TITLE 30: PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS

PART 3001: MISSISSIPPI PHARMACY PRACTICE REGULATIONS

ARTICLE I LICENSURE

A license for the practice of pharmacy shall be obtained from the Mississippi Board of Pharmacy by all persons prior to their engaging in the practice of pharmacy in this state and every pharmacist licensed in this state shall keep the Board informed as to his/her current mailing address and place of employment.

1. To obtain a license to engage in the practice of pharmacy by examination, the applicant shall:

A. Have submitted a written application on the form prescribed by the Board;

B. Be of good moral character as evidenced by having undergone and successfully passed a criminal background check conducted by the Board;

C. Have graduated and received a degree from a school or college of pharmacy accredited by the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education or as approved by the Board; D. Have successfully passed an examination approved by the Board; E. Have submitted documented evidence of the required practical experience; F. Have paid the initial licensure fee (not to exceed two-hundred dollars ($200.00).

2. To obtain a license to engage in the practice of pharmacy by licensure transfer, the applicant shall: A. Have submitted an application on the Official Application for Transfer of Pharmacist Licensure Form of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy;

B. Have graduated and received a degree from a school or college of pharmacy accredited by the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education or as approved by the Board;

C. At the discretion of the Board, appear before the Board of Pharmacy for a personal interview;

D. Have successfully passed an examination approved by the Board;

E. Be of good moral character as evidenced by having undergone and successfully passed a criminal background check conducted by the Board;

F. Present to the Board proof that the license(s) granted to the applicant by any other state has not been suspended, revoked, canceled, surrendered, or otherwise restricted for any reason;

G. Have paid the initial licensure fee not to exceed two-hundred dollars ($200.00).

No applicant shall be eligible for license transfer unless the state in which the applicant was licensed as a Pharmacist also grants licensure transfer to Pharmacists duly licensed by examination in this State, under like circumstances and conditions.

3. To obtain a license to engage in the practice of pharmacy, a foreign pharmacy graduate applicant shall obtain the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy's Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee's certification which shall include, but not be limited to, successfully passing the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination and attaining a total score of at least 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL); and A. Have submitted a written application on the form prescribed by the Board;

B. Be of good moral character as evidenced by having undergone and successfully passed a criminal background check conducted by the Board;

C. Have graduated and been granted a pharmacy degree from a college or school of pharmacy recognized and approved by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy's Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee;

D. May at the discretion of the Board appear before the Board of Pharmacy and demonstrate adequate spoken English Language skills;

E. Have paid all fees specified by the Board for examination;

F. Have successfully passed an examination approved by the Board;

G. Have completed sixteen hundred hours of extern/internship hours approved by the Board; H. Have paid the initial licensure fee, not to exceed two-hundred dollars ($200.00).

4. Pursuant to the Military Family Freedom Act:

A. The Board shall issue a license to an applicant who is a member of the military, or an applicant who is married to or is a dependent of a member of the military, if, upon application, the applicant satisfies the following conditions: (a) Has been awarded a military occupational specialty, completed a military program of training, completed testing or equivalent training and experience, and performed in the occupational specialty of a pharmacist; or

(b) Holds a current and valid pharmacist license in another state for at least one (1) year; and

(c) Has not committed any act in any jurisdiction that would have constituted grounds for refusal, suspension or revocation of a license to practice pharmacy in this state at the time the act was committed, the pharmacy board in the other state holds the applicant in good standing, and the applicant does not have a disqualifying criminal record as determined by this Board; and

(d) Did not surrender a license because of negligence or intentional misconduct related to the applicant's work as a pharmacist in another state; and

(e) Does not have a complaint, allegation or investigation pending before a pharmacy board or other board in another state that relates to unprofessional conduct or an alleged crime. If the applicant has a complaint, allegation or investigation pending, this Board shall not issue or deny a license to the applicant until the complaint, allegation or investigation is resolved, or the applicant otherwise satisfies the criteria for licensure in Mississippi to the satisfaction of this Board; and

(f) Pays all required fees and complies with the all the procedures for licensure transfer as set forth in paragraph (2) of this Article. An applicant pursuant to section (A), subsection (a) of this paragraph shall not be required to comply with section (B) of paragraph (2) of this Article.

B. The Board shall issue a license to an applicant who is a member of the military, or an applicant who is married to or is a dependent of a member of the military, upon application based on work experience in another state, if all the following apply: (a) The applicant has worked in a state that does not use a license to regulate the practice of pharmacy;

(b) The applicant has worked for at least three (3) years as a pharmacist; and

(c) The applicant satisfies the provisions of subsections (c) through (f) of paragraph (4) section (A) of this Article.

C. The Board shall issue or deny a license to an applicant pursuant to the Military Family Freedom Act within one hundred twenty (120) days after receiving an application. If the application requires longer than two (2) weeks to process, the Board shall issue a temporary practice license within thirty (30) days after receiving the application if the applicant submits an affidavit, under penalties of perjury, affirming that he or she satisfies the provisions of the Military Family Freedom Act and pays all applicable fees as required. The applicant may practice under the temporary permit until a license is granted, or until a notice to deny the license is issued, in accordance with rules adopted by this Board. A temporary license will expire in three hundred sixty-five (365) days after its issuance if the applicant fails to pass the MPJE.

D. Appeal of Board Decisions pursuant to the Military Family Freedom Act.

(a) An applicant may appeal any of the following decisions of the Board to a court of general jurisdiction: (i) Denial of a license;

(ii) Determination of the occupation;

(iii)Determination of the similarity of the scope of practice of the license issued; or (iv) Other determinations under this section.

(b) The court shall determine all questions of law, including the interpretation of a constitutional or statutory provision or a rule adopted by the Board without regard to any previous determination that may have been made on the question in any action before the Board.

E. The Board shall prominently print the following on all license applications, any communication denying a license, and on the Board's website: "Pursuant to the provisions of the Military Family Freedom Act, Mississippi shall recognize pharmacist licenses obtained from other states for military members and their families" . The Board shall prepare and place on the Board's website an annual report detailing the number of applications submitted to the Board under the Military Family Freedom Act during a calendar year and the actions taken by the Board on the applications.

F. Nothing in this Article shall be construed to prohibit a military applicant, spouse or dependent from proceeding under the existing licensure requirements established by the Board.

5. A person desiring to take the examination for licensure as a pharmacist must make application for the examination on the form prescribed by the Board. The required fee for the examination must accompany the application. The examination shall consist of the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) and the Multi-State Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination (MPJE). To be eligible to take the NAPLEX examination, a person shall be a graduate of a school of pharmacy which is accredited by the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education or which has been approved by the Board. A person must make a score of at least seventy-five (75) on the NAPLEX and a score of at least seventy-five (75) on the MPJE to successfully pass the examination. A person who fails the examination may repeat the examination no more than four (4) times without permission from the Board. A person who takes the examination and successfully completes the examination must become licensed within two (2) years of the examination date or the results of the examination become invalid.

6. A pharmacist that surrenders his/her license is no longer eligible to practice pharmacy without petitioning the Board to re-instate his/her license.