Registration with PSI (Non-EU Pharmacist)

Pharmacists who qualified in a Non-EU/EEA country (regardless of your nationality), prior to being eligible to apply for registration as a pharmacist with the PSI, must first apply to have their qualification recognised in Ireland. The mechanism in place for non-EU qualified pharmacists who have obtained a qualification as a pharmacist from a Non-EU/EEA country is to have their qualification recognised under the Third Country Qualification Recognition (TCQR) process.

Under this process, in order to meet the minimum standard of education and training, the applicant should have completed a minimum of a 5 year bachelor degree program and the 5 year program must have included at least 6 months practical internship training in the area of community and/or hospital pharmacy which was required to be undertaken as part of the degree program and prior to entitlement to register and practice as a pharmacist in the country where the qualification was obtained.

The structure of the degree program undertaken should be as per one of the following:

• 4 years academic + 1-year practical training, or;
• 4 ½ years academic + 6 months practical training, or;
• 5 year integrated academic and practical training (the integrated training must add up to at least 6 months).

The PSI as a patient safety regulator, is obliged to satisfy itself that a person’s education, training and qualifications are of a standard not lower than the standard of those necessary to practice in Ireland and processes all applications in an equitable transparent manner in accordance with the process in place. So we must work within the constraints and requirements of the relevant legislation and there is no provision in this legislation to enable the PSI to progress an application for Qualification Recognition which does not meet the minimum education and training criteria outlined. Further information regarding the relevant legislation can be accessed here (EU Directive 2005/36/EC recognition of professional qualifications)
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2005:255:0022:0142:EN:PDF, and (PSI Registration Rules) http://www.thepsi.ie/Libraries/Legislation/Registration_Rules.sflb.ashx

Non - EU Pharmacist registration with the PSI involves 4 stages:

Stage 1 : Application & Qualification Assessment

To make a valid application for recognition of your qualification as a pharmacist from a Third Country, you are required to:

1. 1. Complete the application form
2. 2. Complete the certificate of identity form
3. 3. Complete the statutory declaration form
4. 4. Copy of birth certificate (and marriage certificate, if applicable)
5. 5. Copy of all pages of current passport
6. 6. Copy of degree certificate / registration certificate
7. 7. Pay an application fee of €1,500.00 by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) - Application Fee Payment Form

The PSI also requires third party documents to be issued directly to the PSI in support of applicants, as follows:

1. 8. Academic Transcripts and Syllabus documents to be issued directly from the awarding university
2. 9. Certificate of Good Standing from relevant competent authority in home country to be issued directly from the competent authority
3. 10. Details of practical internship training undertaken as part of the degree programme must also be provided directly from either the university or competent authority

The above forms along with the documents as outlined at 1-6 above, can be submitted via email to [email protected] and/or via post. Third party documents at 7-9 above can be issued via email once we are satisfied of the authenticity of the issuing body.

Stage 2 : Equivalence Examination

If you have successfully completed Stage 1 of the TCQR process you are eligible to apply to sit an Equivalence Exam. You must be in receipt of a confirmation of eligibility letter from the PSI to be eligible to apply to sit the exam.

The Equivalence Exam includes an exam and OSCE assessment designed to assist the PSI Council in assessing the standard of training, education, examination and qualification of applicants so as to determine whether an applicant holds a qualification which is of a standard not lower than the standard necessary for practice in Ireland.

Preparing for the equivalence examination:

• Syllabus for the Equivalence Exam (sample questions included)
• Suggested reading materials
• Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) information

There are three possible outcomes further to the assessment of an applicant’s equivalence examination results and portfolio:

1. 1. Your performance may be such that your qualification may be recognised as being of a standard not lower than the standard of the qualification necessary for practice in the State and you may then progress directly to stage 4, and be invited to sit and pass the Professional Registration Exam of the PSI (i.e. you will NOT be required to undergo an adaptation period);
2. 2. Your performance may be such that there is a doubt that your qualification is not of a standard lower than that of the standard of the qualification necessary for practice in the State. You will be required to complete an adaptation period. This adaptation period can range from a minimum of 6 months to a maximum of 3 years depending on the level of deficiencies identified by the PIA in their assessment of your examination results and portfolio;
3. 3. Your performance may be such that your qualification is deemed to be of a standard lower than the standard of the qualification necessary for practice in the State and even if you were to undertake the maximum period of adaptation the deficiencies arising could not be mitigated. Your qualification will not be recognised and you will not be permitted to proceed any further in the process.

More information about the equivalence exam can be found HERE.

Stage 3 : Adaptation Period

Depending on the results from the equivalence exam, you may be required to complete an adaptation period - duration of 6 months to three years.

The purpose of the adaptation period ensures that in cases where a doubt exists in respect of the qualification held due to deficiencies identified at stage 2 (which have not been compensated for) that an applicant acquires any competencies which appear to be deficient, and which are necessary to practice safely as a pharmacist in the State.

The Adaptation Period can only be undertaken in a hospital or community pharmacy setting and must be carried out under the supervision of an approved tutor pharmacist at an approved training establishment

More information about the adaptation period can be found HERE.

Stage 4 : Professional Registration Exam (PRE)

Applicants who successfully complete the adaptation period are then eligible to proceed to stage 4 of the process and undertake the PSI Professional Registration Examination (PRE).

The overall purpose of the PRE is to finally assess and confirm that the applicant possesses the knowledge, skills and competencies appropriate for practice as a pharmacist in Ireland.

More information about the Professional Registration Exam can be found HERE.

Registration

If the applicant has passed the exam, they are then deemed to have successfully completed the TCQR process and are eligible to make an application for registration as a pharmacist in Ireland.

Assessment of language competence is required to be submitted when making an application for registration. On submission of an application for registration, applicants must prove that they have achieved a standard of competence in the English language.

Information regarding accepted language competency criteria can be found HERE.

Once you satisfy the language competency requirement, you can apply to register as a pharmacist in the PSI online registration portal. The registration portal contains instructions and information videos to assist with your application.

You can also CLICK HERE to access the Information & Explanatory Booklet which summarises the whole process.

If you'd like any more information or some career guidance, don't hesitate to get in touch. You can contact us via the button below. Alternatively, if you are already registered with the PSI you can check out our available vacancies here.

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