Certified National Pharmaceutical Representative

Certificate Program

The California State University, East Bay Certified National Pharmaceutical Representative (CNPR) program prepares its graduates for entry-level pharmaceutical sales positions. It is an excellent option for those who seek to work in the pharmaceutical industry but lack the required pharmacology and medical education.

Cal State East Bay's National Association of Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives (NAPSR)-approved program gives students the knowledge necessary to sit for the CNPR national certification exam, with a curriculum that covers medical terminology, clinical pharmacology, physiology, drug sampling rules and other areas, as well as the specific day-to-day requirements of pharmaceutical sales. Those who take part in the program automatically become members of NAPSR and are eligible to sit for the exam at no additional cost.

Offered in partnership with Gatlin Education Services, the program's online-only format makes it convenient for professionals anywhere in the world, not just those who live or work in the San Francisco East Bay Area.

Program Objectives

• To prepare graduates for entry-level pharmaceutical sales positions.
• To prepare graduates to sit for the CNPR exam.
• To give graduates mastery in all pharmaceutical terms, definitions and abbreviations needed to sell pharmaceuticals.
• To provide graduates a thorough understanding of the pharmaceutical industry, including major product lines and therapeutic categories, the research and development process, patents and patent extensions, generic drugs, U.S. drug distribution channels, manufacture/distributor relationships and distributor/retail relationships.
• To familiarize graduates with industry regulations, including the FDA's role in the industry and the laws it enforces, the Hatch-Waxman Act, drug labeling and promotion requirements, security concerns of a hospital and sampling rules in hospitals.
• To provide graduates an understanding of Medicare/Medicaid issues and how they affect the selling process.
• To familiarize graduates with government reimbursement programs, drug discount cards, the major concepts and components of managed care, principal stakeholders in the managed-care marketplace, drug marketing and group purchasing organizations and other pertinent healthcare industry subjects.
• To give graduates an understanding of pharmaceutical sales representatives' day-to-day tasks, including pharmaceutical sales territory planning and information gathering, call planning and record keeping, appointment calls and impromptu calls, strategies representatives use for no see offices, strategies for downtime and communicating with a district manager.
• To give graduates the ability to effectively prepare for hospital calls, sell new products versus established products, position competing products and use sales brochures and support literature.
• To increase graduates' marketability to pharmaceutical companies seeking to hire.

Who Should Attend

• Individuals interested in becoming pharmaceutical sales representatives.
• Individuals interested in careers in the pharmaceutical industry but who lack the required pharmacology and medical education.
• Individuals seeking National Pharmaceutical Representative certification.

Program Highlights