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Study guide · complete contents

BCPS study guide: the content outline, domain by domain

This BCPS study guide follows the BPS content outline: three domains weighted 36%, 36% and 28%, broken here into 13 topic monographs and the concept pages under them. The outline in force is the BPS BCPS Examination Specifications effective September 2024, written for the 2025 administration onward, and BPS has announced no successor (Examination Specifications).

Reviewed October 27, 2026

Contents · 9 sections
  1. 1The three BPS domains
  2. 2How BPS builds the outline
  3. 3Every monograph against the outline
  4. 4Full contents
  5. 5Which tool to open when
  6. 6Exam facts
  7. 7Getting certified
  8. 8Comparisons
  9. 9Outline sources

1The three BPS domains

  1. Domain 1: Patient care specialty areas36%
  2. Domain 2: Therapeutics and patient management36%
  3. Domain 3: Professional practice28%

Domain weights in the BPS BCPS content outline, effective September 2024 (as of October 27, 2026)

2How BPS builds the outline

BPS writes the outline from a job analysis: a panel of 15 to 20 subject-matter experts drafts the list of tasks, and a survey asks practitioners how important each one is. The current outline rests on the 2023 analysis, whose survey ran February 2–27, 2023 and returned 813 usable responses; BPS repeats the exercise every 5 years (BPS job analysis summary, 2023).

2.1Domain 1 is a list of disease areas in three tiers

The job analysis turns the domain weights into item counts out of the 125 scored items: 45 for Domain 1, 45 for Domain 2 and 35 for Domain 3 (same source). Inside Domain 1, BPS groups disease areas into a primary tier (infectious diseases, cardiology, nephrology, pain management, endocrinology), a secondary tier and a tertiary tier, with 17, 17 and 11 items. The first two tiers carry the same count, even though a rounded percentage on the outline makes them look different.

2.2Domains 2 and 3 are skills, not diseases

Domain 2 splits into treatment planning, therapeutic implementation, and outcomes and monitoring, with 13, 16 and 16 items. Domain 3 splits into quality of care, evidence-based practice and practice management, with 16, 9 and 10 items (same source). These items still arrive as patient cases, so a heart failure stem can be testing a monitoring decision or a formulary rule. Our therapeutics and patient management monograph covers Domain 2; medication safety and practice management and biostatistics and evidence-based practice cover Domain 3.

3Every monograph against the outline

Weights marked est. are our estimate. BPS publishes no split below the tier level, so we divided each tier’s items among its disease areas in proportion to the importance ratings in the 2023 job analysis. The three skills monographs use BPS’s own subdomain counts.

BCPS content outline by area (“est.” weights are our estimate from the BPS outline; the rest are BPS figures)
DomainWeightCasesConcepts
1A1 · Infectious diseases≈ 3% (est.)161
1A2 · Cardiology≈ 3% (est.)173
1A3 + 1C7 · Nephrology and urology≈ 4% (est.)151
1A4 + 1C4 · Pain management and palliative care≈ 4% (est.)150
1A5 · Endocrinology≈ 3% (est.)151
1B1 + 1B5 + 1C2 · Critical care, emergency medicine and nutrition support≈ 5% (est.)171
1B2 + 1C3 + 1C5 · Older adults, children and women’s health≈ 5% (est.)161
1B3 + 1B6 · Pulmonology and gastroenterology≈ 4% (est.)151
1B4 + 1B7 · Neurology and psychiatry≈ 4% (est.)160
1C1 + 1C6 · Oncology, hematology and immunology≈ 3% (est.)150
2 · Therapeutics and patient management36%202
3A + 3C · Medication safety, quality and practice management21%201
3B · Biostatistics and evidence-based practice7%193

4Full contents

Numbered by monograph, with each monograph’s concept pages underneath.

  1. 1 Infectious diseasesEmpiric choice, de-escalation, renal and AUC-guided dosing, C. difficile, HIV and TB basics.
    1. 1.1 Vancomycin AUC vs trough
  2. 2 CardiologyHeart failure GDMT, blood pressure, lipids, antiplatelets after ACS, AF and VTE anticoagulation.
    1. 2.1 HFrEF GDMT and the four pillars
    2. 2.2 BP thresholds and targets
    3. 2.3 DOAC dosing and warfarin exceptions
  3. 3 Nephrology and urologyCKD protection, electrolytes, CKD-MBD and anemia, contrast and diuretic problems, BPH and bladder.
    1. 3.1 CrCl vs eGFR for dosing
  4. 4 Pain management and palliative careNon-opioid first steps, opioid conversion and tapering, renal choices, symptom control at end of life.
  5. 5 EndocrinologyDiabetes agent choice and insulin, thyroid, adrenal and pituitary disease, osteoporosis.
    1. 5.1 SGLT2i vs GLP-1 RA
  6. 6 Critical care, emergency medicine and nutrition supportShock, sedation and delirium, prophylaxis in the ICU, poisonings, parenteral and enteral nutrition.
    1. 6.1 Toxidromes and antidotes
  7. 7 Older adults, children and women’s healthDeprescribing in older adults, weight-based pediatric doses, pregnancy, contraception and hormones.
    1. 7.1 Beers Criteria and deprescribing
  8. 8 Pulmonology and gastroenterologyAsthma and COPD steps, exacerbations, H. pylori, IBD, viral hepatitis and cirrhosis complications.
    1. 8.1 Asthma vs COPD inhalers
  9. 9 Neurology and psychiatrySeizures, stroke, Parkinson disease, dementia, migraine, depression, psychosis and their adverse effects.
  10. 10 Oncology, hematology and immunologySupportive care, oncologic emergencies, immunotherapy toxicity, rheumatology and gout.
  11. 11 Therapeutics and patient managementTreatment planning, implementation and monitoring: PK, counseling, devices, interactions, adherence.
    1. 11.1 CYP450 inducers vs inhibitors
    2. 11.2 Therapeutic drug monitoring
  12. 12 Medication safety, quality and practice managementError prevention, quality improvement, regulation, informatics, formulary and pharmacoeconomics.
    1. 12.1 Error prevention hierarchy
  13. 13 Biostatistics and evidence-based practiceStudy design, the right statistical test, p values and intervals, NNT, meta-analysis and drug information.
    1. 13.1 P values and confidence intervals
    2. 13.2 NNT, NNH and ARR
    3. 13.3 Noninferiority and ITT

5Which tool to open when

The study tools on this site and the stage each one suits
StageToolWhat it does for you
Before you startBCPS study plan8- and 12-week schedules that give each monograph time in proportion to its weight
While reading a domaineach monograph’s own case rounda short set on that domain only, with a note on every option
Between sessionsBCPS flashcardsthresholds, antidotes and formulas to recall without the page open
Mixed reviewBCPS practice testan untimed set across every domain, filterable by domain
Final weeksBCPS mock exama timed set at the real exam’s pace, scored by domain

6Exam facts

Format, timing, scoring, results, dates and cost, each answered first and cited to the BPS page it came from.

7Getting certified

Eligibility routes, the steps from application to certificate, retakes, the 7-year recertification cycle and what public wage data shows.

8Comparisons

BCPS beside other BPS credentials, and the prep options you can check. BPS lists the ACCP and ASHP review courses for information and offers no prep of its own (BPS BCPS page).

9Outline sources

  1. BPS, BCPS Examination Specifications (effective September 2024). As of October 27, 2026.
  2. BPS, Job Analysis Summary: Pharmacotherapy (2023). As of October 27, 2026.
  3. BPS, Candidate’s Guide. As of October 27, 2026.
  4. BPS, Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist page. As of October 27, 2026.

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