1Two outlines for one bedside
BCCCP’s current outline, effective January 2024, gives 23% to a Critical Care domain, 57% to Therapeutics and Patient Management and 20% to Professional Practice. The whole outline is written for critical care practice.
BCPS, under its September 2024 outline, splits 36/36/28 across Patient Care Specialty Areas, Therapeutics and Patient Management, and Professional Practice. Critical care is one of the named areas in the secondary patient-care subdomain (1B), which BPS sizes at 17 items for all of its areas together. BPS publishes no per-disease weights; our estimate puts critical care, emergency medicine and nutrition support together near 5%, which is how the critical care domain page is sized.
So an ICU pharmacist preparing for BCPS spends most of the effort outside the unit: blood pressure thresholds and targets, diabetes agent choice by comorbidity, inhaler steps for asthma and COPD, and the evidence questions in Domain 3. Shock and sedation knowledge carries over; chronic outpatient care usually has to be rebuilt.
2BCPS and BCCCP on BPS’s own numbers
≠ marks rows where the two differ.
| Point of comparison | BCPS | BCCCP |
|---|---|---|
| Exam frame | 150 items, 125 scored, in 3 h 45 min | 150 items, 125 scored, in 3 h 45 min |
| Differs: Outline in force | Patient Care Specialty Areas 36%, Therapeutics and Patient Management 36%, Professional Practice 28% (effective September 2024) | Critical Care 23%, Therapeutics and Patient Management 57%, Professional Practice 20% (effective January 2024) |
| Differs: Next outline | Job analysis ran in February 2023; BPS repeats it every 5 years | A four-domain outline, anticipated December 2027 |
| Differs: Route without a residency | 3 years of practice, at least 50% within the outline’s scope | 4 years of critical care practice |
| Differs: Residency routes | A completed PGY1 | PGY1 plus 2 years of critical care practice, or a PGY2 in critical care |
| Differs: Active holders | More than 31,580 | More than 4,520 |
| Differs: 2025 first-time pass rate | 55.9% (984 of 1,760) | 64.1% (266 of 415) |
| Fees and cycle | $600 to apply, $300 retake, $125 a year, 7-year cycle | $600 to apply, $300 retake, $125 a year, 7-year cycle |
Results are BPS’s 2025 figures for first-time candidates in each specialty. They describe two different candidate groups and support no conclusion about which exam asks more of you.
3Outline dates to plan a test date around
February 2023
BCPS job analysis survey
813 usable responses fed the current BCPS outline.
January 2024
BCCCP outline takes effect
Critical Care 23%, Therapeutics and Patient Management 57%, Professional Practice 20%.
September 2024
BCPS outline takes effect
The 36/36/28 split that every BCPS page on this site is built on.
December 2027
New BCCCP outline, anticipated
Four domains. BPS has posted the anticipated specifications on its critical care page; a late-2027 test date should be checked against it.
4Check against your own record before you choose
- Count your critical care practice years; BCCCP’s route without a residency needs 4.
- Note the date your PGY1 ended: BCPS opens on that date, BCCCP 2 practice years later.
- Confirm your BCPS experience falls within the past 7 years, as BCPS eligibility requirements spells out.
- Match a BCCCP test date to the outline that will be in force on that day.
- Plan on the same $600 application and 7-year cycle either way; cost does not separate the two.
5From the ICU side
Does BCCCP require a PGY2?
No. A PGY2 in critical care is one of three routes. The other two are 4 years of critical care practice, or a PGY1 plus 2 years of critical care practice (BCCCP specifications, January 2024).
Can an ICU pharmacist sit for BCPS instead?
Yes, when the experience meets the BCPS rule: a completed PGY1, or 3 years of practice with at least half the time within the BCPS outline’s scope, within the past 7 years. Critical care is inside that scope.
Which outline applies to a BCCCP test date in 2028?
If the anticipated December 2027 start holds, the new four-domain outline. BPS posts the specifications ahead of time on its critical care page; confirm the effective date there before you build a study plan on either outline.
What about infectious diseases or the other specialties?
If your ICU work leans on antimicrobial stewardship, BCPS vs BCIDP compares the infectious diseases credential on the same terms, and pharmacist board certifications compared lines up five BPS credentials at once.
6References
- BPS, BCPS Examination Specifications (effective September 2024). As of October 27, 2026.
- BPS, BCCCP Examination Specifications (effective January 2024). As of October 27, 2026.
- BPS, Critical Care Pharmacy (BCCCP) specialty page. Holder counter, anticipated December 2027 outline. As of October 27, 2026.
- BPS, Pharmacotherapy (BCPS) specialty page. Holder counter. As of October 27, 2026.
- BPS, Job Analysis Summary, Pharmacotherapy 2023. As of October 27, 2026.
- BPS, 2025 certification and recertification examination results. As of October 27, 2026.
- BPS, upcoming deadlines, dates and fees. As of October 27, 2026.
Next step
Check yourself, then check the notes
Read the note on every option, then decide where the next session goes.
Pharmacotherapy Exam Prep 2026 is an app for iPhone and iPad only; there is no Android version. On any other phone or a computer, use the free practice set on this site in your browser.