A couple months ago I recently became a board certified oncology pharmacist and thought I would share my BCOP study plan for anyone who is currently studying or striving to take the BCOP exam in the near future. For those who may not know, BCOP stands for Board Certified Oncology Specialist and is one of many board certifications you can obtain with the Board of Pharmacy Specialties. To become eligible for oncology board certification you must meet one of the following requirements, in addition to being a pharmacy graduate that has a current active license to practice as a pharmacist in the USA or another jurisdiction:
- At least four years of Oncology Pharmacy practice experience within the past 7 years, with at least 50% of time spent in the scope defined by the exam content outline; OR
- Successful completion of PGY1 pharmacy residency within the past 7 years, plus at least 2 years of Oncology Pharmacy practice experience with at least 50% of time spent in the scope defined by the exam content outline; OR
- Successful completion of PGY1 pharmacy residency plus successful completion of an ASHP-accredited/candidate status PGY2 pharmacy residency in Oncology Pharmacy within the past 7 years
So now for the good stuff.. my BCOP Study plan and method. Essentially what I did was review pertinent topics weekly by reading and watching videos from ACCP/ASHP, while practicing topic related questions provided by High- Yield Med Reviews (which I highly recommend to invest in). I specifically purchased their Q-bank which was super helpful and you get the best value investing in the Q-bank 3-month access, which currently costs $309. For more information on how to purchase the High-Yield Med Review BCOP Q-bank click here. Lastly, I dedicated the final week of studying to reviewing all content i studied in past weeks that were summarized through notes and solely practicing test questions through the Q-bank.
BCOP Study Schedule
| Week 1 | · Breast Cancer |
| Week 2 | · Gynecologic cancers· Prostate Cancer |
| Week 3 | · Lower GI/ Upper GI cancer· Liver cancer |
| Week 4 | · Pharmacology of Chemotherapy· Pharmacology of Hormonal therapy |
| Week 6 | · Pharmacology of Immunotherapy· Pharmacology of Targeted therapy
· Practice Management ( *Hint* take this topic seriously) |
| Week 7 | · Acute leukemia’s· Multiple myeloma |
| Week 8 | · Chronic leukemia’s· Head and neck tumors |
| Week 9 | · Lymphomas· Pediatric cancers |
| Week 10 | · Lung cancer· Pharmacogenomics |
| Week 11 | · Sarcomas· Skin cancers |
| Week 12 | · Supportive Care |
| Week 13 | · Cancer screening and prevention· Research design, statistics and literature evaluation |
| Week 14 | Review all material and practice questions from Q-bank |
I do want to note that I followed this schedule while working full-time as an oncology pharmacist so it is completely do-able! Definitely modify this schedule to what works best for your life. I hope this study schedule is helpful to future board certified oncology specialists reading this, all the best to you!
With Regards,
Ms Rx Geek