Nuclear pharmacy certificate program: distance learning

The Nuclear Pharmacy Certificate Program (NPCP) was developed to meet the need for licensed pharmacists wishing to change career paths and enter the practice of nuclear pharmacy. Additionally, the NPCP benefits employers that wish to employ a nuclear pharmacist in lieu of waiting for graduates that are available only at one time yearly from a college of pharmacy. The NPCP is not intended to replace traditional nuclear pharmacy education in academic institutions, but to offer an another option to pharmacists and potential employers. The NPCP is divided into two components. One component involves over 130 hours of instruction through videotapes and accompanying workbooks. This component is completed while working in a nuclear pharmacy and with the assistance of a nuclear pharmacist serving as a supervisor. The nuclear pharmacist is available to answer questions and to administer examinations over the videotape material. Examinations are prepared by Purdue faculty and returned for grading. Scores on exams must reflect learning to the same degree as in an academic environment. In the second component of the NPCP, the trainee attends a two-week session in the School of Pharmacy at Purdue University. the trainee must complete a significant portion of the videotape material before the on-campus session. In the on-campus component, videotape material is reinforced and expanded by laboratory exercises and lectures in dedicated, fully-equipped laboratories employed in the School of Pharmacy undergraduate program in nuclear pharmacy. Nuclear pharmacy faculty and consultants provide individualized instruction to each trainee. Assimilation of lecture and laboratory material is determined through several examinations. A comprehensive examination is administered which includes content from the videotape-workbook component of the NPCP. Certification is awarded to trainees who have completed the program and demonstrated their knowledge and competence by examination. Almost 200 individuals have successfully completed the NPCP over the past nine years. (author)