must be registered as a Pharmacy Intern before you begin to count your hours—it is not enough to have a job in a pharmacy (as a pharmacy technician, for example).
Intern hours do not have to be obtained in one pharmacy location but must be earned in the United States. Your internship must total 1,440 hours. The 1,440 hours of practical experience must be completed in no less than 34 weeks and no more than 104 weeks, under the supervision of an intern preceptor. Each week of your internship should consist of no less than 15 hours and no more than 45 hours of service.
The NJ Board asks that your intern preceptor provide a detailed written report outlining your progress, aptitude, and readiness to practice at the conclusion of your internship. You must also keep accurate records of your time spent on your internship.
Once you have your FPGEC Certification and your 1,440 internship hours are complete, the next step is to prepare your Application for Pharmacist Licensure and Examination. The application package is available on the New Jersey Board of Pharmacy website, which includes the most current instructions, forms and fingerprint request forms. This Application will not result in a license now. Instead, once approved by the NJ Board, your application will allow you to take the NAPLEX and MPJE, which are two exams required for licensing.
The main items you will need to put together for your application to register as a New Jersey pharmacist include:
Allow 30 days for the application processing. You will be notified in writing if your application is incomplete or notification of your eligibility. To facilitate electronic communication, you can provide an email address.CERTIFICATION PROCESS: For specifics, refer to the most current FPGEC Application Bulletin on the NABP website.
To be licensed in New Jersey as a pharmacist, you must pass the NAPLEX and the MPJE. NAPLEX tests your general practice skills and knowledge of pharmacy, while the MPJE tests your knowledge of jurisdiction-specification laws that apply to the profession. All pharmacy graduates must pass these exams before being licensed in New Jersey.
You will need to register and pay for NAPLEX and MPJE through the NABP website. Once your application and required documentation have been processed, NABP will send you an Authorization to Test (ATT) so that you can schedule your test with Pearson VUE. The ATT is valid for one year. The exams will be discussed in more detail in the next section.
As a foreign pharmacy graduate, you will take three tests during your New Jersey pharmacist licensing process:
Testing Approval: Once you are approved for testing, you will receive an ATT from NABP. The ATT includes detailed instructions for scheduling your test.
Testing Sites: The tests are administered by the computer-based testing company Pearson VUE at test centers nationwide. Limited space means that the centers can have full schedules, so you should schedule your exams soon after receiving your ATT.
Answer Once: Once you confirm an answer during the exam, you will not be allowed to return to it or make any changes. You may not skip a question
Test Day Procedures: On the day of the test, you must bring the ATT and two types of approved identification. All candidates will be required to have palm vein scans, provide digital signatures, and have digital photographs taken before being admitted to the testing room. You should arrive at least half an hour early. You will not be allowed to take the test if you arrive more than half an hour late for your appointment. If you arrive late or do not go to the center at all, you will have to pay to reschedule. You may have limited scheduled breaks during the examination time depending on the exam.
Rescheduling or Not Completing Tests: Each exam has strict policies for giving notice if you have to reschedule your exam. There are different costs involved in making changes. If you miss your appointment or abandon the test, you will be charged all fees and may have to do additional paperwork to re-qualify.
The FPGEE is a 4.5 hour exam (5.5 hour total seat time) consisting of 200 questions taken on a computer. The scaled passing score is 75. To register for the FPGEE, you will need to fill out an online application through your NABP e-Profile.
The test is offered only once a year, usually in October, so you should be careful of timing and make sure to schedule your appointment at Pearson VUE as soon as you receive your ATT.
The NABP offers a Pre-FPGEE official practice exam, which you should consider taking as part of your preparation. The practice exam consists of 66 questions, and you will have 85 minutes to complete the exam. The practice exam can be taken up to twice per year and is available online.
Candidates have a maximum of five attempts to pass the FPGEE. If you fail the FPGEE, you may be able to retake it during the same 2-year acceptance period if the next test administration occurs during your acceptance period. If it does not, you will need to restart the process for applying to the FPGEC Certification Program
The NAPLEX tests the general knowledge you have gained in your education as a pharmacist. To register for the NAPLEX, you will need to fill out an online application in the Exam Services section of your NABP e-Profile.
The NAPLEX is a six-hour exam consisting of 225 questions taken on a computer. 200 questions will be used to calculate your exam results; the remaining 25 questions are administered for evaluation for possible inclusion in future examinations. You will not know which questions will affect your exam results.
The NABP offers a Pre-NAPLEX practice exam, which you should consider taking as part of your preparation. The practice exam consists of 100 exam questions, and you will have 140 minutes to complete the exam. The Pre-NAPLEX can be taken up to two times annually, and costs $75 per attempt.
Candidates have a maximum of five attempts to pass the NAPLEX. If you fail the NAPLEX, you will need to wait 45 days before you can try taking it again. Further, if you fail the NAPLEX three times in a 12-month period, you must wait at least 12 months from the first attempt to reapply and begin the application process again. You may need to contact the FPGEC to request an early closure of your acceptance period so that you can reapply earlier.
The MPJE tests your knowledge of the laws and regulations for specific jurisdictions. You take the MPJE for the state in which you want to be licensed, and there is a unique MPJE developed for each state. If you want to be licensed in more than one state, you will need to pass multiple versions of the MPJE. To register for the MPJE, you will need to fill out an online application in the Exam Services section of your NABP e-Profile.
The MPJE is a 2½ hour exam consisting of 120 questions taken on a computer.
The MPJE tests three content areas:
The MPJE offers a Pre-MPJE practice exam, which you should consider taking as part of your preparation. The practice exam consists of 40 exam questions, and you will have 50 minutes to complete the exam. The Pre-MPJE can be taken once each year per jurisdiction and costs $75 per attempt.
Candidates have a maximum of five attempts per jurisdiction to pass the MPJE. If you fail the MPJE, you will need to wait 30 days before you can try taking it again. To retake the MPJE, you will need to apply to retake the exam.
