For those who took Naplex 2007...

[Mlabban]

please post any advice that you would think would help us for NAPLEX... anythig said would be really appreciated...

I'm taking NAPLEX on July 18th, and i'm panicing already, since i am not a good studier and a big procastinator... (i am studying now though, not enough though)..

thank you

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[dgroulx]

please post any advice that you would think would help us for NAPLEX... anythig said would be really appreciated...

I'm taking NAPLEX on July 18th, and i'm panicing already, since i am not a good studier and a big procastinator... (i am studying now though, not enough though)..

thank you

I'm back home from the NAPLEX. I got there 30 minutes before the exam and they let me start early. It only took me 2.5 hours, so don't worry about time constraints.

My test started out with calculations. There were mEq questions and dilutions. There were also calculations with the patient cases. You had to calculate creatinine clearance, drug clearance (they give you Vd and T1/2), dosing amounts based on patient weight, conversions for aminophylline and theophylline. Very little HIV and cancer. I had 2 HIV questions and a couple of cancer ones that dealt with vincristine and doxorubicin. Most of mine was mechanisms of drugs, brand/generic, asthma, diabetes, hypertension, and rheumatoid arthritis. There was one stats question, one graph, and several questions on Enbrel and Remicade. Oh, I also had tons of questions on what dosage forms were available for drugs.

If you have the handouts that listed the questions that other students remembered, then you are in luck. I'd say half of my exam was questions I had already seen.

I also had to convert IV to PO dosing for morphine and Solu-Medrol to oral prednisone.

 

[Mlabban]

I'm back home from the NAPLEX. I got there 30 minutes before the exam and they let me start early. It only took me 2.5 hours, so don't worry about time constraints.

My test started out with calculations. There were mEq questions and dilutions. There were also calculations with the patient cases. You had to calculate creatinine clearance, drug clearance (they give you Vd and T1/2), dosing amounts based on patient weight, conversions for aminophylline and theophylline. Very little HIV and cancer. I had 2 HIV questions and a couple of cancer ones that dealt with vincristine and doxorubicin. Most of mine was mechanisms of drugs, brand/generic, asthma, diabetes, hypertension, and rheumatoid arthritis. There was one stats question, one graph, and several questions on Enbrel and Remicade. Oh, I also had tons of questions on what dosage forms were available for drugs.

If you have the handouts that listed the questions that other students remembered, then you are in luck. I'd say half of my exam was questions I had already seen.

I also had to convert IV to PO dosing for morphine and Solu-Medrol to oral prednisone.

Your feedback Dana is more than appreciated, Thank you for coming back and sharing your experience... so questions remembered by other students like the one on pharmer craigs website are good? do you think Kaplan review was worth it? do you advice studying Kaplan and doing these questions?

thanks

 

[dgroulx]

Your feedback Dana is more than appreciated, Thank you for coming back and sharing your experience... so questions remembered by other students like the one on pharmer craigs website are good? do you think Kaplan review was worth it? do you advice studying Kaplan and doing these questions?

thanks

Study Kaplan. Lots of what they mentioned at the review is on the test. Also look at the folders that I posted on Pharmer Craig. I think I passed just from knowing those questions. They were direct repeats. Exactly.

The Dr. Flynn stuff is overkill. Just look at old exams and study the Kaplan book.

 

[RxBPharm]

Dana,

All the information you posted is very useful. I sent you a private message. Wish you all the best for your NAPLEX results. Thanks.

 

[Mlabban]

Study Kaplan. Lots of what they mentioned at the review is on the test. Also look at the folders that I posted on Pharmer Craig. I think I passed just from knowing those questions. They were direct repeats. Exactly.

The Dr. Flynn stuff is overkill. Just look at old exams and study the Kaplan book.

Thanks for the advice again... i'm glad you said so...
As I told you a girl from GNVL campus said flynn was good, but she didn't do kaplan review, she had the book and did only th ecalculations from there, anyway, thank you again, when are you planning on the law part?

 

[dgroulx]

Thanks for the advice again... i'm glad you said so...
As I told you a girl from GNVL campus said flynn was good, but she didn't do kaplan review, she had the book and did only th ecalculations from there, anyway, thank you again, when are you planning on the law part?

I take law on Tuesday, July 3rd. I just started studying tonight. Hopefully, that will give me enough time.

Dana

 

[Jeddevil]

Nevermind

 

[JTD1972]

 

[pharmd15]

I took the NAPLEX last Thursday and passed. I studied from the APHA book and class notes from calculations (sure glad I saved them). I would suggest studying the areas you are the most weak in and paying less attention to HTN, diabetes, etc if you know it well. I had lots of questions on available dosage forms, and brand/generic is a must (not even just the top 200, be able to recognize them all). I only had 1 HIV question, which I must've got right b/c I didn't have anymore after that. Don't be alarmed if the first couple questions are pretty difficult, I think they do that on purpose to freak people out! I was able to do all the calculations in the APHA book front and back and couldn't figure out the first 3 math problems on the test. I left there totally thinkking I had failed, but passed easily. Good luck everyone!

 

[ethyl]

The NAPLEX notes have been removed from the Pharmer craig site. Another student has helped out by creating her own group.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naplexgirl

 

[Dishiki]

I took the NAPLEX on the 14th and have still not received my scores. I am in GA. How long does it take to ge your results?

 

[dgroulx]

I took the NAPLEX on the 14th and have still not received my scores. I am in GA. How long does it take to ge your results?

Your scores are given to the state board of pharmacy 2 days after completion of the NAPLEX. It's up to the board as to when they release them to you. Check with the GA BOP.

 

[Dishiki]

Well I am guessing I passed. I went to the website to look at my application and it says besides both my pratical examination and my Naplex score "completed". I guess that means passing, otherwise I would think it still would say pending.

 

[RxMayor]

I took it Saturday and passed. Here are my thoughts, I know a lot of people are stressed or freaking out.
I studied 3d/week x 2 weeks and 5 days straight before the exam. I mostly used the Flynn notes and APhA book. I highly recommend getting the previous questions from students, either from the Flynn notes or some other source. The math was not as bad as you might think. From the feedback from this years exam, it seems as if you get an AIDS/Cancer related exam or not. I did not have the AIDS exam and I spent a lot of time on the HIV drugs. I only had a few questions on cancer related drugs. Most of the questions were patient profiles with questions about appropriate therapy. 4 hours is a long time for the exam. I finished with plenty of time left. My advice is if you are struggling with a question or need some extra time for a math problem, don't freak out, take the extra time to try to get the question correct. Overall, the exam was not as difficult as I expected. If you prepare you will pass. Good luck to everyone.

 

[VCU07]

please post any advice that you would think would help us for NAPLEX... anythig said would be really appreciated...

I'm taking NAPLEX on July 18th, and i'm panicing already, since i am not a good studier and a big procastinator... (i am studying now though, not enough though)..

thank you

I just finished the exam today and have a few thoughts. First, the calculations were pretty easy. The APHA book and Flynn's notes are plenty to prepare for them. I had no HIV questions at all and had very few cancer questions. Like another poster, I had lots of patient profiles and therapy. What I didn't like was the amount of herbal questions I got (~20 questions). Some of the questions were direct from flynn's notes and were time savers. Hopefully, I did enough to pass.

 

[pharmgrl07]

I just finished the exam today and have a few thoughts. First, the calculations were pretty easy. The APHA book and Flynn's notes are plenty to prepare for them. I had no HIV questions at all and had very few cancer questions. Like another poster, I had lots of patient profiles and therapy. What I didn't like was the amount of herbal questions I got (~20 questions). Some of the questions were direct from flynn's notes and were time savers. Hopefully, I did enough to pass.

Well, I took Naplex, and , unfortunately i got HIV and CANCER one. A lot of questions on them. Some questions about TB, many herbals, and some weird questions about illeostomy, or different devices for different testing, a couple HTN, CHF, and diabetes. Calculations were pretty easy...amazingly NO mEq, moles, or mOsm. I am not sure how I did, but will see

 

[pharmgrl07]

Your scores are given to the state board of pharmacy 2 days after completion of the NAPLEX. It's up to the board as to when they release them to you. Check with the GA BOP.

Hi Dana,
Can you tell me how to check NAPLEX in FL board? It just looks impossible for me to find the correct link. THanks.

 

[dgroulx]

Hi Dana,
Can you tell me how to check NAPLEX in FL board? It just looks impossible for me to find the correct link. THanks.

The Florida Board of Pharmacy doesn't post it on line. We have to wait for the mail. It takes 2 to 4 weeks after the test (so they say).

 

[NatalyPharmD]

Well, I took Naplex, and , unfortunately i got HIV and CANCER one. A lot of questions on them. Some questions about TB, many herbals, and some weird questions about illeostomy, or different devices for different testing, a couple HTN, CHF, and diabetes. Calculations were pretty easy...amazingly NO mEq, moles, or mOsm. I am not sure how I did, but will see

Thanks for the information. What type of questions do they ask about herbals? indications?
Which files do you feel were the most helpful from Dr. Flynn's notes?

 

[pharmgrl07]

Thanks for the information. What type of questions do they ask about herbals? indications?
Which files do you feel were the most helpful from Dr. Flynn's notes?

Herbals were indication, mechanism of toxicity, any precautions. There might be just a few of them. I just read one of the files that had previous exam questions and his actual notes from the session. Some questions were exactly same as previous exam questions. Hope that helps.

 

[legrita]

Just took the NAPLEX todays and boy was it rough! I am not sure how some people pass but I would not have survived unless I had Flynn's review course.

 

[Mlabban]

Hi, when they ask questions about medication (ex: abx) do they ask using the generic or brand names?

 

[dgroulx]

Hi, when they ask questions about medication (ex: abx) do they ask using the generic or brand names?

They switch it up. Sometimes there are brands and sometimes generics. For diabetes meds it was all brand names on my exam. Abx were mixed. They used generic names for ampicillin, amoxicillin, vanco, gent. The used brands for Zosyn, Cubicin, etc. My Enbrel questions used the brand name, however my questions on Remicade were asked as inflixamab. The cancer drugs were generic - vincristine, cisplatin, etc. HIV - I had one question with a generic name and one with brand name. HTN meds were mostly generic.

 

[Mlabban]

They switch it up. Sometimes there are brands and sometimes generics. For diabetes meds it was all brand names on my exam. Abx were mixed. They used generic names for ampicillin, amoxicillin, vanco, gent. The used brands for Zosyn, Cubicin, etc. My Enbrel questions used the brand name, however my questions on Remicade were asked as inflixamab. The cancer drugs were generic - vincristine, cisplatin, etc. HIV - I had one question with a generic name and one with brand name. HTN meds were mostly generic.

Dana I will never be able to thank you enough for the info and help you've been giving..
thanks

 

[Hels2007]

I read the APhA book (skipping the chapter on Kinetics, as that was NOT useful for the exam) and Appleton & Lange book. I just got my score and was amazed how well I did. My questions were all over the board, I can't say I had a lot of any specific section, but my advice is to study practical stuff, like which antibiotics should be refrigerated after reconstitution and which drugs require which warning labels. I had hardly any mechanism of action or metabolism questions, but I had a lot of weird administration questions, like which drugs require which type of infusion set, and I have only done two months of hospital practice, so I never even heard of them. I guess these must have been part of the "experimental 35" since it didn't hurt my score. And the main thing - relax, and don't hurry. It's easy to panic and click "confirm" only to realize that you have chosen the wrong answer half a second later - but there is no going back. Take your time. Everyone I know needed less than 3 hours for the NAPLEX, and they give you 4.

 

[dgroulx]

My results came in today's mail. I got a 131.

I take the MPJE on Tuesday.

 

[july]

dgroul - congrats!!!!!!!!! that is a very good score! Excellent score, in fact!
How did you study? what materials did you use and how much time did you put into it?

 

[bva]

My results came in today's mail. I got a 131.

I take the MPJE on Tuesday.

Dear Dgroulx,

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

 

[Mlabban]

My results came in today's mail. I got a 131.

I take the MPJE on Tuesday.

WOW great JOBBBBBBBBBB!!! Congratsssssssssssss.. hope you do as well with the law

 

[wrek92]

My results came in today's mail. I got a 131.

I take the MPJE on Tuesday.

Congratulations Dana. Thanks for sharing your NAPLEX experience with us. I am having the worst time trying to focus on my studying since starting my residency. I am still waiting to hear from the California Board to have my application approved and then my ATT. Out of state grads just get no love.

Much continued success.

 

[legrita]

DANA!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I am so happy for you! Now I play the waiting game for my scores. I just took it on Fri the 29th so I should know something really soon. Question: Did they just give you your score or did they also say if you passed or not? Thanks

Rache

 

[dgroulx]

DANA!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I am so happy for you! Now I play the waiting game for my scores. I just took it on Fri the 29th so I should know something really soon. Question: Did they just give you your score or did they also say if you passed or not? Thanks

Rache

Thanks Rache. I took my exam on the 23rd and got my results by mail on the 30th. You should get your score soon. It has the score in a box and says congratulations on passing the Naplex.

 

[dgroulx]

dgroul - congrats!!!!!!!!! that is a very good score! Excellent score, in fact!
How did you study? what materials did you use and how much time did you put into it?

Walgreens paid for the Kaplan review on May 14th - 17th. I started reviewing that material about 2 weeks before my exam. I also looked over files of past test takers experiences, which was very helpful. The rest was just recall from school.

 

[Jeddevil]

I took the test this morning. I feel like I did well enough to pass, but there were a lot of questions that I had no idea about simply because they were about odd-ball drugs you don't see much. Or if you do, you know it by generic name and have no idea about the odd-ball brand name.

Calculations were easy, I had 25-30. If you study the kaplan or apha calculations and know how to do them, you will be fine.

I didn't have a single question about HTN, dyslipidemia, or DM. Those are three things I thought I would see because everyone has them and we have to know them in and out. No, the Naplex is about stupid stuff, like what dosage forms does some oddball brand name drug come in.

I don't know what I would do to prepare more. I studied about 90 hours for it.
Overall, I feel like I passed and I stressed too much about this test.

 

[Mlabban]

I took the test this morning. I feel like I did well enough to pass, but there were a lot of questions that I had no idea about simply because they were about odd-ball drugs you don't see much. Or if you do, you know it by generic name and have no idea about the odd-ball brand name.

Calculations were easy, I had 25-30. If you study the kaplan or apha calculations and know how to do them, you will be fine.

I didn't have a single question about HTN, dyslipidemia, or DM. Those are three things I thought I would see because everyone has them and we have to know them in and out. No, the Naplex is about stupid stuff, like what dosage forms does some oddball brand name drug come in.

I don't know what I would do to prepare more. I studied about 90 hours for it. The notes posted by students the last couple years that took it were valuable because many of those questions were on my test, in one form or another.

Overall, I feel like I passed and I stressed too much about this test.

yeah, see this is what i'm worried about, the stupid things you never pay attention to, like how on earth am i going to remember all dosage forms unless I had an experience with them... grrr

 

[Jeddevil]

yeah, see this is what i'm worried about, the stupid things you never pay attention to, like how on earth am i going to remember all dosage forms unless I had an experience with them... grrr

You are not going to know them. I didn't. I didn't even know what the drugs were that they were asking about. (one of my favorites that they asked about, one I was able to figure out what it was -- Co-trimoxazole---- Now with a bit of thought, you can probably figure out that this is bactrim, but why use the term. Nobody calls is co-trimoxazole)

The test doesn't test your knowledge on things you will use daily in practice. It is more like pharmacy trivia asking odd-ball crap that only the nerdy kid that never got a date so he sits at home all the time studying would know.

But it is what it is. I think I was able to pass it, I will know in a few days. Study hard, then be ready to make many educated guesses.

 

[airtime72]

Took the naplex today. i got the cancer and hiv test but i focused on hose topics for the exam and didnt have much trouble. Alot of asthma questions as well. Easy calculations for the most part, didnt have to many, only 1 tpn, some dilution, and 1 meq. no mosm or alligation. also had some thyroid and gout questions but most are pretty easy. flynn warrens review was very helpful, much better than kaplan. so I'd say as others have, look at the super summary from flynn warren and past comments from others will be all you will need. good luck to everyone

 

[PharmDMBA]

Study calculations and if you can...definitely get Flynn's notes and review the comments sent in by other students. This is all I studied and the NAPLEX took less than 1 hour and 25 minutes and I got a 140. Remember, if you were at all awake in pharmacy school, you have been studying for this test for 4 years. It is not all that bad if you simply review what you learned. You do not need to study everything all over again.

I was much more afraid of the SC and NC MPJE and after taking the exams...I think I was afraid of those for good reason.

 

[off2skl]

Anyone have issues with IDs "matching exactly or may contain your entire middle name if the first initial matches on your ATT." My ATT doesn't have my middle name or initial (since it was not a required entry when I registered) and ALL my IDs have either one or the other. Why didn't it mention that when you REGISTER???? I'm off to call NABP tomorrow morning and hope that there is some amount of common sense.

 

[pharmaz88]

Anyone have issues with IDs "matching exactly or may contain your entire middle name if the first initial matches on your ATT." My ATT doesn't have my middle name or initial (since it was not a required entry when I registered) and ALL my IDs have either one or the other. Why didn't it mention that when you REGISTER???? I'm off to call NABP tomorrow morning and hope that there is some amount of common sense.

Come on, now... After 3 years of Midwestern, you should be used to jumping through hoops!

...but as long as you're calling, my e-mail confirmation (from Prometric) for the mpje states that you need 2 forms of govt id, one with pic, but both with signature. ...well, my passport has my current sig, but my DL has the sig I used like 12 years ago, which was totally different (cursive then, sloppy print now). ...is that gonna' make trouble for me?

...when are you testing? I'm doing naplex this sunday, and law the following wed.

 

[dgroulx]

Anyone have issues with IDs "matching exactly or may contain your entire middle name if the first initial matches on your ATT." My ATT doesn't have my middle name or initial (since it was not a required entry when I registered) and ALL my IDs have either one or the other. Why didn't it mention that when you REGISTER???? I'm off to call NABP tomorrow morning and hope that there is some amount of common sense.

I had the same problem, so I sent an email to nabp.net and they responded back to ignore that middle name stuff. Only the first and last name matter. All you need is a photo ID and a credit card.

 

[off2skl]

Come on, now... After 3 years of Midwestern, you should be used to jumping through hoops!

...but as long as you're calling, my e-mail confirmation (from Prometric) for the mpje states that you need 2 forms of govt id, one with pic, but both with signature. ...well, my passport has my current sig, but my DL has the sig I used like 12 years ago, which was totally different (cursive then, sloppy print now). ...is that gonna' make trouble for me?

...when are you testing? I'm doing naplex this sunday, and law the following wed.

Oh even better cuz my only other federal ID with both pic and signature is my passport, which has my signature in my maiden name (although the name itself has been updated in the appendices )

Ok just got off the phone, they said like dgroulx said that an omission of the middle name/initial is an "allowable discrepancy." As far as the 2 govt IDs, from the sound of it only one has to have a photo, would your SS card work since its government issued and has a signature?

SCheduling...argh. I had wanted to take the NAPLEX first, but they have more seats available for law..so I'm taking the law on the 11th (guess I better start reviewing since I havne't looked at it at all) and the NAPLEX on the 18th (at 4PM.....the only way I could get anything earlier was going to Flagstaff!!!)

 

[NDGirl]

Oh even better cuz my only other federal ID with both pic and signature is my passport, which has my signature in my maiden name (although the name itself has been updated in the appendices )

Ok just got off the phone, they said like dgroulx said that an omission of the middle name/initial is an "allowable discrepancy." As far as the 2 govt IDs, from the sound of it only one has to have a photo, would your SS card work since its government issued and has a signature?

I work for Pearson VUE, which is Prometric's main competitor in the computer testing industry. We have many of the same policies on ID requirements, so I'll let you know how it is for Person VUE, I not sure if it is exactly the same for Prometric, but I think it's pretty close.

If one ID has a maiden name and the other has your current name, you must show proof of the change. So, bring you marriage certificate.

The Primary ID has to have your name, picture and signature. These include: Driver's license, state/govt. ID, passport. Sometimes they accept military ID, but not always.

The Secondary ID needs to have your name and signature. These include: Social Security Card, credit card, student ID's that have signatures on them. The ones I see the most when checking in candidates are SS cards and credit cards.

Make sure that none of the ID's are expired!

 

[Jeddevil]

Anyone have issues with IDs "matching exactly or may contain your entire middle name if the first initial matches on your ATT." My ATT doesn't have my middle name or initial (since it was not a required entry when I registered) and ALL my IDs have either one or the other. Why didn't it mention that when you REGISTER???? I'm off to call NABP tomorrow morning and hope that there is some amount of common sense.

I emailed NABP when I received my ATT and asked them the same. They don't care about middle names. At the testing center, take your drivers license for primary ID, and a credit card for secondary. You will be fine that way.

 

[Mlabban]

Took the naplex today. i got the cancer and hiv test but i focused on hose topics for the exam and didnt have much trouble. Alot of asthma questions as well. Easy calculations for the most part, didnt have to many, only 1 tpn, some dilution, and 1 meq. no mosm or alligation. also had some thyroid and gout questions but most are pretty easy. flynn warrens review was very helpful, much better than kaplan. so I'd say as others have, look at the super summary from flynn warren and past comments from others will be all you will need. good luck to everyone

thanks for your input, where did you study the HIV and cancer from? any particulat source that was helpful?

 

[airtime72]

Nada,
What I did was learn the brand names and generic names for HIV. I then focused on class effects and made sure to know which ones to give with or without food. I used the kaplan book somewhat but the super summary from flynn was helpful. I had some obsecure questions but the flynn review helped me through them.
In regards to cancer i used the kaplan book to study classes of drugs. I only learned the brand names of cyclophosphamide, chlorambucil, capacetabine, cisplatin, and lupron. Know how u can treat some of the rare side effects such as mesna for cyclophosphamide and manitol for cisplatin. there are some others i can't recall. Didn't have any on my exam but i would try to learn them if you can. The questions werent that bad but also try to learn some of the drugs to help with the N/V. otherwise the test for me wasnt bad. I had the cancer/HIV test with few calculations but i focused my studying to cancer and HIV so I think i did ok. Hopefully I will find out my score soon.

 

[alwaystired]

You are not going to know them. I didn't. I didn't even know what the drugs were that they were asking about. (one of my favorites that they asked about, one I was able to figure out what it was -- Co-trimoxazole---- Now with a bit of thought, you can probably figure out that this is bactrim, but why use the term. Nobody calls is co-trimoxazole)

The test doesn't test your knowledge on things you will use daily in practice. It is more like pharmacy trivia asking odd-ball crap that only the nerdy kid that never got a date so he sits at home all the time studying would know.

But it is what it is. I think I was able to pass it, I will know in a few days. Study hard, then be ready to make many educated guesses.

that's funny. I once had an assignment where they referred to cotrimoxazole instead of bactrim and I was just like "what the ...." Even the pharmacists there had no idea what it was and we came to think it was suppposed to be clotrimazole lozenges. hahaha Maybe this is why they do things like that. Go figure....

Hope you all did well.

 

[VCU07]

I just finished the exam today and have a few thoughts. First, the calculations were pretty easy. The APHA book and Flynn's notes are plenty to prepare for them. I had no HIV questions at all and had very few cancer questions. Like another poster, I had lots of patient profiles and therapy. What I didn't like was the amount of herbal questions I got (~20 questions). Some of the questions were direct from flynn's notes and were time savers. Hopefully, I did enough to pass.

138 baby!

 

[pinkyrx]

138 baby!

Congrats!!