First off--advice for NAPLEX
I've always been terrible at studying--always put it off until the night before exams during pharmacy school so making myself study for NAPLEX was really like pulling teeth.
Plus, I didn't hear about the RxPrep book until it was too late, so I studied from the drawn out APhA chapters.
I really only started studying about a week/week and a half before my exam which I do NOT recommend, as I was stressed to the max the entire time (However, maybe this will ease the minds of any procrastinators out there--you can still pass!).
So as I said, in spite of my lacking studying (I honestly skipped over several chapters due to lack of time), I still passed with a 100. Not the highest of scores, but I was ready to take a 75 if I needed to!
I think that what helped me the most was that I've never had any problems with math; my exam had a LOT of calculations, so make sure you memorize formulas you might need (IBW, BSA, CrCl, LD, t1/2, mEq, mOsmol, steroid conversion, opioid conversion, error, SR, alligation, trituration, etc.). I made myself a review sheet with all the formulas and conversions I wanted to memorize and I think that was extremely helpful (it was the only thing I let myself "study" the day before the exam). The APhA book has some good calculations questions, but I also did some from the 120 problems on this website, I didn't have time to do all of them, but I tried to skim for ones I wanted practice with and do those. Oh and no need to memorize lab values, references were given with the patient profiles.
Other than that, the NAPLEX is really hard to predict. I certainly got a bunch of questions that I knew right away, but you definitely have to be prepared to see some oddball questions and be okay with not knowing the answer. Keeping calm and pacing yourself is key, you don't want to waste your time on a question you're not going to get right anyway. Make an educated guess and move on. Topics I had questions on were oncology, herbals (both of which were chapters I did NOT get to), drug interactions, dosage forms (nothing obscure), sterile compounding (not a lot), biostatistics, diuretics, contraindications, HTN, HF (know which drugs can decrease mortality), arrhythmias (know which drugs affect ventricular rate), hyperlipidemia (know which drugs affect which lab values), DM (know the max doses, brand names, counseling points for injectable stuff, etc--a lot on this), hyper/hypothyroidism, osteoporosis treatments and risk factors, ID (know the general empiric treatment for all common infections, APhA chapter is helpful for this), vaccines (didn't study this and wish I had), drug information (this was easy for me because I had a DI rotation), pain/migraines, some HIV and some GI stuff.
Make sure you go to the bathroom beforehand; any unscheduled break is time out of your exam and I needed most of that time (I finished with about 15 minutes left). There is 1 10-minute scheduled break in the middle if you choose to take it. I also asked for the handheld calculator, I found that to be easier than the on-screen one. They have big earmuffs at each station to block out noise, but they will also offer you earplugs if you prefer those. I took them just in case, but didn't end up using them, noise doesn't really bother me.
So overall, I think that if you can nail the calculations and know enough about the therapeutics to make it through, you can certainly pass! If your goal is a really high score, than start studying at least a month ahead of time.
Okay so now my question is, advice from anyone who has passed the MA MPJE?? Mine is on Monday. I've been reading the 105 and 247 CMR and plan to read the 3 pertinent MGLs, but I'm really worried. I've heard the exam is quite vague and I'm just wondering what is the most important to review (as I don't have much time left). I just really need to pass in order to start my job (my boss is counting on me to replace someone and also cover his vacation..no pressure, right??). Really any advice would be helpful. Thanks!!
I've always been terrible at studying--always put it off until the night before exams during pharmacy school so making myself study for NAPLEX was really like pulling teeth.
Plus, I didn't hear about the RxPrep book until it was too late, so I studied from the drawn out APhA chapters.
I really only started studying about a week/week and a half before my exam which I do NOT recommend, as I was stressed to the max the entire time (However, maybe this will ease the minds of any procrastinators out there--you can still pass!).
So as I said, in spite of my lacking studying (I honestly skipped over several chapters due to lack of time), I still passed with a 100. Not the highest of scores, but I was ready to take a 75 if I needed to!
I think that what helped me the most was that I've never had any problems with math; my exam had a LOT of calculations, so make sure you memorize formulas you might need (IBW, BSA, CrCl, LD, t1/2, mEq, mOsmol, steroid conversion, opioid conversion, error, SR, alligation, trituration, etc.). I made myself a review sheet with all the formulas and conversions I wanted to memorize and I think that was extremely helpful (it was the only thing I let myself "study" the day before the exam). The APhA book has some good calculations questions, but I also did some from the 120 problems on this website, I didn't have time to do all of them, but I tried to skim for ones I wanted practice with and do those. Oh and no need to memorize lab values, references were given with the patient profiles.
Other than that, the NAPLEX is really hard to predict. I certainly got a bunch of questions that I knew right away, but you definitely have to be prepared to see some oddball questions and be okay with not knowing the answer. Keeping calm and pacing yourself is key, you don't want to waste your time on a question you're not going to get right anyway. Make an educated guess and move on. Topics I had questions on were oncology, herbals (both of which were chapters I did NOT get to), drug interactions, dosage forms (nothing obscure), sterile compounding (not a lot), biostatistics, diuretics, contraindications, HTN, HF (know which drugs can decrease mortality), arrhythmias (know which drugs affect ventricular rate), hyperlipidemia (know which drugs affect which lab values), DM (know the max doses, brand names, counseling points for injectable stuff, etc--a lot on this), hyper/hypothyroidism, osteoporosis treatments and risk factors, ID (know the general empiric treatment for all common infections, APhA chapter is helpful for this), vaccines (didn't study this and wish I had), drug information (this was easy for me because I had a DI rotation), pain/migraines, some HIV and some GI stuff.
Make sure you go to the bathroom beforehand; any unscheduled break is time out of your exam and I needed most of that time (I finished with about 15 minutes left). There is 1 10-minute scheduled break in the middle if you choose to take it. I also asked for the handheld calculator, I found that to be easier than the on-screen one. They have big earmuffs at each station to block out noise, but they will also offer you earplugs if you prefer those. I took them just in case, but didn't end up using them, noise doesn't really bother me.
So overall, I think that if you can nail the calculations and know enough about the therapeutics to make it through, you can certainly pass! If your goal is a really high score, than start studying at least a month ahead of time.
Okay so now my question is, advice from anyone who has passed the MA MPJE?? Mine is on Monday. I've been reading the 105 and 247 CMR and plan to read the 3 pertinent MGLs, but I'm really worried. I've heard the exam is quite vague and I'm just wondering what is the most important to review (as I don't have much time left). I just really need to pass in order to start my job (my boss is counting on me to replace someone and also cover his vacation..no pressure, right??). Really any advice would be helpful. Thanks!!
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Just like almost everyone else here, I was very nervous before the exam. I was planning on taking the pre-naplex from NABP's website, but never really got around to it. The night before my exam I was thinking of taking the pre naplex, but then I started thinking if I don't do well, I won't have the confidence to do well on the actual exam, so I decided on not taking it. If you guys plan on taking the pre naplex, do take it at least 1 week before your actual exam, that way you will know where you stand and in which areas you need to improve. 
