ACPE vs NC CE

 

Licensure Requirements:

Since 2018, the NC Board of Pharmacy only accepts three types of continuing education:

ACPE, NC-CE, and pharmacy school issued precepting hours.  Pharmacists are required to obtain 15 hours of continuing education, annually, and 5 of the 15 hours must be acquired as contact (live) continuing education. 

 

What’s the Difference in ACPE vs. NC-CE:

The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education providers issues ACPE continuing education hours, and the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists partners with an ACPE provider or accredits programs directly using NC-CE.  There is no difference in the quality of programming, however, NC-CE allows NCAP greater flexibility in working with our clients, and helps us to hold down costs for our members and the Association.

 

How do I Know if a Program is ACPE or NC-CE Accredited:

When continuing education programs are advertised, the promotional materials will list how it is accredited and for how many CEU or hours.  ACPE accredited programs will portray the ACPE logo along with a program number using this type of universal format:  0197-0000-18-001-L05-P/T.   NCAP accredited programs accredit using an NC followed by a 9 digit number (eg. NC 093020110).

 

How is my CE Documented and Tracked:

ACPE:  upon participation in a continuing education program, and after completion of an evaluation, the ACPE provider will automatically issue and upload your credit hours to the NABP CPE monitor.  All pharmacists and PTCB certified technicians are required to have an NABP CPE monitor e-profile number for documenting and tracking ACPE accredited programs you attend.

Click here if you have forgot your NABP e-profile # or if you need to register for one

 

NC-CE:  upon participation in a continuing education program accredited by NCAP, a roster is submitted to NCAP by the program host verifying your attendance.  Live stream programs hosted by NCAP use the webinar platform to verify attendance for the duration of the program.  After verification of attendance, the NCAP Staff will document your participation and track your credit hours in our database.  

 

Can I See My CE Hours That Have Been Issued:

ACPE:  Yes, you can see your ACPE hours that have been issued by logging into your NABP CPE Monitor e-profile. 

 

NC-CE:  NCAP documents and stores your NC-CE in your NCAP member profile; therefore, if you are a member of the Association you can always view your NC-CE issued hours by logging into the NCAP website at ncpharmacists.org and clicking on the ‘My CE’ tab.  Non-members are encouraged to join, but can contact the NCAP office at (984) 439-1646 to verify that we do indeed have their hours documented.