The Comprehensive Pharmacy Topics Guide for PharmD Programs

In Canada, codes of ethics come from provincial regulators. The Ontario College of Pharmacists' Code of Ethics (2022) has four principles:

NAPRA publishes national model standards, competencies and principles of professionalism rather than a code. In the US, the APhA Code of Ethics (1994) has eight principles, beginning with respect for the "covenantal relationship between the patient and pharmacist."

Mapping your stories to these roles helps you show the qualities programs are looking for.

Ontario's code prohibits disclosure without consent "unless authorized by law or by the need to protect the welfare of the patient or the public." Pharmacies must protect records from unauthorised access.

• Use private counselling areas
• Never look up records out of curiosity
• Know the legal exceptions

CPhA notes that all pharmacists in Canada have some level of prescribing authority, varying by jurisdiction. In Ontario, pharmacists can assess and prescribe for 31 minor ailments.

Pharmacists work in community and hospital pharmacies, primary-care teams, long-term care, industry, regulatory bodies and academia. Knowing the range helps answer "where do you see yourself?"

Regulated pharmacy technicians handle technical checks and, in Ontario, trained technicians can administer vaccines. Working well with technicians is a core teamwork skill.

• The PCAT was retired on January 10, 2024, and AACP offers no testing dates going forward
• US applications rose 6% for Fall 2025, the second straight year of growth, with an acceptance rate above 80%
• Most Canadian programs now use recorded or asynchronous video interviews

Bill C-64, the Pharmacare Act, received Royal Assent on October 10, 2024. It begins with contraceptives and diabetes medications and devices. Bilateral agreements were signed with Manitoba, BC, PEI and Yukon in early 2025.

US data cited by NABP show active shortages declined in 2025 for a second year, but the average shortage lasts more than five years and 59% of drugs in shortage depend on China or India as the main supplier.

Retail pharmacies fell 3.9% from 2018 to 2023 (5.9% in rural areas), and 184 rural communities lost all retail pharmacy service. The FTC found the top three pharmacy benefit managers handle nearly 80% of prescriptions and in 2024 sued the three largest over insulin pricing.

The FDA approved over-the-counter naloxone nasal spray on March 29, 2023. Health Canada reported national drug-toxicity deaths fell 23% in 2025 versus 2024, citing naloxone among the factors.

• Offer naloxone proactively
• Recognise red flags without stigma
• Coordinate with prescribers

BC's Biosimilars Initiative switched more than 40,000 patients and saved $732 million over its first five years. In June 2026, Health Canada authorised Canada's first generic semaglutide for weight loss.

Under Ontario's code, a pharmacist unwilling to provide a product or service on moral or religious grounds must not convey the objection to the patient, must take part in a system that respects the patient's right to care, and must ensure an alternative provider that minimises inconvenience.

Pharmacists must disclose errors and near misses and act "with honesty and transparency if harm does occur." Ontario pharmacies record all incidents, and from January 1, 2027 must upload them to a national repository.

Ontario's code: the patient's interests "must always override" the business's; don't practise under conditions that compromise judgment; raise concerns about staffing. In 2024 the College adopted "zero tolerance" for practices that compromise safe care.

Pharmacists must be diligent in identifying red-flag situations, and must not provide services with no potential benefit. Early-refill requests and suspected forged prescriptions call for verification, compassion and safety.

Ontario's code bars gifts or inducements "that may affect or be perceived to affect" professional judgment, and asks pharmacists to limit treating themselves and family.