Program Description

The Pharmaceutical Prescribing Course for Naturopathic Physicians is designed to build on the experience and knowledge of Naturopathic Doctors while providing valuable information that is important to consider when prescribing and monitoring drug therapy to ensure safe and effective treatment for various medical disorders. The registrants of this course will be divided into 3 cohorts. Each cohort will attend 3 sessions, including the final assessment.

• Part 1 - Introductory Session - This session will provide the basic description of our regulatory scope and other regulatory issues, the essence of basic prescription writing, and principles of evidence based prescribing. . It will orient the cohort to the course and present some of the material described in the course content syllabus under part I.
• Part 2 - Second Session - This session will continue to have the participants interact with the material they have been studying in preparation for the assessments. It will involve hands-on and interactive opportunities that will allow you to test your understanding of the material, pose questions to the facilitators, and practice selecting, prescribing, and properly following up on the prescribing of pharmaceutical agents.
• Self-Study - The amount of time available for the live sessions is inadequate to cover all the material necessary to be familiar with the use of medications in a general medical practice. The topics selected for coverage in the lives sessions were chosen by committee, including members of the profession, and represent what are the most likely conditions you see in your practice. While the self-study topics may not be as commonly seen, it is still important for us to have a good understanding of the principles of prescribing for anyone who comes into your office. These topics are not as strongly emphasized in the course, however it is expected you will be able to use them safely and effectively, and your ability to do so will be part of the assessment.

Course Content

Further references, reading, and podcasts will be identified as we approach the dates of the course.

Part 1 Readings
Part 2 Readings
Self-Interest Readings
Self-Study Reading

Assessment

The assessment procedure is in two parts. Participants must pass both parts. It is estimated to take approximately 4 or 5 hours, with both parts being taken on the same day.

Part I is a one on one assessment exam. Participants will be given a case and 20 minutes to ask about any particulars of the case then develop a prescribing plan, which includes writing a prescription and follow-up evaluation of the patient. This process will be repeated three times for a total of three cases. Each participant will receive feedback describing their strengths and weaknesses, and the outcome of their assessments, which will be pass or fail.

Part II is an open book, multiple-choice examination. The exam will consist of approximately100 questions, and will take two hours.

Members will be required to successfully complete both the oral and written portions of the assessment.

Member Support Forum

The primary feedback and practice participants will receive are through on-line examinations summarizing groups of topics as you work through the material. There will be approximately 200 total questions developed. 120 of them will be accessible via the on-line site. The rest will be on the final exam, with approximately 20 of the questions already presented on-line. Each question will provide feedback on your choices, correct or not, to walk you through the decision making process and refine your approach to prescribing.

Boucher will also make available an on-line forum to allow participants to ask questions of each other and talk about issues and problems they may be having with the content, or to share solutions to such problems. The site could be monitored periodically to provide feedback if it seems necessary.

Course Dates

Part I	October 8 and 9, 2010
Part II	January 14 and 15, 2011
Exam	February 5, 2011

Venue

BCIT Downtown Campus
555 Seymour St.
Vancouver BC

Costs

$1525.00

Registration now available. The process is very simple. Choose the Cohort above by clicking the add to cart button. You will then fill out the registration form. Once that is completed you will need to click the PayPal button to pay for your class. You can pay by credit card once you are on the PayPal payment gateway. You do not need a PayPal account. Class size is limited so please register as soon as possible.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Day 3
Topic	Time
1.  Recap of Previous Sessions and Feedback from Online Readings	8:30 – 9:15
2.  Anxiety/Insomnia	9:15 – 10:30
Break	10:30 – 10:45
3.  Pain Management (Headache, Migraine, Acute and Chronic Pain, Osteoarthritis)	10:45 – 12:00
Lunch	12:00 – 1:00
4.  Dermatology (Acne, Atopic Dermatitis, Psoriasis)	1:00 – 2:30
Break	2:30 – 2:45
5.  Endocrine, Bioidentical hormones, menopause and osteoporosis	2:45 – 4:30
Day 4
1.  CNPBC Standards	8:30 – 9:30
2. Smoking Cessation Pharmacological Options	9:30 – 10:15
Break	10:15 – 10:30
3. Respiratory Disorders: Asthma, COPD, Allergic Rhinitis	10:30 – 12:00
Lunch	12:00 – 1:00
4. ADHD	1:00 – 2:00
5.  Patient Cases (all disorders) and practice writing prescriptions and defining risks, benefits, and monitoring parameters.	2:00 – 3:30
6. Oral exam, Exam Prep, Course Evaluation and Wrap up.	3:30 – 4:30

About the Facilitators

Dr. James McCormack, B.Sc.(Pharm.), Pharm.D.
Professor, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UBC

Dr. James McCormack received his undergraduate pharmacy degree at the University of British Columbia in 1982 and completed a hospital pharmacy residency program at Lion's Gate Hospital in North Vancouver in 1984. He received his doctorate in pharmacy (Pharm.D.) in 1986 from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. He has had extensive experience, both locally and internationally, talking to health professionals and consumers about the rational use of medication, has presented over 300 seminars on drug therapy over the last 15 years. His focus is shared-informed decision-making using evidence based information and rational therapeutic principles. In addition, he has published over 100 articles in the medical literature, mainly in the area of rational drug therapy and has been an editor for two internationally recognized textbooks on appropriate/rational drug therapy.

Dr. Adil Virani, B.Sc.(Pharm.), Pharm.D., FCSHP
Director, Pharmacy Services, Fraser Health Authority, Associate Professor, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UBC.

Adil Virani graduated with his Bachelor of Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from University of British Columbia in 1992 and 1997 respectively. He also holds a certificate in Leadership Development from St. Mary’s University in Halifax, NS and is a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists.

Dr. Virani has worked in many settings and facilities, including several universities, psychiatric and forensic institutions as well as general and pediatric hospitals in British Columbia and Nova Scotia. He has spent the majority of his clinical practice in the area of psychiatry. As a Director with Pharmacy Services at Fraser Health, Vancouver Coastal Health, Providence Health Care and Provincial Health Services Authority, he is responsible for the Professional Practice portfolio, Residency and Student Education, Academic Detailing and pharmacy operations at Burnaby Hospital.

Dr. Virani is an Associate Professor with the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the UBC. Here, Adil co-coordinates a therapeutics course to third year pharmacy students and lectures on various psychiatric and evidence based practice topics to undergraduate students and psychiatry residents in the Faculty of Medicine. He has over 30 publications and has delivered over 100 presentations. He is the lead editor of a 372 page book entitled the Clinical Handbook of Psychotropic Drugs, which is now in its 18th edition and is the 2009 American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year. He also co-wrote a similar handbook for children and adolescents.

In addition’s to Adil’s role on the Education Working Group of the Therapeutics Initiative, Dr. Virani is a core member of the Canadian Optimal Medication Prescribing and Utilization Service (COMPUS) Expert Review Committee and a member of the Human Drug Advisory Panel (HDAP) of the Patented Medicines Prices Review Board (PMPRB).