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The CAOP® (Competency Assessment of Overseas Pharmacists) exam is one part of the registration process for overseas qualified pharmacists to apply for limited registration for supervised practice in Australia.
The CAOP® exam evaluates your skills and knowledge to practice safely and effectively during supervised practice in the period of limited registration.
For further information about pharmacist registration requirements, please refer to the Pharmacy Board of Australia website.
This guide outlines the exam content and how you will be assessed in the CAOP® (Competency Assessment of Overseas Pharmacists) exam. For further information about exam eligibility, registration, payment, and exam day procedures visit the CAOP® exam information page.
For a PDF version, download the CAOP® Exam Guide (PDF 12 pages)
CAOP® is a 'restricted open-book exam' computer-based exam delivered at approved test centres.
This means you can bring with you 1 copy each of the following approved reference books (any edition).
Only printed or hand-written reference materials are permitted.
Refer to the CAOP®exam preparation page for information on what you can bring to your exam.
It contains 70 multiple-choice questions, each with a single correct answer and 3 incorrect options.
You have 120 minutes (2 hours) to complete the exam.
Before the exam, you will be given 5 minutes to read and agree to a non-disclosure agreement and 10 minutes to complete a tutorial designed to familiarise yourself with the exam software.
After the exam, you will have 5 minutes to complete an exam feedback survey. These pre- and post-exam activities do not count towards the exam time.
The 120-minute timer will begin with the first question of the exam.
Each exam session has multiple live versions of the exam, which are randomly allocated. The order of questions is also presented randomly.
The CAOP® exam assesses competencies relating to domain 3 of the National Competency Standards Framework for Pharmacists in Australia 2016.
The table below shows the five competency standards assessed and the approximate percentage of questions allocated in the CAOP® exam.
|
Competency Standard |
Percentage of questions allocated |
|
3.1 Develop a patient centred, culturally responsive approach to medication management |
20% |
|
3.2 Implement the medication management strategy or plan |
30% |
|
3.3 Monitor and evaluate medication management |
30% |
|
3.4 Compound medicines |
10% |
|
3.6 Promote health and well-being |
10% |
Each CAOP® exam covers a suitable range of therapeutic areas and disease states commonly observed in contemporary pharmacy practice. Questions may assess one or a combination of the following topics:
APC is committed to ensuring that exam content is accurate, up-to-date and aligned with current clinical practice by engaging with subject matter experts. The majority of questions developed for the CAOP® exam focus on evidence-based guideline recommendations and frequently prescribed or high risk agent(s) used in the treatment of various conditions. However, it is important to note that questions may include less frequently used medications, as these can enhance our ability to assess a candidate’s competency more thoroughly.
Standard 3.1 - Develop a patient centred, culturally responsive approach to medication management
|
Enabling Competencies assessed |
Examples of topics used for the purposes of the CAOP® exam (non-exhaustive) |
|
3.1.2 Assess medication management practices and needs |
Assess clinical situations and medication treatment options Identify patient, drug and dosage form factors that may impact on patient adherence of efficacy and safety of treatment |
Standard 3.2 - Implement the medication management strategy or plan
|
Enabling Competencies assessed |
Examples of topics used for the purposes of the CAOP® exam (non-exhaustive) |
|
3.2.2 Provide primary care and promote judicious use of medicines |
Reinforce the value of evidence-based non-pharmacological and over-the-counter treatments with the provision of supportive advice and information where appropriate Promote the judicious use of medicines that supports their prescribing only where they are clinically indicated Prescribe appropriate medicines and treatment regimens based on consideration of their pharmacological actions and therapeutic uses, safety and cost-effectiveness |
|
3.2.3 Dispense medicines (including compounded medicines) in consultation with the patient and/or prescriber |
Assess clinical appropriateness of prescribed medications in the context of patient specific health information Assess and recommend any changes in the medicine treatment regimen that are considered desirable and documents approved changes Standards for drug preparations, packaging and labelling |
|
3.2.5 Provide counselling and information for safe and effective medication management |
Provide patient-centred and culturally responsive counselling to the patient to support safe and effective medication management practices Confirm patient understanding of medication management requirements Address lifestyle factors likely to improve health outcomes or promote improved therapeutic outcomes Deliver primary care to manage injuries (sporting, accidental, trauma) or acute and sudden illness (chest pains, shortness of breath, loss of consciousness) |
Standard 3.3 - Monitor and evaluate medication management
|
Enabling Competencies assessed |
Examples of topics used for the purposes of the CAOP® exam (non-exhaustive) |
|
3.3.2 Apply clinical review findings to improve health outcomes |
Provide recommendations concerning necessary modifications to existing treatment to improve medication management and therapeutic outcomes Reporting of adverse medicine events, including adverse drug reactions, sensitivities and allergies according to professional standards and conventions Interpret any monitoring undertaken to guide changes in the medication treatment regimen. Consider the necessity for any monitoring not yet implemented |
Standard 3.4 - Compound medicines
|
Enabling Competencies assessed |
Examples of topics used for the purposes of the CAOP® exam (non-exhaustive) |
|
3.4.1 Determine the required formulation |
Apply suitable standard formulations, compounding expertise, clinical expertise and judgement to advise and produce a safe, appropriate and suitable patient-specific formulation Calculate required dosages, drug half-lives and drug concentrations |
Standard 3.6 - Promote health and well-being
|
Enabling Competencies assessed |
Examples of topics used for the purposes of the CAOP® exam (non-exhaustive) |
|
3.6.2 Support health promotion activities and health services intended to maintain and improve health |
Identify and supports national and local health priorities and initiatives, including health screening programs, targeted at reducing health inequities consistent with the role of the pharmacist Deliver culturally responsive health promotion activities Promotion and support of improved self-sufficiency and well-being in patients and the community as a whole |
Questions in the CAOP® exam meet the following standards for consistency:
The CAOP® exam uses a scaled scoring system to ensure fairness and consistency across multiple versions of exam forms. The passing score is determined through evidence-based psychometric standard-setting processes involving subject matter experts. This passing score reflects the minimum standard that must be met to apply for general registration as an Australian pharmacist.
Success is determined by the level of ability or performance compared to this standard, not by comparing performance to other candidates or by an arbitrary score. Passing the CAOP® exam depends on your overall performance across the entire exam. You must meet the passing standard set for your randomly allocated exam form to pass the CAOP® exam.
We collaborate with psychometricians to undertake robust analyses of scoring and exam standards to maintain the reliability and validity of CAOP® exam results. Of the 70 questions in the CAOP® exam 90% are ‘scored’ questions, which count towards your result. The remaining 10% of questions are ‘unscored’ questions. This means they are included in the exam for calibration and testing, but do not count towards your result.
Unscored questions may relate to any content area of the exam, but they will not count towards the target percentage of questions for any of the content areas. Unscored questions are evenly distributed across all six content areas. You will not be made aware which of your questions are scored, and which are unscored.
This video explains how we use psychometric and evidence-based techniques to develop reliable, valid and fair exams for all APC candidates. Understanding our exam design may help you in your preparation.
To protect the security and integrity of our assessments, we do not share the questions and answers from your exam attempt(s). Additionally, we do not disclose raw scores or percentages of your exam results, as they do not accurately reflect the difficulty of the questions or whether the exam standard was met.
We will provide you with a result report that indicates whether you met the overall standard or were unsuccessful.
CAOP® exam results are available within approximately 3 weeks of the exam. The result release date for each session is available on our website. You will receive an email notification once your exam result is available and information on how to access it.
Exam results are not subject to review. If you feel your exam performance was negatively affected by an incident or administrative procedure, you can find more information on the options available to you in our Appeals policy.
If you do not pass the exam you may apply to sit another exam session. You will be required to register and pay the exam fee for each exam attempt, and to re-sit the full exam.
To help you prepare for the CAOP® exam, we provide 1 official sample paper that you can download.
The sample paper contains questions to help you practise. These questions are no longer used, but they'll help you understand:
If you want to practise the sample paper under exam conditions, you'll need to answer all 70 questions in 120 minutes (2 hours).
Download sample paper (35 pages PDF)
Our exam provider, Pearson VUE, provides an online sample test to experience the exam software before your exam day.
The content of our exams is based on the latest information, which you can find in relevant:
Ensure you are utilising up-to-date and evidence-based resources to guide your preparation.
Please note that APC does not endorse any CAOP® exam preparation programs or offerings.
We encourage you to explore official professional organisations for Australian or New Zealand pharmacists to support your professional development and enhance your readiness to practice. These organisations include:
We wish you all the best with your exam preparations.
You will receive emails from us as you progress in your journey. We do ask that you check and read our emails carefully.
Please contact us if you have any further questions; we’re here to help.
Email us at info@pharmacycouncil.org.au
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