On this page
Key facts for pharmacists
- Regulator
- Singapore Pharmacy Council (SPC), under the Pharmacists Registration Act 2007
- Core standard
- SPC Code of Ethics (2015 edition, launched 6 May 2015) and the Guidelines for Registered Pharmacists
- CPE per 2-year PC
- 50 points, at least 15 (30%) related to patient care or your specialty; 20 points if inactive
- Complaints route
- Complaints Committee; Disciplinary Committee for formal inquiries
- Our two core courses
- Ethics for Pharmacists and Professional Standards for Pharmacists, 3 hours each, S$125 each
- Assessment
- 20 scenario questions, 80% pass (16 of 20), certificate of completion
Ethics at the counter, standards in the system
Core course 1Ethics
Ethics for Pharmacists
The ten principles of the SPC Code of Ethics 2015 applied to supply, prescriptions, misuse, supplements, incentives, conscience, errors and collaboration.
Core course 2Professionalism
Professional Standards for Pharmacists
SPC competency standards and Code of Ethics in practice, registration and CPE, safe supply, HSA licence duties, supervision and the SPC complaints process.
Which one do I need?
| Compare | Ethics for Pharmacists | Professional Standards for Pharmacists |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Values, reasoning and ethical dilemmas | Conduct, standards, scope, records and accountability |
| The question it answers | What is the right thing to do here, and why? | What do my standards require, and how do I show it? |
| Choose it when | A decision, a dilemma or your judgement is in question | Behaviour, systems, scope of practice or records are in question |
Not sure? Many concerns and most CPD plans need both: take them together for a complete picture.
Our two pharmacist courses are designed as a pair, but they answer different questions.
Ethics for Pharmacists
The ethics course is about professional judgement when the patient, the prescriber and the business want different things. It covers putting the patient first through harm prevention and judicious supply; autonomy, information and privacy at a busy counter; conscience and personal beliefs; questioning a prescription; medicines with potential for misuse; truthful information, promotion and health supplements; conflicts of interest, gifts and business incentives; honesty with patients, colleagues and the SPC; professional independence in retail and employed settings; and raising concerns about systems or colleagues.
Professional Standards for Pharmacists
The standards course is about how a pharmacist shows competence day to day: registration and the practising certificate, the clinical check of a prescription, dispensing, compounding and protecting the supply chain, pharmacy-only supply, supervising pharmacy technicians, pre-registration pharmacists and students, leadership and clinical governance, errors and near misses, stock integrity and controlled drugs, CPE, and what happens when the SPC questions your practice.
Choose ethics if your question is "should I supply this?" and standards if it is "is our process safe?". Each takes 3 hours and costs S$125.
The SPC at a glance
| Your board | Singapore Pharmacy Council (SPC) |
|---|---|
| Law | Pharmacists Registration Act 2007 |
| Standards | SPC Code of Ethics (2015 edition) and the Guidelines for Registered Pharmacists |
| Practising certificate and CPE | Two-year certificate: 50 CPE points per qualifying period, at least 15 (30%) related to patient care or your specialty; 20 points if inactive |
| Complaints route | A Complaints Committee (a Council member as chair, two pharmacists and a layperson) can dismiss the complaint, issue a letter of advice or warning, refer you to the Health Committee or order a Disciplinary Committee inquiry. The SPC says a Committee inquiry usually takes at least 3 months, and a Disciplinary Committee inquiry at least 6 months |
| Also applies | Health Products Act and Medicines Act controls on supply, including Pharmacy-only medicines, the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973 for controlled drugs and the Personal Data Protection Act 2012 |
Our courses are independent and carry no CME or CPE points; your board and its accreditors decide what counts. If a concern has been raised about your practice, start with the remediation courses for pharmacists.
The SPC Code of Ethics and its legal setting
The SPC first launched its Code of Ethics on 13 May 2009 and introduced the current 2015 edition on 6 May 2015. The 2015 revision also created a framework for the Council to deal with errant or unprofessional advertising by pharmacists. The SPC can discipline pharmacists who fail to uphold the Code, or who contravene the Pharmacists Registration Act, its regulations or other pharmacy laws. The Code is read with the SPC's Guidelines for Registered Pharmacists.
Several other laws shape what the Code means in practice, and both courses refer to them:
- Health products regulation. HSA must approve therapeutic products before sale, and classifies them as prescription-only medicines, pharmacy-only medicines and General Sale List products. For a pharmacy-only medicine, the pharmacist records the buyer's name, identification, contact details and condition.
- Controlled drugs. HSA licenses the import, storage, wholesale, export and manufacture of controlled drugs, and only SPC-registered pharmacists may hold a Controlled Drugs Wholesale or Manufacturing Licence.
- High-alert medicines. The National Guidelines on High Alert Medications (2021) set baseline safeguards for insulin, anticoagulants, opioids, concentrated electrolytes and cytotoxics in public healthcare institutions.
- Personal data. The PDPA and the PDPC's healthcare sector guidelines apply to every consultation at the counter.
The same Code, four very different workplaces
| Setting | Typical ethical pressure | Where the courses help |
|---|---|---|
| Retail and community pharmacy | Sales targets for supplements, repeat requests for pharmacy-only cough and sleep products, and privacy at an open counter | Judicious supply, honest promotion and independence (ethics); record-keeping for P-only supply (standards) |
| Hospital pharmacy | Questioning a senior prescriber, high-alert medicines, workload and verification under time pressure | The clinical check and escalation (both); error learning and governance (standards) |
| Polyclinic and primary care | Chronic disease reviews, medication counselling across languages, and families who collect for relatives | Information and consent (ethics); collaboration with doctors and nurses (standards) |
| Industry, wholesale and regulatory roles | Promotional claims, supply-chain integrity and controlled drug licensing | Truthful information and conflicts (ethics); supply chain and stock integrity (standards) |
Five decisions where ethics and standards meet
These composite situations, written for teaching, run through both courses.
- The third cough syrup this month. A regular customer asks again for a pharmacy-only cough preparation. The ethics course asks how to protect someone from harm without humiliating them; the standards course asks what your supply record should already be telling you.
- The dose that looks wrong. A discharge prescription for an elderly patient has a methotrexate dose written daily rather than weekly, and the prescriber is in theatre. The clinical check is a professional duty, not a courtesy, and both courses cover how to hold the supply and escalate.
- The supplement with the bonus. Your employer pays commission on a supplement range and asks you to recommend it with every antibiotic. Truthful information and independence from commercial incentives are central to the ethics course.
- The technician's shortcut. A technician has been pre-labelling chronic medicine packs before the prescription is checked. The standards course covers what you may delegate and what you remain accountable for.
- The missing controlled drug stock. The register does not reconcile at month end. The standards course covers stock integrity and reporting, and the ethics course covers honesty with your employer and the regulator if a colleague may be involved.
CPE and your practising certificate
A pharmacist's practising certificate lasts two years. To renew, you need 50 CPE points in the qualifying period, with at least 30% (15 points) related to patient care or your specialty. The qualifying period of 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2026 applies to practising certificates running from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2028. Inactive pharmacists need 20 points per qualifying period.
Our courses are not SPC-accredited and award no CPE points. You may still find them useful as structured self-directed learning with a written reflection, but the SPC decides what counts towards your 50 points.
To plan and record your 50 points across the two years, see Building Your CME and CPE Portfolio for Renewal.
How a complaint against a pharmacist is handled
Complaints are considered by a Complaints Committee chaired by a Council member, with two pharmacists and a layperson. The Committee can dismiss the complaint, issue a letter of advice or warning, refer the pharmacist to the Health Committee, or order a formal inquiry by a Disciplinary Committee. The SPC indicates that a Complaints Committee inquiry usually takes at least 3 months (more than 6 for complex cases), and a Disciplinary Committee inquiry at least 6 months.
There are two separate appeal routes. A decision of the Complaints Committee can be appealed to the Minister for Health within 30 days, and the Minister's decision is final. A Disciplinary Committee can impose orders that include removal from the register, suspension, conditions, a financial penalty, censure, a warning or an undertaking, with appeal to the High Court within 30 days. The Pharmacists Registration Act sets out the full list.
For learning after a concern, see remediation courses for pharmacists and our complaints and disciplinary guide.
Supporting courses: medicines safety and controlled drugs
Dispensing errors, selection errors between look-alike and sound-alike products, and inappropriate supply of medicines with misuse potential are the areas where pharmacists most often look for structured learning. These courses build checking systems, safe handling of controlled drugs and a culture of reporting near misses.
Supporting courses: integrity and business pressure
Incentives, supplier relationships, promotional material and honest declarations to the SPC are all tested by commercial practice. These courses cover how to recognise a conflict of interest early, how to decline or disclose it, and how to speak up when a workplace practice is not right.
Supporting courses: patients, privacy and consent
Counselling at an open counter, family members collecting medicines and requests for information about another person all raise PDPA and consent questions.
Supporting courses: after a complaint or error
These courses help you respond to a complaint, disclose an error honestly and show the changes you have made.
Who these courses suit
- Community and retail pharmacists balancing patient care with commercial targets.
- Hospital and polyclinic pharmacists working with high-alert medicines and complex prescriptions.
- Pharmacists in specialist and extended roles, such as medication review and chronic disease clinics.
- Preceptors and pharmacy managers supervising technicians, pre-registration pharmacists and students.
- Pharmacists in industry, wholesale or regulatory roles handling promotion and supply-chain integrity.
- Pharmacists who have received a letter of advice or warning and want structured learning.
Studying online
Each course takes 3 hours and is split into sections with a knowledge check after each. It ends with a 20-question scenario assessment, passed with 16 correct answers (80%). You then download a certificate of completion and complete a structured reflection. Progress saves automatically on any device.
Start with the course that fits your question
Pick ethics or standards, then add one supporting course. Every pharmacist course is listed in the course catalogue, and the ethics and professionalism hub covers the other professions.
Questions
Which edition of the SPC Code of Ethics do the courses use?
The 2015 edition, launched on 6 May 2015, which replaced the original 2009 Code and added a framework for dealing with unprofessional advertising. The courses also refer to the SPC's Guidelines for Registered Pharmacists. Check the SPC website for the latest revised version before relying on specific wording.
Do the courses count towards my 50 CPE points?
They are independent and award no CPE points. The SPC sets the CPE rules, including the requirement for at least 15 points related to patient care or your specialty. Keep the certificate and reflection as a record of your own learning.
What is the difference between the two pharmacist courses?
Ethics for Pharmacists deals with judgement: whether to supply, how to respond to misuse, conscience, honesty and commercial pressure. Professional Standards for Pharmacists deals with systems: the clinical check, dispensing and compounding, supervision of the team, governance, errors and controlled drugs. They complement each other.
Do the courses cover pharmacy-only medicines?
Yes. Both refer to HSA's classification of therapeutic products. For pharmacy-only medicines the pharmacist must make the supply decision and record the buyer's details and condition. The ethics course looks at repeat requests and misuse; the standards course looks at the record and the process.
Is there content for hospital pharmacists?
Yes. Hospital practice runs through both courses, including questioning a prescriber, high-alert medicines under the 2021 national guidelines, verification under time pressure and learning from errors. Retail examples are balanced with ward and polyclinic ones.
Can I appeal a Complaints Committee decision?
Yes. A Complaints Committee decision can be appealed to the Minister for Health within 30 days, and the Minister's decision is final. Disciplinary Committee orders are appealed to the High Court within 30 days. Take advice before deciding.
Do the courses help pharmacists who supervise technicians and pre-registration pharmacists?
The standards course has a section on supervising technicians, pre-registration pharmacists and students, including who is accountable for each step and how to delegate safely. The ethics course covers your accountability for the team.
Can I use the courses after a dispensing error?
Yes. Many pharmacists take the standards course for its sections on errors and governance, and add Medication Safety and Error Prevention or Preventing Recurrence. If your employer or the SPC has set specific learning, complete that first.
Do the courses cover medicines with potential for misuse?
Yes. The ethics course has a section on access without harm: recognising patterns of repeated requests, talking to the person, refusing supply where needed and referring them for help. Controlled Drugs: Safe Prescribing and Supply covers the legal framework in more depth.
Is there anything for pharmacists in extended clinical roles?
The ethics course looks at new services and the limits of your role, and the standards course covers collaboration with doctors and nurses and documenting clinical decisions. Where your institution sets its own protocols or credentialing, follow those as well.
I have been away from practice. Which course should I take first?
Professional Standards for Pharmacists is a good refresher because it covers the practising certificate, the clinical check, supervision and governance. Returning to Practice adds a structured plan for getting back up to date.
How long does each course take?
Each takes 3 hours and costs S$125. You can complete it over several sittings. After the 20-question assessment, which needs 16 correct, you download a certificate of completion.
Official sources
Checked October 2026. Rules and processes change, so confirm the current position with the official source. This page is general information, not legal advice.
- SPC – Code of Ethics
- SPC – Continuing professional education
- SPC – CPE requirements for practising certificate renewal
- SPC – Complaints against registered pharmacists
- Pharmacists Registration Act 2007 (Singapore Statutes Online)
- HSA – Therapeutic products regulation
- HSA – Controlled drugs and psychotropic substances
- MOH – National Guidelines on High Alert Medications (2021)
- PDPC Advisory Guidelines for the Healthcare Sector (revised 2023)
- MOH: Healthcare professionals regulation
How these courses are built
Official sources only
Every legal and regulatory point comes from primary sources: the Acts that set up each professional board, the boards' own codes and guidance, and the Ministry of Health. Anything we cannot confirm is left out.
Original, edition by edition
Lessons, scenarios and assessment questions are written by us for each edition separately, then checked for accuracy, teaching quality and fair assessment before publication.
Reviewed when rules change
When a code, standard or law changes, the affected courses are reviewed and updated. Reported errors in legal or regulatory facts are corrected first.