The General Regulation outlines the requirements that must be successfully completed for a Registrant to meet the Standard of Practice for Prescribing. To help NDs work towards these requirements, the Ontario Prescribing and Therapeutics online course was launched in March 2014, in collaboration with the Therapeutics Education Collaboration (TEC). In July 2021, the course was rebranded as the Canadian Therapeutics and Prescribing course. 

This course teaches the key skills needed by NDs to develop, implement and monitor evidence-based therapeutic plans. It is a requirement for any naturopath who wishes to prescribe, dispense, compound, sell or administer by injection or inhalation the drugs listed in the General Regulation.

Building on the pharmacology knowledge gained in the accredited naturopathic training, this course helps to ensure Registrants are:

• prepared to excel as therapeutic prescribers; and
• able to prescribe and use any number of natural substances that are restricted under federal legislation and within the context of other pharmaceuticals that their patients may have been prescribed by other regulated health practitioners.

For additional information regarding course content and instructors, you may download the Course Outline and Instructor Bios.

Thinking about taking the exam? Read what NDs have to say about it and their tips on how to succeed.

ND Insights about the Exam

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Prescribing and Therapeutics course

The Canadian Therapeutics and Prescribing course is offered by the Therapeutics Education Collaboration (TEC). Course instructors Dr. James McCormack and Dr. Adil Virani are professors in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia and offer the online course via the TEC website.

Those seeking to sit the Ontario Prescribing and Therapeutics Examination are required to have completed not only the course, but to have also reviewed the Ontario Regulation Module.

Audio-only version of the course content is also available in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005.

This course is open to registered NDs and 4th year CNME-accredited program students.

Click here to enrol in the Canadian Therapeutics and Prescribing online course. For questions about the course, or for enrolment assistance, please contact TEC.

Prescribing & Therapeutics Examination

Registrants who have completed the Canadian Therapeutics and Prescribing online course are eligible to register for the Ontario Prescribing and Therapeutics exam.

Candidates sitting the Ontario Prescribing and Therapeutics exam are tested on both their overall knowledge of therapeutic prescribing, as well as Ontario specific rules and requirements around the controlled acts of prescribing, dispensing, compounding and selling.

After successfully completing the exam, Registrants will be considered to have met the Standard of Practice for Prescribing and will have the authority to access and use the drugs and substances listed in the tables in the General Regulation made under the Naturopathy Act, 2007.

Naturopaths registered in another province or territory and 4th year CNME-accredited program students who wish to take the Ontario Prescribing and Therapeutics exam are eligible to do so if they a) have met the College’s eligibility requirements as noted in the Prescribing and Therapeutics Handbook and b) have submitted the Exam Pre-Registration Form for Non-Registrants. The exam is held in Toronto. Registration for each session is handled on a first come, first served basis.

Upcoming exam dates

Registration for the April 7, 2024, session of the Ontario Prescribing & Therapeutics Exam is now closed. The College is no longer accepting exam registration applications for this session.

For information about exam fees and the exam schedule, including timetable and exam transcript release dates, please see our Examination Schedule & Fees page.