Continuing education tests is a great opportunity to obtain points for recurrent certification

Since 2006, Medicine Information Centre has been offering a continuing education programme “Continuing education tests” for pharmacists and pharmacists’ assistants.

Before, the possibilities for the pharmacists to acquire knowledge through continuing education were provided by the medicine manufacturers, Pharmacists’ Society of Latvia and Pharmacists’ trade union in the form of organizing seminars. The goal of MIC is to develop an educational programme which could ensure an objective information necessary for work of a pharmaceutical specialist, so that the information could be available at the working place or at home and would give the opportunity to obtain points for recurrent certification, as well as would be predictable (with unaffected quality).

What is the basis for this programme?

Every quarter (II, V, VIII, and XI) in the journal "Materia Medica" and in the separate section “Tests” in the portal www.farmacija-mic.lv, the articles prepared for this particular reason are published. At the end of an article, there are eight questions with four possible answers for each one. Having completed the reading of an article, a pharmacist should answer the questions. If a pharmacist has answered at least 8 out of 10 questions correctly, he/she obtains 2 points for a recurrent certification.

Who can take part in the programme “Continuing education tests”?

Any pharmacist or pharmacist’s assistant, who has obtained an annual subscription of the Continuing education tests (it is possible to obtain 8 points a year, participating in four rounds).

How to answer the questions?

In addition to the particularly marked articles, journal "Materia Medica" publishes a questionnaire containing multiple choice questions. On the reverse page of a questionnaire, a participant should fill his or her personal information in. After the questionnaire is carefully completed, it must be cut out and sent to the editor’s office via regular mail with an enclosed payment document.

To answer the test questions at the portal www.farmacija-mic.lv, a person should register at the section “Tests” (upper right corner of the screen). After the registration, the participant receives an invoice via e-mail, which should be paid. When the payment appears on the MIC account, the participant obtains a confirmation message that he or she can access the articles in the internet. Read the articles carefully, answer the questions and send the answers to the portal editors electronically. The participant may answer the questions just once. Only one participant can register with the same e-mail address.

The articles can be printed out if necessary, to read them when it is comfortable at any place.

How do I find out if I have answered the questions correctly if I send the answers by regular mail?

The registration numbers (from the Register of pharmacists and pharmacists’ assistants) of the participants who gave the correct answers are published two months after in the issue containing the articles and questions of the next round. The numbers from the Register of pharmacists’ belonging to the participants who gave correct answers are also published in internet in a separate section „Test results”.

For how long can I send the answers?

The last date of sending (post stamp on the envelope) is indicate specifically for each round; normally the answers can be sent for a period slightly over two months. In the internet the answers can be given while the articles are published (for about 2 months). As soon as the deadline is approached, the articles will be deleted.

How do I find out the correct answers?

The correct answers are published together with the next round articles both in the internet (www.farmacija-mic.lv section "Tests"), and in the journal "Materia Medica".

How do I prove to the certification commission that I have obtained the points via the programme “Continuing education tests”?

MIC regularly sends data about the points obtained via the “Continuing education tests” to the of the Professional qualification certification commission of pharmacists.
 
Is it possible to answer just for the one round of questions?

It is, but you have to purchase the annual subscription anyway.

We are ready to clarify any obscure issue by the phone!

 

Contact information:

Inese Lielbriede
Phone: + 371 67821245
e- mail: mic@mic.lv