YINS GUIDE TO REGISTERING FOR THE OCP

The day has finally come. When we got here in September, it was something of an inevitability (or a vague afterthought), but it wasnt really so urgent when we had to deal with all sorts of assignments and academic deadlines. It seemed way more important to learn the names of our 240 new phamily members and to learn how to meet that magic 60% pass mark in every course. But the day is hereits time to register for the Ontario College of Pharmacists. Background Information 1. Whoa, wait, what is this OCP business? Do we have to do this? In our acceptance letters, we were told that wed have to register for the Ontario College of Pharmacists (OCP) by March of our first year. We have to do this in order to participate in our experiential practice sites. In the words of the OCP, before we can work or volunteer as pharmacy students (or complete any clinical rotations) in the province of Ontario, we must register with the OCP and notify them of all relevant practice sites were associated with. 2. Okay, so how do I do this? Start at this site: http://www.ocpinfo.com/client/ocp/OCPHome.nsf/web/Canada_US+Pharmacy+Graduates You will see this:

By March, we will need to complete steps 1 (pre-registration) and 2 (student registration). In order to perform any controlled acts, we must register as pharmacy students. You will see a link for both A) a pre-registration form and B) a studentship application form. Ignore these for now. We will be using an online application process in a later step. 3. How much will this cost me? At the aforementioned site, there is a page specifically dedicated to applicable fees.

We will be responsible for the following fees: - Pre-registration - $130.00 - Studentship - $205.00 We can pay both of these fees online or in person. 4. Okay, Im ready. Lead me through the process. Youre a brave soul. Now remember this page? We just saw it. Anyways, click on this button Member Login (yea, yea, I know youre not a member yet. Just stick with me)

Youll see this little screen. Now click on Pharmacist Student Registration (indicated below). This is the form that the OCP intends for Ontario pharmacy students to use.

Now fill it out!

Now, there is a Documentation section in which you can supply supporting documentation if you have it. This is the screen you will see:

You will need to scan documentation if it has been notarized (by an official notary, not by your best buddy or something). We will also need to scan in our Declaration of Good Character (this is available on the first site the one in step 2). We can submit this documentation later! The Faculty or OCP can confirm our identification documents they have set aside a number of dates in January. We can also do this in person at the OCP. So for now, lets ignore this, because most of us probably dont have photocopies of notarized documents. So just keep reading: Click submit when you are done.

5. I clicked Submit! Now what? Congratulations! Now check the email you used when registering. You should see something that looks like this:

Do you remember this screen? You can use the information in that email namely the user ID (this is your OCP number! Remember this! We will be using it later) and password.

You will see a welcome screen. Remember the membership fees we looked at earlier? We will be paying now. 6. How high-tech! I can pay online?

The answer is probably. Anyways, remember this welcome screen? Click on Make a Payment.

You will see the following screen. Check the box under Proceed to Pay and then click on Proceed.

The following payment options are accepted by the OCP: Interac Online (for the following banks: RBC, TD, Scotia Bank, and the Bank of Montreal) and credit card. The reason why I said you could probably pay online, is that the last expiry date it will accept on credit cards is 2014. So if your credit card doesnt expire until 2015, looks like youll have to pay in person.

7. Lets assume your payment went through, and were all good. YEEEEE. Now we will need to submit the Declaration of Good Character and our proof of citizenship or identity. The Declaration of Good Character can be found here: http://www.ocpinfo.com/Client/ocp/OCPHome.nsf/object/Affidavit+Good+Character/$file/Decla ration+of+Good+Character.pdf This Declaration of Good Character is also deemed Evidence of No Criminal Record. The OCP will only accept notarized copies or original documents (you should do this in person, though. Its not a good idea to send original identification documents through the mail). We can use the following documents if were going in person: If were Canadian citizens: - Valid Canadian passport - Canadian birth certificate - Canadian citizenship card (photocopy both sides) If we are not Canadian citizens: - Valid international passport AND proof of status: o 1. Record of landing AND o 2. Permanent Resident card OR o 3. Valid study permit (you will need a work permit at a later point) Once youve gathered up your materials, you can mail your materials (if they are notarized) to: Ontario College of Pharmacists 483 Huron Street Toronto, ON M5R 2R4 If you need to show up in person with these documents, email them here to make an appointment: ocpclientservices@ocpinfo.com. You can also pay your pre-registration and studentship fees here. They should be available Monday to Friday from 9AM to 4:30PM It is here:

The red circle indicates where PB would be located in relation to the OCP office. 8. Now whats this deal about Professional Liability Insurance? According to OCP by-laws, all OCP members engaged in pharmacy practice including students are required to maintain personal professional liability insurance coverage. The minimum of this insurance must be $2 million per claim/occurrence and $4 million in the annual aggregate. Insurance can be classified in two ways: 1. Claims-made insurance you are protected if the insurance policy is valid at the time the claim is made against you. You should also maintain tail coverage in case you are sued after retirement. You are covered while this insurance policy is valid makes sense. 2. Occurrence-based insurance you are protected if the insurance policy is valid at the time the incident occurred. You can also buy prior-events coverage to cover events that occurred before your policy came into effect. The OCP doesnt have a preference regarding which one we get. For 1st year, it is not the end of the world (source: OCP client service dude) if we dont have insurance by January 1st. The College will likely not check the status of our insurance until the end of January. However, for the interest of time, we might as well do it now. So stuff those holiday cookies into your mouth, and lets get cracking.

9. How do I get insurance? The cheapest way it seems is to sign up for the Ontario Pharmacists Association (OPA). As firstyear students, we can get both Professional Liability Insurance ($2 million per claim/$4 million annual aggregate) AND all the benefits of OPA membership for the low, low price of $58.00. Remember this email from the OCP?

The reason why its important, is the User ID is your OCP number you will use this number to apply for OPA membership. 10. Lets get started applying for OPA membership. Go to the OPA website and click on Member benefits. You will see this: http://www.opatoday.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=164&Itemid=175

If you wish to pay by cheque, then download the form located under step 3 (First Year Undergraduate Student Membership Application). The $58 membership fee is a special offer for first-year students an incentive, if you will. Otherwise, just click on Pay Online (outlined above). You will see this:

Now check the email you used to register for OPA membership. You should have gotten a purchase receipt! Hurray!

11. Now what? As students, we will be required to email ocpclientservices@ocpinfo.com before January 1st, 2012 with the following information: Full name: ________________ OCP number: _____________ Registration status: Undergraduate student, 1st year I hereby declare that I maintain personal professional liability insurance coverage as prescribed in Article 2 of College By-Law and that I will continue to maintain this insurance throughout my registration as a Pharmacy Student. You will only need to declare this once while you are registered as a student. 12. Now what?

13. Wait, why is the deadline for OCP registration in March if we apparently need insurance by January 1st? Thats a good question. I dont know the answer to that. Go eat more cookies. K, BYE!