I took the pre-naplex about a week before my exam and scored a 90. I did 15 points better on my actual exam. So, I think if you want to feel confident in passing you can take the pre-naplex. I def. thought the pre-naplex was difficult, but I did review a lot more after I took it so that could be it also. I would estimate about 10-15 if I really had to guess the math. I know some people say that get 20-30, that wasn't the case for me. I was so focused on the exam that I really can't recall how many questions of what topics I had. I just remember I didn't have many of the common disease states like DM, Lipids, HTN, etc. I also didn't have any questions that blatantly asked me what is the brand/generic. I did have a little bit of everything from the harder topics like Oncology, HIV, ID, Hepatitis, etc. But, honestly the questions are just random. I would recommend going through the entire book if you have the time.
Apotheker2015, have you taken the MPJE yet, any advice?
Truballa030,
thanks again for taking time a way from celebrating your achievement to share with us a little bit more about your experience. It is good to know that everything and anything is fair game and it makes sense that it would be that way. My main goal is to keep my cool. I can't help but think of Grey's Anatomy when this older mentor tells Yang "Breathe. You stop thinking when you don't breathe."
Solofvegas recently said "I think anyone can make math their strength for the Naplex if they invest some time into it just like w/ therapeutics!". So I am doing that. It's math bootcamp for me until sunday and then on Monday I will do a quick review of everything.
Ok, you asked about the MPJE, so here it is:
I took the MPJE and passed. It was an 80 but hey, it's passing. My best recommendation for you is to read the
MPJE blueprint that is on the
NABP website. It will taste rather generic the first time you go through it. It is not until you read it a second time that you will notice that it spells out very specific things that they are looking for. One of the competencies is to know how to handle prescriptions from a deceased physician or how to handle customized packaging. Had I not read the blueprint I would have never thought about those two competencies and of course, I am using them as a fictitious example. Thus, the blueprint provides good thinking points and it can help you focus your studying.
Unlike most people, I also started with state law instead of federal law. I did that because state law already incorporates federal law and when state law differs from federal, state law statutes explicitly say "On this rule, we defer to federal law". I did go through the "Guide to Federal Pharmacy Law" book before the test and did the 300 questions on it.
Make sure no one can trick you on
concentration limits for C-III, C-IV and C-Vs. I am referring to page 174 of the blue book
“Guide to Federal Pharmacy Law". For example: page 173, (2) "CIII compounds cannot contain more than 1.8 grams of codeine per 100 mL or not more than 90 mg per dosage unit, with one or more active, non-narcotic ingredients in recognized therapeutic amounts (e.g., Tylenol w/codeine, Empirin w/ Codeine)." "
Note Tip: Note that with the exception of opium and morphine, quantities of drugs listed in the above section as schedule III substances are all evenly divisible by THREE. This may be helpful if you are asked to determine the schedule of a compounded product".
If you were to be tested on this, it would make sense that you would not be asked for the actual cutoff. So you have to have the cut off memorized in case you're asked to determine the schedule of a compound that contains 1.7 g of codeine per 100 mL which is not divisible by 3. OR they can easily say "determine the schedule of a compound that contains 1.9 g of codeine per 100 mL" and in this case again, you would need to know the cutoff because at that concentration that compound becomes a C-II.
I also used the
Survey of Pharmacy Law CD published by NABP. It’s $197 dollars and we got it for free from our school. The CD points out unique facts about each state law. For example: On the issue of counseling requirements, it answers for all 50 states a series of questions whether Medicaid patients, new prescriptions etc, require counseling by state law. The caveat to the CD is that it addresses each issue at a time and answers each question for all 50 states. It’s a headache to read it but if you have a couple of hours to extract the facts specific to your state, then you will have a nice outline that you can add details to later.
You’re probably thinking “all that work and all you got was an 80”. Well, yes, however, I should point out, though, the key point here is that I recognized that I needed to do twice as much to pass. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have. I felt my knowledge was nowhere it should be. Therefore, I went ahead and purchased the MPJE prep from Rxprep which included 5 lectures and a booklet. Yes, I went through the lectures and did all their practice questions. That should tell you how weak I was in law.
I really recommend going through the
blueprint. It helped me think of scenarios and most importantly, the objectives/competencies helped me focus my studying. I would also check your
state’s board of pharmacy website and look through their
General Facts. I found great
Q&As there and those came in handy later. My state’s board of pharmacy even has a
“law review recommendations” section. Yours might too. That saved me a lot of time. It meant not having to read a good number of pages.
Definitely go through the
DEA Pharmacist manual. (It's a fast read) The DEA also has a nice
Q&A that discusses the
DEA 222 form and its nuances. That was very helpful to me.
Here is the link: http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/faq/dea222.htm
I also looked at the document:
“Poison Prevention Packaging Act: A guide for healthcare professionals”. I would not focus on the household cleaning items. Think more in terms of stuff a mother would buy from a pharmacy for heachaches, or daily aspirin or her RX prednisone, etc.
Here is the link: https://www.cpsc.gov//PageFiles/113945/384.pdf
Again, I knew law was my weakest and that’s why I studied for 2.5 weeks instead of the standard 1 week (or less… ) you hear most people do. I was one of those who got into pharmacy school not knowing what Lisinopril was. I am not kidding. I come from a family of athletes. All I ever saw at home was multivitamins and supplements. I did, however, have extensive research experience in 3 areas, killed the PCAT and had a solid GPA from a big 10 school. In spite of all that, I had never set a foot in a pharmacy. To make matters worse, my school’s pharmacy law course was a disaster and I really did not learn a thing.
My best and final recommendation is that you make sure that you can keep what the law requires vs. the policy of the company/pharmacy where you work. A good and obvious example is that federal and most states allow C-IIs to be dispersed through the inventory to deter diversion and theft. However, we all know most company policies require C-IIs to always be kept in a safe .
I apologize for the lengthy response. If you read this far, I hope you find some of these pointers helpful.
Best,
Apotheker2015.
PS: Should you have any additional words of wisdom for the NAPLEX, that'd be great.
PS2: Superhero pose. Do it in the bathroom for 2 minutes. People will think you're crazy but you'd be amazed what it does to your brain.
