Administration of Injections: Certificate Program

The BCPhA collaborated with the College of Pharmacists of BC (CPBC), Ministry of Health and BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) to develop its Accredited Administration of Injections Certificate Program.

Training sessions began in September 2009.  As of November 2021, there were more than 4,700 pharmacists who have received the authority to administer injections in the province! Congratulations to all the pharmacists who have embraced this expanded scope of practice.

The BCPhA Administration of Injections Certificate Program is accredited as a blended program made up of two components;

1. An online independent pre-study titled the BCCDC Immunization Competency Course, plus an additional intranasal module (both must be successfully completed before you attend the in-person workshop)
2. A live, in-person workshop called the Practical Administration of Injections for BC Pharmacists.

Both the online and in-person components requires separate registration.

Upon successful completion of both components, a pharmacist can be considered to hold a continuing education certificate in Immunizations and Injections.  Please review the statement of appropriate use for the BCPhA continuing education certificate in Immunizations and Injections.  The continuing education certificate is not a certification in immunizations and injections. 

Pharmacists must receive authorization from the CPBC prior to providing injection services.  To receive authorization, a pharmacist must submit an Application for Certification - Injection Drug Administration form along with valid certificates for CPR & first aid and a recognized Injections Program (your certificate must be dated no more than one year from the date of your application).  Applications for the legal authority to administer injections will be reviewed by CPBC as they are received and qualified applicants will be notified of their authorization.

Program Name: Immunization Competency Program and Practical Administration of Injections for BC Pharmacists
Course author: BC Pharmacy Association

This program is CCCEP accredited for 17.5 CEUs.

CCCEP Number: 1092-2021-3289-B-P, expiry Oct. 15, 2024.

Please note: this is accredited as a blended program consisting of an online component and a live workshop component. One combined Certificate of Completion for both the online modules and the workshop will be provided after the live workshop.

Both of these online components are available free of charge to all pharmacists and both the online pre-study and the intranasal module are expected to be completed by the Wednesday preceeding the workshop.

The BCCDC Immunization Competency Course is hosted on the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) Learning Hub.

Pharmacists must achieve at least 70 per cent on the pre-study basic exam for the online course prior to attending the practical workshop.  Pharmacists will only have two attempts to successfully complete the Basic Exam. (Please note that if you have previously completed the Basic Exam, your score is only valid for 1 year from the date of completion.)

Pharmacists must score at least 7 out of 10 on the Intransal Module assessment on the BCPhA eTraining portal to pass.

The newly updated program will take approximately ten hours to complete both the online pre-study as well as the intranasal module.

The Practical Administration of Injections workshop for BC pharmacists is a full-day, live workshop facilitated by a Registered Pharmacist and includes practical training in administering subcutaneous, intradermal, and intramuscular injections. Pharmacists must successfully administer an intramuscular and a subcutaneous injection to be awarded certification for completion of the workshop.

Registration for the workshop must be done separately from the online pre-study program. You may register for a workshop before or after having completed the online pre-study, but in order to attend a workshop you must pass the online pre-study Basic Exam with a grade of 70% or higher.

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