Bcps 2011

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Actually, I'm still debating whether to take BCPS 2011 and I know that a decision needs to be made very soon so that I can start studying for it...

I really don't mean to hi-jack this thread, but I'm currently finishing up my PGY1 and will be starting PGY2 in July. Would it be advisable to take BCPS during PGY2 in October, in terms of having enough time during residency to prepare for it?

Any suggestions/advices much appreciated :D
 
Actually, I'm still debating whether to take BCPS 2011 and I know that a decision needs to be made very soon so that I can start studying for it...

I really don't mean to hi-jack this thread, but I'm currently finishing up my PGY1 and will be starting PGY2 in July. Would it be advisable to take BCPS during PGY2 in October, in terms of having enough time during residency to prepare for it?

Any suggestions/advices much appreciated :D

I can't speak from personal experience, since I have waited a year after my residency to take BCPS, but I know several people who are current PGY-2 residents and took BCPS last year and passed. You'll just have to be disciplined enough to including daily studying (or whatever your study plan is) into your resident responsibilities.
 
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Thanks for the insight, Glycerin!

Since registration opens until August 1, I'll start studying for it now and see if I feel ready by then. Even if I don't end up taking it this year, at least going through the studying process will undoubtedly make me a stronger pharmacist - can't hurt, right?

I'll join the study party as soon as my prep book gets here! :D
 
Since the exams are drawing near, how's preparations for everyone?

I've been having a hard time concentrating lately and I'm making poor progress :(
 
Does anyone know if there will be questions regarding landmark clinical trials on the exam?

I'm officially in panic-mode :(
 
I would like to know too!! If we need to know the results, which trials should we pay attention to?

Thanks in advance....
 
Any thoughts?

First session went better for me, I think. I was also exhausted for some reason during the second one and was just ready to get out of there. Could've done without the stats diarrhea at the end of the first session.
 
Any thoughts?

First session went better for me, I think. I was also exhausted for some reason during the second one and was just ready to get out of there. Could've done without the stats diarrhea at the end of the first session.

First session > second session for sure. I actually think I did pretty well on the stats. (Watch, in 60 days, I'll get bad news!). Honestly, I'm hoping (and feeling that I will) I pass, but if for some unfortunate reason I don't, I'll just retake it next year. No biggie.
 
By the way, was anyone else annoyed with "...and one of the physicians asks for the advice of a pharmacotherapy specialist..."? Like, really?! These peeps really like tooting their own horn.

I thought the same thing! I was like....are we no longer pharmacists?
First session went well for me and I was pretty comfortable with the stats since I spent a lot of time on that topic.
I felt like I was back in pharmacy school. The exam reminded me a lot of therapeutics exams I had....nothing really too far out there.
Hoping for good news in 60 days.
 
haha I got a text from a friend "if I ever take a test that says 'the pharmacotherapy specialist..." again, I may go postal."

LOL

I just didn't think it was that bad. If I failed, I deserve it, because I studied less than an hour total for the thing. But I really don't feel that bad about it. There are a couple I know I got wrong, but based on conversations with friends and other people at my site, we all biffed a couple.

Thank god for the gimmes, like Stenotrophamonas. Then I found out that not everyone knows the primary med for Steno and I was like "sweet! that's a point I know I got! and makes up for not giving a HepB vaccine with the immunoglobulin!"
 
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Yay! I gave the vacc + IG for the one kid and the right drug for Steno (but I had a patient with Steno last year, so I knew that one). I think I got tricked by one of the hyperkalemia questions, though. My answer wasn't wrong in practice, but it may not have been best first for an exam.
 
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Glad to hear so many of you here are confident... I feel that I'm pretty screwed this time round... Guess I'll just have to try again next year :)
 
Yay! I gave the vacc + IG for the one kid and the right drug for Steno (but I had a patient with Steno last year, so I knew that one). I think I got tricked by one of the hyperkalemia questions, though. My answer wasn't wrong in practice, but it may not have been best first for an exam.

I said Calcium because of the peaked T-waves. but I would rather CaCl than Gluconate.
 
Glad to hear so many of you here are confident... I feel that I'm pretty screwed this time round... Guess I'll just have to try again next year :)

I felt the same way and I passed, and not even barely. Sad because the questions described in this thread, I don't think I could answer right now. :thumbdown:
 
Yay! I gave the vacc + IG for the one kid and the right drug for Steno (but I had a patient with Steno last year, so I knew that one). I think I got tricked by one of the hyperkalemia questions, though. My answer wasn't wrong in practice, but it may not have been best first for an exam.

I missed the steno question... boo. Did you give the guy in the CCU for r/o MI SUP? So far answers have been split 50/50: yes, oral and no, it's not indicated now. I was also wishy-washy about whether or not the pt with DKA (2nd half) should get bicarb or not. Ahh, so glad this test is OVER. Let's hope none of us have to repeat this crap :)
 
I missed the steno question... boo. Did you give the guy in the CCU for r/o MI SUP? So far answers have been split 50/50: yes, oral and no, it's not indicated now. I was also wishy-washy about whether or not the pt with DKA (2nd half) should get bicarb or not. Ahh, so glad this test is OVER. Let's hope none of us have to repeat this crap :)

SUP - not indicated, pt was on nasal cannula, not intubated.

DKA - Think I gave bicarb b/c pH <7.0
 
Ugh...and here I was thinking 'crap, i did not check the mail today...' fortunately I continued scrolling before dropping my computer to make a mad dash to the mailbox. :eek:
 
The wait is unbearable... Btw, would the results be sent out only via snail mail or would it come through my personal email as well?
 
You'll get them by regular mail. I got mine the day after Thanksgiving last year too.
 
Thanks for your reply!! That certainly doesn't bode well for me as I'm residing out of US. I'm sure I'll recieve the results one to two weeks later than the rest of the folks.
 
And there is a way to know if you passed without even opening the letter. If you passed your name will have BCPS after it in the address portion. At least that's how it was last year.
 
I've read about that in the BCPS 2010 thread. Sadly, it doesn't solve my problem of not being able to know my results the same time the rest of the folks recieve theirs. One wonders if I could call BPS up and ask for a verbal report of my result....
 
I don't think they'll tell you over the phone but I do remember from last year they posted a message on the website announcing the day they mailed the results. I know the waiting is excruciating! Wouldn't want to go through that again. :scared:
 
And there is a way to know if you passed without even opening the letter. If you passed your name will have BCPS after it in the address portion. At least that's how it was last year.

Wow, that will be really tragic to the get a non BCPS envelope. Don Quichotte PharmD _____ :mad:
 
Yes, it would. The thing is I didn't even notice it until I already had the letter out of the envelope. I could have eliminated the near panic state from the mailbox the the house :idea:
 
I heard from someone who called BPS that they were mailed on Weds.
 
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