Wow... That was the most thorough response ever, and I have read a lot of posts from you, Apotheker2015! As usual, you've been very helpful. I see september 30th is open, so I'm thinking of postponing to that date. My issue is I read very slowly and get hung up on the details and write every little thing out... Which is pointless because I'm basically re-writing the textbook out. Thus far I've just read and written and at this point haven't finished ID or writing it out. I don't know what approach is best. I was planning on reading the book n writing stuff out then doing qbank but i obviously don't have any time left for the current scheduled date. Everyone said just do the major topics and take the test bc tht is what they did, but I'm afraid since the exam can have any topic on it, so I'd like to at least read the whole book once as you said. Other than that I'm not sure if I should continue writing stuff out.
Also, with the whole computer adaptive aspect, does it continue to ask you about topics you got wrong? I keep reading posts about how the naplex tests u on what u did not study bc it continues to ask you questions on what you got wrong.
Should I still do the prenaplex or try the rxprep practice exam?
THANK YOU SO MUCH APOTHEKER!!
Prepharmsofar,
I am glad that you have found those posts useful. I will keep it brief this time. You only have 4 weeks. You should not be rewriting everything. I would simply go through the chapter, do the quiz and note the key points you missed
ONLY after you've read the explanation and decided that "ok, yeah, I did not know that". So really, once you retake the missed questions, that's when you should be writing stuff down.
I would do no more than 1 page per chapter. Split the page into 2 columns. Trust that you have seen this stuff before. Four weeks won't be enough if you are doing that much writing. Your notes should be short and straight to the point; i.e.,. gleevec PO only, requires genetic test.DONE.
Thus, I agree with your strategy bu
t delay the writing part after you've taken the quiz right after reading the chapter. Do your best to spend an hour or two a day, going over those items that you just keep forgetting. In other words, review the material up to what you did the day before. If you can't do that every day., then do it every other day. It should be a quick review just to bring it back to your back pocket.
Refer to some of my previous posts. I printed out the table of drug interactions and posted it on several walls in my apartment. I did the same with other summary charts. Every time you walk by it, you look at it and read one item outloud. Believe me, it will stick.
Again, you're not studying for the Naplex.
You are reviewing for it. You have seen all of this before. Changing your mindset to that will do wonders for your confidence. When you go through the drug tables, always try to go through them with an active learning mindset (as much as I hate hearing the words "active learning"; at my school it meant we actually had to go to class and discuss... ugh... where is the damn vodka?). But yeah, look through a table and say. "Ok all of these are cleared by the liver except drug Z which is cleared by the kidneys. Thus, if someone is old and has liver failure, I will give them drug Z. The Naplex is going to ask you about exceptions, always. That's the majority of the test.
I'm not going to rewrite all my posts here. You get the gist of what I am recommending. Do not reinvent the wheel. Study hard and smart to be a competent pharmacist. The rest will happen. Hit me up if you any other questions. You can do this. The only way to pass the Naplex is to pass the Naplex. Kick its butt. LOL, I mean it.
Best,
Apotheker2015
PS: The pre-Naplex is entirely up to you. There is no correlation. However, those are retired Naplex questions so there is some value to it.
PS2: Yes, the Naplex will DIG a little when you get something wrong. It will give you another question right away OR later testing the same skill BUT typically, it will include within the question an item that was listed as an answer choice in the previous question. So that being said, you could in theory say that second question serves to show what you did know but it's worth a little less. It's all about level of ability and not points but you get what I am saying.
PS3: Did you master the 120 SDN calculations? Do not leave them for the last minute. The first time I sat down to attempt them, I knew I had to implement something drastic.