Question & AnswerQ&A (PRC BOARD OF PHARMACY Resolution NO. 08, SERIES 2004)
The legal basis is Section 18(c) of Article III of Republic Act No. 5921, as amended by Section 1 of Presidential Decree No. 1363, which requires candidates for the board examination in Pharmacy to complete an internship program.
The Pharmacy internship program must consist of at least nine hundred sixty hours (960 hours).
Half of the 960 hours, or four hundred eighty hours (480 hours), must be spent equally distributed in a prescription pharmacy, a pharmaceutical laboratory, and a hospital pharmacy (one hundred sixty hours each). The remaining 480 hours may be earned in any or all of these establishments at the candidate's choice.
The three specified pharmacy activities or establishments are community (prescription) pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, and manufacturing (pharmaceutical laboratory).
The establishments must keep a separate record of pharmacy students undergoing the internship under their control, issue certificates of completion of said hours, and annually submit a report of the trainees’ names and corresponding internship hours to the respective schools/colleges/universities and to the Board of Pharmacy for accreditation.
Submission of the Certificate of Completion is required starting July 2004 for candidates taking the licensure examination for Pharmacists.
The resolution took effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation, whichever was earlier.
The Philippine Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (PACOP), the Philippine Pharmaceutical Association, Inc. (PPhA), and other pharmaceutical associations were consulted.
Internship establishments must submit a complete report of the names of students who have undergone training under their supervision along with the corresponding number of hours credited for the internship to their respective schools and the Board of Pharmacy.
These requirements ensure proper accreditation of internship programs, verification of completion of required hours by trainees, and regulatory compliance to uphold the standards of pharmacy practice in the licensure process.