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Canada · Qualifying exam

The PEBC OSCE: Part II of the Pharmacist Qualifying Examination

Part II of the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (PEBC) exam is an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE): 11 stations, each a short task you finish in 7 minutes. In nine of them you deal with an actor playing a patient, caregiver or health professional while a pharmacist assessor scores you. In the other two you work alone on paper. The PEBC OSCE runs in person only, on the same day at every centre in Canada, in a morning or afternoon session.

  • 11Stations: 9 interactive, 2 non-interactive
  • 7Minutes in each station
  • 6.5 hoursAbout how long you’re at the centre
Read PEBC’s Part II page

Updated November 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

What happens in a PEBC OSCE station

Before each station you get 2 minutes to read the Candidate’s Instructions posted outside. At the start signal you go in. A warning sounds after 5 minutes, and you stay the full 7 minutes even if you finish early. The tasks aren’t complex scenarios. You might be asked to:

  • counsel a patient or answer their questions
  • resolve a drug therapy problem or an ethical dilemma with a patient or health professional
  • answer a written request for information or advice
  • screen new prescriptions
  • check dispensed prescriptions for accuracy before release

PEBC says the actor in an interactive station typically comes in 20 seconds after you, which gives you time to read the materials. Once they’ve left and closed the door, you can’t call them back. You’re expected to help while they’re there, not only refer them or promise to call back. If you recommend a non-prescription product, pick it from the ones in the room.

In the two non-interactive stations you write answers or fill in bubbles on an answer sheet. Never mark the station materials themselves. Rest stations sit between some stations. PEBC’s page lists no pretest station among the 11. When there is one, it isn’t scored and you won’t know which it is.

PEBC: Sample stations ↗Sample OSCE stations explained →

How is the PEBC OSCE marked?

Assessors are pharmacists trained to a standard checklist, and they don’t talk to you. They rate three things:

  • Communication, in interactive stations only: responding to the client’s needs and feelings, an organized but flexible approach, body language and eye contact, and clear speech
  • Outcome: whether you gathered and gave the right information, found the main drug therapy problem and made safe, effective recommendations
  • Overall performance, in every station: how well the problem was solved, documentation where needed, the likely result for the patient and any risk to them

Your total is the sum of those ratings across the 11 scored stations, put on a standardized scale. The pass mark is set fresh for each exam, as the results page explains.

How the pass mark is set →Why communication weighs more here →

The day, step by step

StageTime
Admission and registration30 to 60 minutes
Timing signal demo, washroom, waiting60 minutes
First half of the exam90 minutes
Mid-session break20 minutes
Second half of the exam90 minutes
Sign-out and sequestering30 to 90 minutes

PEBC says to expect about six and a half hours, and all times are approximate. Start times vary by time zone. You must watch PEBC’s Candidate Orientation Video beforehand, and you can’t enter the centre early, even to use the washroom.

At registration you get two pencils and an eraser, an ID badge in your track colour, a Candidate’s Agreement to sign and a notebook with barcode labels. You hand a barcode label to the assessor in each interactive station. You can bring water in clear bottles and snacks out of their packaging in a clear bag, but no nuts, and you carry them yourself.

PEBC: Candidate information, performance exams (PDF) ↗What to bring →PEBC’s mask rule for the OSCE →

Centres, sessions and French

When you apply, you pick up to six OSCE sites, or at least three, and you can’t change them later. PEBC assigns centres by application date, your address and where space is available. If it can’t give you your first choice, it tells you about six weeks before the exam. When there are more applicants than places, first-time takers come first, and anyone left out is moved to the following exam with their fee.

PEBC also assigns the morning or afternoon session. To ask for a specific one you need medical documentation. For the OSCE in French, you register for the bilingual centre in Montreal. Montreal isn’t on every sitting’s centre list, and it isn’t on PEBC’s February 2027 list, so check the list for your sitting. Travel costs are yours.

OSCE centres by sitting →

Who can sit the OSCE

These are PEBC’s OSCE eligibility rules for Canadian and U.S. graduates and for international pharmacy graduates (IPGs) who passed the Evaluating Examination:

  • Never taken either part: you can apply for either one.
  • Failed both parts: you can only apply for Part I, then the OSCE once you’ve passed it.
  • Failed Part I but never tried the OSCE: you can apply for the OSCE.
  • Passed Part I but failed the OSCE: you can apply for the OSCE again.
  • Passed Part I more than three years ago and failed the OSCE: you must retake Part I.

IPGs on PEBC’s new pathway must pass Part I before they can apply for the OSCE at all. Those who passed the Evaluating Examination can take the two parts in any order.

PEBC: Policies and procedures ↗The Evaluating Exam and the 2027 pathway →
Sources: PEBC and 5 more. Checked November 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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