As a recently graduated Pharmacist who is seeking licensure in the state of California, I'm writing today to bring your attention the the California State Board of Pharmacy’s handling of a recent alleged exam compromise of California Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam (CPJE). 

The CPJE is a California-specific exam required for pharmacist licensure that is intended to ensure candidates are knowledgeable about CA pharmacy law and clinical pharmacy. This is in addition to the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX), a national, standardized exam recognized by 40+ state boards of pharmacy as the standard of clinical knowledge required to safely practice pharmacy. While most states require some form of a jurisprudence exam testing legal knowledge, the CPJE is unique in that it tests extensively on clinical knowledge covered in the NAPLEX, and is often cited as one of the hardest pharmacist licensure exams. 

Since approximately July 9th of this year, the CA Board of Pharmacy has withheld CPJE scores. Initially, the board claimed new test scoring methodology, however, on September 27th, the board first acknowledged there was concern the security of the exam had been compromised, and would be withholding scores for an unknown amount of time while investigating. Since then, there has been little further communication from the board. On October 11th, the Board released an emailed statement saying “all pending CPJE results have been invalidated.”

On the basis of their mandate to protect consumers, the actions of the board in this matter are understandable. However, the costs to applicants have been incalculable, ranging from lost job offers, lost income, time away from work, and re-locations to neighboring states to find new jobs in order to stay financially above water. The more than three months it has taken the board to come to this disappointing conclusion is frankly unacceptable. Even if a decision is made to retake the CPJE exam in November, graduates may not receive results until February 2020 as it can take up to 90 days to receive exam results. After passing, we would need to wait 1 - 2 weeks for the Board of Pharmacy to cash our checks, and another 3 - 4 weeks for us to receive our license. Thus, the earliest anybody from the Class of 2019 would receive their license would be mid-March 2020.     

Without a pharmacist license, graduates with job offers and those applying for jobs are at high risk of unemployment. The pharmacy field is saturated and it is extremely difficult to secure a job even with relocation; without a license, unemployed pharmacy graduates cannot even apply for a pharmacist job. After spending their college years earning top marks to become competitive pharmacy school applicants and completing their doctorate level education, many people are eager to start the next phases of their life such as getting married and having children; however, these are both heavy financial investments that require a steady income.

With this in mind, we’re asking that the board take the recommendation of the California Pharmacists Association, and release the CPJE scores they’ve decided to cancel. This course of action will allow applicants to continue with their professional lives, and allow the board to continue to investigate the actions of those who may have attempted to compromise the security of the exam, and enact sanctions on those responsible, instead of the thousands of applicants whose lives have been overturned by the board. 

The Board of Pharmacy should immediately re-examine the video and audio for all candidates that tested from early July to mid-September to provide concrete evidence of cheating and substantiate their academic dishonesty charges. If candidates completed their exams ethically and passed, they should should be cleared immediately to apply for their pharmacist license. Only candidates who failed or are found with objective evidence of cheating should retake the CPJE exam as ordained by the Board of Pharmacy. 

Furthermore, we’re asking for your support in pushing the board to modernize the process. In most states, the time from application to a license being granted is 30-60 days, whereas the process in CA this year has taken more than 6 months, with no end in sight now. Some states have moved away from requiring a jurisprudence exam entirely, instead relying on applicants to attest to knowledge of the local laws, or to take a short class to update them on legal requirements in the state. Those that still require a jurisprudence exam use a modern, electronic testing system that would prevent this type of exam security compromise, and allow for faster release of results. The Board of Pharmacy should expedite release of results (maximum waiting time of 21 days instead of the usual 90 day waiting period) to prevent further licensure delays. 

Candidates are being punished for the Board of Pharmacy’s lack of due diligence in resolving academic dishonesty charges in an efficient and timely manner. Having more then a 1,000 pharmacy candidates retake their exams would take an additional 2 months, and this does not even include reviewing each individuals’ video and audio for academic misconduct; it would be less time-consuming to review existing video and audio files for candidates and validate these test results. The Board of Pharmacy should also provide an estimated time frame for clearing candidates and weekly updates on their website to maintain transparency throughout this process. If the Board suspects academic dishonesty has occurred, they should cancel all exams the next day and start investigations immediately; furthermore, the Board of Pharmacy must allow candidates to register for the CPJE exam one week after halting exams to avoid further delays. Lastly, the Board of Pharmacy must outline further safeguards to prevent similar incidents from occurring.

Thank you for your time in reading this petition. We hope you choose to sign, and support the livelihoods and careers of the thousands of qualified pharmacists, pharmacy residents, and new pharmacy graduates who want nothing more than to take care of our patients.