Saudi Pharmacist Licensure Examination Blueprint
Saudi Pharmacist Licensure Examination Blueprint
Saudi Pharmacist Licensure Examination Blueprint
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SPLE Overview
This document provides important information about the topics covered on the examination and the
competency areas in which candidates will be tested.
The examination is a comprehensive measure of knowledge in four major pharmacy content areas:
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General Rules
Saudi Pharmacist Licensure Examination
The Saudi Pharmacist Licensure Examination (SPLE) is mandatory for PharmD/BS Pharmacy professionals
if they want to practice in Saudi Arabia or get admitted to a postgraduate training program at the Saudi
Commission for Heath Specialties (SCFHS).
The examination shall contain recall questions that test knowledge and questions with scenarios that
test other skills (interpretation, analysis, decision making, reasoning and problem solving).
Test specifications is a document that reflects the content and format of the SPLE. The document was
established by a SPLE task force which consists of nationwide Pharmacist representatives. The purpose
of identifying the competences is to ensure that practitioners have the minimal competence for safe
practice. General pharmacist competencies are universal therefore SPLE task force acknowledges
adapting the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE) blueprint to the local
practice in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
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1.1 Physiology
1.1.1 Function of the major body systems and homeostatic impact at organ and system level
1.2 Biochemistry
1.4 Immunology
14.4 Molecular genetics, genomic, proteomic, and metabolic principles that serve as a foundation for
pharmacogenomics and the genetic basis of disease
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2.2.6 Acute and chronic toxic effect of xenobiotics, including drug and chemical overdose and
antidotes
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2.4 Pharmaceutics/Biopharmaceutics
2.4.1 Biopharmaceutical principles of drug delivery to the body via dosage forms: liquid, solid,
semisolid, controlled release, patches, implants
2.4.4 Principles of drug and dosage form stability, including chemical degradation and physical
instability
2.5 Pharmacokinetics
2.5.3 Physiologic determinates of drug onset and duration, including disease and dietary influences
on absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion
2.6.1 International Pharmacopeia guidelines on sterile and nonsterile compounding, hazardous drugs,
and regulation of compounding
2.6.2 Techniques and principles used to prepare and dispense individual extemporaneous
prescriptions, including dating of compounded dosage forms
2.6.4 Sterile admixture techniques, including stability, clean-room requirements, sterility testing, and
dating
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3.1.2 Social, political, and economic factors that influence the delivery of health care in the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia
3.1.3 Public Health and Wellness: chronic disease prevention, health promotion, infectious disease
control,demographics, physical, social, and environmental factors leading to disease, comparing and
contrasting public health with individual medical care
3.1.4 The health care delivery system compared and contrasted with that of other industrialized
nations
3.2.1 Data sources and analytic tools that provide an estimate of the probability of beneficial or
adverse effects of medication use in large populations
3.2.2 Application of epidemiological study designs to evaluate drug use and outcomes in large
populations
3.2.3 Methods for continually monitoring unwanted effects and other safety-related aspects of
medication use in large populations
3.3.2 Pharmacoeconomic analysis and its application to improve the allocation of limited health care
resources
3.3.3 Humanistic outcomes and their application to improve the allocation of limited health care
resources
3.4.1 Management principles (planning, organizing, directing, and controlling pharmacy resources)
applied to various pharmacy practice setting and patient outcomes
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3.4.4 Marketing of goods and services: product versus service pricing, distribution, promotion
3.4.6 Budgeting
3.5.1 Legal and regulatory principles applied to pharmacy practice: dispensing, professional services,
drug use control
3.5.3 Authority, responsibilities, and operation of agencies and entities that promulgate or administer
laws, regulations, or guidance related to practice and prescription, controlled substances, and
nonprescription medications>
3.6.2 Application and interpretation of statistical tests and data collection instruments
3.7.2 Ethical dilemmas in the delivery of patient, centered care including, conflicts of interest, end-of-
life decision making, use of codes of ethics, oaths of the pharmacist
3.8.1 Communication abilities (appropriate verbal, nonverbal, visual, and written) with patient and
caregivers, including empathetic communication
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3.8.3 Assertiveness and problem-solving techniques in relation to difficult social and professional
conflicts and situations
3.8.5 Development of cultural competency in pharmacy personnel such that services are respectful
of and responsive to the health beliefs, practices, and cultural and linguistic needs of diverse patient
populations
3.10.1 Systems for safe and effective preparation and dispensing of medications in all types of
practice settings
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4.1.2 Apply drug-information skills for the delivery of medication therapy management
4.1.5 Utilize core scientific and systems-based knowledge in the patient care decision-making process
4.1.6 Utilize basic science principles in the development and/or implementation of drug treatment
protocols and clinical practice guidelines
4.2 1. Identify common drugs that require therapeutic drug monitoring and how different monitoring
methods needed to avoid toxicity and achieve efficacy.
4.4.1 Recognize the proper use of nonpharmacologic therapies, including complementary and
alternative medicines
4.4.3 Identify the role of immunizations in disease prevention and health promotion
4.5.3 Differentiate between normal physical assessment findings and modifications caused by
common disease states and drug therapy
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4.5.5 Perform calculations related to patient assessment: BMI, CrCl, lab adjustments
4.5.6 Describe the use of OTC point-of-care testing devices: glucometers, pregnancy tests, home
testing for HbA1c.
4.6.1 Make therapy recommendations based on dosage calculations, specific uses and indications of
drugs and nutritional and support therapy
4.6.3 Triage and identify when to refer patients to other health professionals
4.6.7 Identify and manage drug toxicity, drug-induced diseases, and misuse or abuse
4.6.10 Genetic Variants affecting drug action and metabolism, adverse drug reactions, and disease risk that
influence the practice of personalized medicine
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Section Textbooks
Applied Biopharmaceutics & Pharmacokinetics, Shargel, the Middle East Observer, USA: Appleton and
Lange.
Pharmaceutical Calculations by Howard C. Ansel, Mitchell J. Stoklosa, latest edition
Clinical Pharmacokinetics by JOHN E. MURPHY, PharmD, FASHP, FCCPLoyd, V. and Allen, Jr.
Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Press.
Non- prescription medicines : Alan Nathan: Pharmaceutical press
Pharmaceutical Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs: An Interactive Approach to Self-Care
Sciences SFDA OTC guide
Aulton, M., E., Pharmaceutics: The Science of Dosage Form Design, London Churchill Livingstone.
Sinko, P. J., Martin's physical pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences: Physical chemical and
biopharmaceutical principles in the pharmaceutical sciences. New York, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Principles of Toxicology, Karen E. Stine, Thomas M. Brown ISBN 978146650342
Dick R. Gourley , James C. Eoff III, The APhA Complete Review for Pharmacy, the American Pharmacists
Association.
Social And Behavioral Aspects Of Pharmaceutical CareMar 25, 2009 by Nathaniel M. Rickles and Albert
I. Wertheimer
Reference Guide for Pharmacy Management & Pharmacoeconomics by Manan Shroff
Social/Behavioral David A. Holdford, Ph.D., Thomas R. Brown; Introduction to Hospital and Health System Pharmacy
Practice, ASHP
/Administrative Jean Carter, Marion Slack. Pharmacy in Public Health: Basics and Beyond, American Society of Health-
Sciences System Pharmacists
Yi Yang, Donna West-Strum, Understanding Pharmacoepidemiology, McGraw-Hill.
الهيئة العامة للغذاء والدواء،دليل إجراءات وضوابط المواد المخدرة والمؤثرات العقلية لألغراض الطبية والعلمية
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NOTE: Candidates are encouraged to consult references related to the above competencies that were covered
during their pharmacy education. This list is intended for use as a study aid only. SCFHS does not intend the list
to imply endorsement of these specific references, nor are the exam questions necessarily taken from these
sources.
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