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The Intern Written exam tests your skills, experience, knowledge and understanding as a pharmacy intern.
The Intern Written exam is one component of the general registration exam. You are required to pass the exam to show that you have the competence to practise safely and effectively in the Australian healthcare setting.
The Intern Oral Exam, delivered by the Pharmacy Board of Australia, is another component of the general registration exam.
Before applying for general registration as a pharmacist you will need to pass both exams and complete other aspects of the internship such as:
This guide to the exam outlines the content areas that we assess and is designed to help you to prepare for the exam. We also suggest talking with your professional network about how you're preparing for the exam. Their support and advice might help you to perform better.
On this page:
Before starting the exam, you are given 15 minutes to complete a tutorial designed to familiarise yourself with the exam software.
The exam consists of 75 questions delivered over a 2-hour session.
All questions are randomised, but you can flag questions to return to review at the end of the exam. You must answer all 75 questions to complete the exam.
All questions are multiple-choice questions with one correct answer out of 4 options, and some questions will relate to a patient profile.
5 minutes is allocated after you finish the exam for you to complete a survey.
Medicine and ingredient names will be presented as per the TGA list of approved names.
Values will be presented will be in SI (metric) units.
Units for quantities of drugs and directions for medications follow the approved abbreviations from the Recommendations for terminology, abbreviations and symbols used in medicines documentation.
Determiners are bold and capitalised to draw your attention to the kind of response expected. e.g. CORRECT, MOST, LEAST, NOT.
You must complete all questions in the paper you sit.
The pass standard for the exam is set at a level that demonstrates competency. The pass standard also takes into account the performance of candidates in prior sittings. This analysis of results over previous years ensures fairness and equity over a period of time. The level of difficulty remains constant across time.
You will receive a results certificate indicating your outcome.
We'll email you when your results are available. Expect this to be around 2 weeks after you sit the exam.
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Content category |
Candidate Competency assessed in area including |
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Calculations |
Drug half lives Required dosages Drug concentrations |
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Counselling |
Drug interactions Drug management Health promotion activities High risk drugs Paediatrics |
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Dosage forms |
Drug preparations Drug packaging Drug labelling |
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First Aid competency |
Primary care Injuries (sporting, accidental, trauma) Acute and sudden illness (chest pains, shortness of breath, loss of consciousness) |
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Law and ethics |
Application of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) PBS Authority prescriptions, prescriptions and Special Access Scheme (SAS) considerations Drug schedules Health practitioner national law Patient confidentiality and privacy provisions PharmBA codes and guidelines |
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Therapeutic areas and disease state management |
Analgesic Antibiotic Cardiovascular Dermatology Endocrinology Ear, nose and throat Eye Gastrointestinal Malignant Disease Nervous system Respiratory Rheumatology Vaccines |
The Intern Written exam covers 6 content areas, which are based on the National Competency Standards Framework for Pharmacists in Australia 2016.
You'll need to show you understand, and have suitable skills, experience and knowledge in the following content areas.
Professionalism and ethics
Topics
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Content assessed |
|
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1.3.1 |
Comply with statute law, guidelines, codes and standards |
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1.3.2 |
Respond to common law requirements |
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1.3.3 |
Respect and protect the individual's rights to privacy and confidentiality |
Medicines management and patient care
Topics
|
Content assessed |
|
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3.1.1 |
Obtain relevant health and medicines information |
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3.1.2 |
Assess medication management practices and needs |
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3.1.3 |
Collaborate to develop a medication management strategy or plan |
Medicines management and patient care
Topics
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Content assessed |
|
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3.2.2 |
Provide primary care and promote judicious use of medicines |
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3.2.3 |
Dispense medicines (including compounded medicines) in consultation with the patient and/or prescriber |
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3.2.5 |
Provide counselling and information for safe and effective medication management |
Medicines management and patient care
Topics
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Content assessed |
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3.3.2 |
Apply clinical review findings to improve health outcomes |
Medicines management and patient care
Topics
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Content assessed |
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3.4.1 |
Determine the required formulation |
Medicines management and patient care
Topics
|
Content assessed |
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3.6.2 |
Support health promotion activities and health services intended to maintain and improve health |
Pharmacists must comply with a range of:
You'll often need to exercise your professional judgement in the workplace. This professional judgment is underpinned by:
This means you'll want to familiarise yourself with the following references for the Law and Ethics section.
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Indicative element as outlined in the Pharmacy Competency Standards |
Possible source or reference |
Competency |
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a. Applicable Commonwealth legislative framework, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Principles of scheduling |
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme – Department of Health Scheduling basics – Therapeutic Goods Administration Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 National Health Act 1953 |
1.3.1 |
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b. Code of conduct, policies and guidelines, mandatory notifications, social media policy, advertising legislation and guidelines |
Codes, Guidelines and Policies published by the Pharmacy Board of Australia Guidelines on Mandatory Notifications – Ahpra Guidelines for advertising regulated health services – Ahpra Advertising health services with Schedule 3, Schedule 4 or Schedule 8 medicines – Therapeutic Goods Administration Advertising to the public. Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code (No. 2). 2018 – Therapeutic Goods Administration |
1.3.1 |
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c. The duty of care to the health care consumer and the wider public: concept, scope and application of professional ethics, including gaining informed consent |
Australian Charter of Health Care Rights - Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care Disability and equal opportunity legislation Australian Consumer Law The Privacy Act Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) My Health Record – Australian Digital Health Agency |
1.3.2 1.3.3 |
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d. Professional standards and guidelines for practice. Self-reflection and reflective practice, self-audit, continuing professional development and maintenance of competency |
National Competency Standards Framework for Pharmacists (2016) Professional practice Standards v5 - Pharmaceutical Society of Australia Codes, guidelines and policies published by the Pharmacy Board of Australia |
1.3.1 |
Download sample paper (32 pages PDF)
To help you sit the exam, we provide an official sample paper. It contains older questions to help you practise.
They may not be the same level of difficulty that you may experience in the actual exam. These questions are no longer used, but they'll help you understand:
If you want to practise the sample papers under exam conditions, you'll need to answer all 75 questions in 2 hours.
The real Intern Written exam is delivered online at an approved test centre. Our exam provider, Pearson VUE, provides an online sample test.
The Intern Written Exam is 'open-book'. This means you can bring any printed or hand-written reference materials. No blank paper is allowed in the exam room.
We base our exams on the latest information, which you can find in relevant:
It's up to you to find this information. We do not endorse any external reference sources.