Another “I passed NAPLEX and so will you” thread

[john888]

Hi all - I just wanted to make this thread to offer some reassurance to those who haven’t taken naplex yet and might be worried about not passing. I took the exam about a week ago, and found out that I passed with a 94 (not the highest score of course, but I’m happy with it).

I was the type of student that would study for a therapeutics exam in school, pass it with a low-to-moderate grade, and then forget a lot of the information right after the test. I tried to slow down on the cramming in my last year or two of classes and moderate my studying better, but still found myself not retaining much of the info for whatever reason.

So on rotations I basically had to re-learn most everything. Of course, some things came back pretty easily because I had already learned them once before. When it came time for naplex studying I even found myself forgetting a lot of the info that I had used daily on earlier rotations – even very basic pharm stuff that was embarrassing to not know after so many years of studying pharmacy.

I had read many threads on SDN and was excited to see so many people talk about how they thought they would fail but ended up passing, and how you really just need to know calculations and the rest you should know from pharm school. But like I said, I felt pretty certain that I had not retained as much info as the typical pharm student. I was also discouraged as I started finding multiple threads with multiple people saying they failed.

Anyways, I just wanted to give a little background info and mention that I was on the low end of my pharm class and I still passed with room to spare.

I used the RxPrep book for all of my studying, and there were multiple chapters that I didn’t even get a chance to glance over at all. I went over HTN, DM, dyslipidemia, and asthma a few times to try to get a decent handle on them, and I read through most other chapters once only, with some quick skimming review in the few days before the exam. For oncology, I only looked at the drugs that require supplementation with another drug (due to major toxicities etc). I didn’t even look over brand/generics for oncology or even read through the chapter because I didn’t manage my time well enough. I had studied HIV very early on, but forgot much of it around test time – I glanced over it before the test again to try to refresh myself and retain whatever I could.

I purchased the RxPrep quiz bank but only got around to doing 10 quizzes - I scored from 61-83% on all of them, barring one 93% on smoking cessation. I started late, and in the last 5 days before the test I figured it would be better for me to keep studying/reviewing from the book than to do practice questions on topics that I didn’t know very well.

I also went through the SDN 120 calc questions twice. This is one area where I did feel pretty confident. I always did pretty well in pharmaceutics class and with calculations in general. I think this is because calculations are something that once you figure out how to do them, it usually sticks. It’s not really memorization like most therapeutics stuff. I will admit that going through RxPrep’s calc chapter I felt pretty confident but ended up being surprised at how tough some of the questions on the SDN 120 calc questions list were. Many were simple, but some of the tough ones threw me. However, once I looked up and understood how to do them I realized they weren’t so bad. The second time around was much better, though I did get caught up on one or two questions but realized my errors after checking the answer.

I took pre-naplex twice. 12 days before the test I scored a 66. I took it again 4 days before and scored a 98. BUT, I looked up multiple things during the test lol. It started with some things that I felt “I would probably know this on the exam cause I do intend to review it again, so I’ll just look it up for now to get a more accurate score,” and just went from there. The 2nd pre-naplex was really tough for me, def tougher than the first, and I didn’t want to get a really low score and freak out a few days before the exam so I ended up looking up a few things. After receiving my score, which was higher than I expected, I wished I had not looked up anything to see what my actual score would have been. I would estimate maybe 70-80, though it’s impossible to tell. I felt that the questions on both pre-naplex exams were much tougher than those on my actual naplex.


My exam (everyone’s experience will of course vary):

The calculations that I got on the exam were much easier than the ones on SDN’s 120 calc list. I had time to double check them all, and honestly felt like I got them all correct. This was probably a huge part in helping me pass. Just like everybody else, I recommend you know your calculations – it will probably play a large part in your score.

I also felt like my non-calc questions were not all that hard. It is an adaptive test, so maybe I was getting easier questions if I got certain ones wrong, but either way I didn’t feel like I was bombarded with impossible stuff like I did on the 2nd pre-naplex. This was good, because it kept me in a good mood throughout the test (as opposed to feeling hopeless like I’ve heard others feel). There were many questions which I wasn’t sure of the answer to, but were not very tough questions, and I took educated guesses on.

After the test I was pretty happy, and actually felt like I passed (along with just being relieved to be finished). I know most people say they feel like they def did not pass and yet end up with a very good score, but this was not really the case for me. I think that my confidence with the math questions (of which I had a ton) helped me to feel good about how I did. There were multiple questions which I already knew I had missed, but I still felt like I would get a passing score because I knew that they grade the test somewhat leniently.

Also, as far as time – I had more than enough. I was trying to move somewhat quickly from the start, but about an hour in I realized I was doing well on time and made sure to slow down when necessary. I even took a 5 min unscheduled break about 20 min before my scheduled one to get some water and quickly eat a granola bar.

Sorry for the long post, but just wanted to let you guys know that you will probably be fine. Put in the effort to study of course, but there’s really no need to freak out about it. I certainly put in plenty of study time, but was not very quick with going through material so I didn’t get through everything I should have. I still passed though, so don’t worry too much.

Good luck!

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[Silvermist]

Thank you for this, and congratulations!

 

[newlearner2014]

Hi all - I just wanted to make this thread to offer some reassurance to those who haven’t taken naplex yet and might be worried about not passing. I took the exam about a week ago, and found out that I passed with a 94 (not the highest score of course, but I’m happy with it).

I was the type of student that would study for a therapeutics exam in school, pass it with a low-to-moderate grade, and then forget a lot of the information right after the test. I tried to slow down on the cramming in my last year or two of classes and moderate my studying better, but still found myself not retaining much of the info for whatever reason.

So on rotations I basically had to re-learn most everything. Of course, some things came back pretty easily because I had already learned them once before. When it came time for naplex studying I even found myself forgetting a lot of the info that I had used daily on earlier rotations – even very basic pharm stuff that was embarrassing to not know after so many years of studying pharmacy.

I had read many threads on SDN and was excited to see so many people talk about how they thought they would fail but ended up passing, and how you really just need to know calculations and the rest you should know from pharm school. But like I said, I felt pretty certain that I had not retained as much info as the typical pharm student. I was also discouraged as I started finding multiple threads with multiple people saying they failed.

Anyways, I just wanted to give a little background info and mention that I was on the low end of my pharm class and I still passed with room to spare.

I used the RxPrep book for all of my studying, and there were multiple chapters that I didn’t even get a chance to glance over at all. I went over HTN, DM, dyslipidemia, and asthma a few times to try to get a decent handle on them, and I read through most other chapters once only, with some quick skimming review in the few days before the exam. For oncology, I only looked at the drugs that require supplementation with another drug (due to major toxicities etc). I didn’t even look over brand/generics for oncology or even read through the chapter because I didn’t manage my time well enough. I had studied HIV very early on, but forgot much of it around test time – I glanced over it before the test again to try to refresh myself and retain whatever I could.

I purchased the RxPrep quiz bank but only got around to doing 10 quizzes - I scored from 61-83% on all of them, barring one 93% on smoking cessation. I started late, and in the last 5 days before the test I figured it would be better for me to keep studying/reviewing from the book than to do practice questions on topics that I didn’t know very well.

I also went through the SDN 120 calc questions twice. This is one area where I did feel pretty confident. I always did pretty well in pharmaceutics class and with calculations in general. I think this is because calculations are something that once you figure out how to do them, it usually sticks. It’s not really memorization like most therapeutics stuff. I will admit that going through RxPrep’s calc chapter I felt pretty confident but ended up being surprised at how tough some of the questions on the SDN 120 calc questions list were. Many were simple, but some of the tough ones threw me. However, once I looked up and understood how to do them I realized they weren’t so bad. The second time around was much better, though I did get caught up on one or two questions but realized my errors after checking the answer.

I took pre-naplex twice. 12 days before the test I scored a 66. I took it again 4 days before and scored a 98. BUT, I looked up multiple things during the test lol. It started with some things that I felt “I would probably know this on the exam cause I do intend to review it again, so I’ll just look it up for now to get a more accurate score,” and just went from there. The 2nd pre-naplex was really tough for me, def tougher than the first, and I didn’t want to get a really low score and freak out a few days before the exam so I ended up looking up a few things. After receiving my score, which was higher than I expected, I wished I had not looked up anything to see what my actual score would have been. I would estimate maybe 70-80, though it’s impossible to tell. I felt that the questions on both pre-naplex exams were much tougher than those on my actual naplex.


My exam (everyone’s experience will of course vary):

The calculations that I got on the exam were much easier than the ones on SDN’s 120 calc list. I had time to double check them all, and honestly felt like I got them all correct. This was probably a huge part in helping me pass. Just like everybody else, I recommend you know your calculations – it will probably play a large part in your score.

I also felt like my non-calc questions were not all that hard. It is an adaptive test, so maybe I was getting easier questions if I got certain ones wrong, but either way I didn’t feel like I was bombarded with impossible stuff like I did on the 2nd pre-naplex. This was good, because it kept me in a good mood throughout the test (as opposed to feeling hopeless like I’ve heard others feel). There were many questions which I wasn’t sure of the answer to, but were not very tough questions, and I took educated guesses on.

After the test I was pretty happy, and actually felt like I passed (along with just being relieved to be finished). I know most people say they feel like they def did not pass and yet end up with a very good score, but this was not really the case for me. I think that my confidence with the math questions (of which I had a ton) helped me to feel good about how I did. There were multiple questions which I already knew I had missed, but I still felt like I would get a passing score because I knew that they grade the test somewhat leniently.

Also, as far as time – I had more than enough. I was trying to move somewhat quickly from the start, but about an hour in I realized I was doing well on time and made sure to slow down when necessary. I even took a 5 min unscheduled break about 20 min before my scheduled one to get some water and quickly eat a granola bar.

Sorry for the long post, but just wanted to let you guys know that you will probably be fine. Put in the effort to study of course, but there’s really no need to freak out about it. I certainly put in plenty of study time, but was not very quick with going through material so I didn’t get through everything I should have. I still passed though, so don’t worry too much.

Good luck!

Thank you very much for writing very thorough and helpful notes. Good luck with your life as you have good heart to share and help.

............I even took a 5 min unscheduled break about 20 min before my scheduled one to get some water and quickly eat a granola bar...........

I took a tip from another person and found the tip to be very very helpful so I am passing to you the tip:

I will make the main point of the tip short and simple so you can remember and try:
After 2 hours of testing for NAPLEX exam, during the break, take glucose.
I scored above 140 points on NAPLEX.

Now I will explain what, why, and how?
Brain uses glucose as main energy source.
Brain has limited storage of glucose so you will feel very very sluggish after intensely testing for 2 hours. You may blame the slow thinking and muddy mind on low glucose in the brain cells.

Therefore, after 2 hours of testing with NAPLEX, during the break, I took more glucose to help my brain moves faster with clearer thinking ability.

It worked. I finished the NAPLEX with good feeling because I had clear mind for the last 2 hours of the 4 hour exam. Actually, my mind worked so well that I finished half hour early and I scored above 140 points on NAPLEX. I thanked many factors for helping me getting high score including: praying, studying over 8 months, good supports from loved ones and this community...........and so I share again to help you.

Extra tip: I once tried taking too much sugar at home (I filled half water bottle with kitchen sugar and then added enough water to dilute that.) Such concentrated sugar liquid instantly gave me nausea feeling and I felt like I was going to vomit. So, you have been warned. Do not use too much sugar.

So what would you do?

For many days before the test, try at home so find out the comfortable level of glucose that will help you.

Quick tip: I personally took 6 glucose tablets that I bought at pharmacy. You may find your level to be more or less.

Good luck and share more.....

 

[john888]

Agreed newlearner - I ate a banana immediately before the test but noticed my mind getting somewhat unclear before my break and knew it was because I needed food (and of course water is important to function well also). This was the reason I took the unscheduled break. I ended up finishing about 20 min early I believe, and this was even with slowing down for the second half. Also, congrats on scoring above a 140 - that's quite the achievement!

As an aside, I just want to point out that while I did mention sometimes have trouble retaining information, I tend to do quite well in the work environment. When I actually work with certain information daily I do well with recalling and utilizing it. For this reason, I feel I will have no trouble with doing a good job as a pharmacist. For those of you who may be worried about joining the workforce, gauge yourself based on your work performance as opposed to school performance.

Also, the formulas listed in this thread are good to know and pretty comprehensive for what you'll actually get tested on:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/naplex-calculation-formulas.1018680/

One of the threads I had looked at listed the following, which I found very helpful:
mmol = mg/MW
mEq = mmol x valence
mOsm = mmol x number of particles

That should be all you need to know for mmol, mEq, and mOsm questions, as long as you look at the common valences and particle numbers of certain compounds (found in RxPrep book). Whatever the question asks, you should be able to find mmol and can get to mEq or mOsm pretty simply from there by using the above equations.

 

[Temple2014]

Hi all - I just wanted to make this thread to offer some reassurance to those who haven’t taken naplex yet and might be worried about not passing. I took the exam about a week ago, and found out that I passed with a 94 (not the highest score of course, but I’m happy with it).

I was the type of student that would study for a therapeutics exam in school, pass it with a low-to-moderate grade, and then forget a lot of the information right after the test. I tried to slow down on the cramming in my last year or two of classes and moderate my studying better, but still found myself not retaining much of the info for whatever reason.

So on rotations I basically had to re-learn most everything. Of course, some things came back pretty easily because I had already learned them once before. When it came time for naplex studying I even found myself forgetting a lot of the info that I had used daily on earlier rotations – even very basic pharm stuff that was embarrassing to not know after so many years of studying pharmacy.

I had read many threads on SDN and was excited to see so many people talk about how they thought they would fail but ended up passing, and how you really just need to know calculations and the rest you should know from pharm school. But like I said, I felt pretty certain that I had not retained as much info as the typical pharm student. I was also discouraged as I started finding multiple threads with multiple people saying they failed.

Anyways, I just wanted to give a little background info and mention that I was on the low end of my pharm class and I still passed with room to spare.

I used the RxPrep book for all of my studying, and there were multiple chapters that I didn’t even get a chance to glance over at all. I went over HTN, DM, dyslipidemia, and asthma a few times to try to get a decent handle on them, and I read through most other chapters once only, with some quick skimming review in the few days before the exam. For oncology, I only looked at the drugs that require supplementation with another drug (due to major toxicities etc). I didn’t even look over brand/generics for oncology or even read through the chapter because I didn’t manage my time well enough. I had studied HIV very early on, but forgot much of it around test time – I glanced over it before the test again to try to refresh myself and retain whatever I could.

I purchased the RxPrep quiz bank but only got around to doing 10 quizzes - I scored from 61-83% on all of them, barring one 93% on smoking cessation. I started late, and in the last 5 days before the test I figured it would be better for me to keep studying/reviewing from the book than to do practice questions on topics that I didn’t know very well.

I also went through the SDN 120 calc questions twice. This is one area where I did feel pretty confident. I always did pretty well in pharmaceutics class and with calculations in general. I think this is because calculations are something that once you figure out how to do them, it usually sticks. It’s not really memorization like most therapeutics stuff. I will admit that going through RxPrep’s calc chapter I felt pretty confident but ended up being surprised at how tough some of the questions on the SDN 120 calc questions list were. Many were simple, but some of the tough ones threw me. However, once I looked up and understood how to do them I realized they weren’t so bad. The second time around was much better, though I did get caught up on one or two questions but realized my errors after checking the answer.

I took pre-naplex twice. 12 days before the test I scored a 66. I took it again 4 days before and scored a 98. BUT, I looked up multiple things during the test lol. It started with some things that I felt “I would probably know this on the exam cause I do intend to review it again, so I’ll just look it up for now to get a more accurate score,” and just went from there. The 2nd pre-naplex was really tough for me, def tougher than the first, and I didn’t want to get a really low score and freak out a few days before the exam so I ended up looking up a few things. After receiving my score, which was higher than I expected, I wished I had not looked up anything to see what my actual score would have been. I would estimate maybe 70-80, though it’s impossible to tell. I felt that the questions on both pre-naplex exams were much tougher than those on my actual naplex.


My exam (everyone’s experience will of course vary):

The calculations that I got on the exam were much easier than the ones on SDN’s 120 calc list. I had time to double check them all, and honestly felt like I got them all correct. This was probably a huge part in helping me pass. Just like everybody else, I recommend you know your calculations – it will probably play a large part in your score.

I also felt like my non-calc questions were not all that hard. It is an adaptive test, so maybe I was getting easier questions if I got certain ones wrong, but either way I didn’t feel like I was bombarded with impossible stuff like I did on the 2nd pre-naplex. This was good, because it kept me in a good mood throughout the test (as opposed to feeling hopeless like I’ve heard others feel). There were many questions which I wasn’t sure of the answer to, but were not very tough questions, and I took educated guesses on.

After the test I was pretty happy, and actually felt like I passed (along with just being relieved to be finished). I know most people say they feel like they def did not pass and yet end up with a very good score, but this was not really the case for me. I think that my confidence with the math questions (of which I had a ton) helped me to feel good about how I did. There were multiple questions which I already knew I had missed, but I still felt like I would get a passing score because I knew that they grade the test somewhat leniently.

Also, as far as time – I had more than enough. I was trying to move somewhat quickly from the start, but about an hour in I realized I was doing well on time and made sure to slow down when necessary. I even took a 5 min unscheduled break about 20 min before my scheduled one to get some water and quickly eat a granola bar.

Sorry for the long post, but just wanted to let you guys know that you will probably be fine. Put in the effort to study of course, but there’s really no need to freak out about it. I certainly put in plenty of study time, but was not very quick with going through material so I didn’t get through everything I should have. I still passed though, so don’t worry too much.

Good luck!

Thanks for the thread.

Took NAPLEX today and I was in the same boat as you for your background and pharmacy school experience. I always didn't do great on tests in school because I always thought there were questions that were worded strangely and always missed a couple easy ones by overthinking.

My NAPLEX experience: I didn't have a lot of really difficult questions on NAPLEX, but a lot seemed to be close between 2 answers. I know I messed up at least 4 or 5 easy ones, but also was happy I got some ones I thought were on the difficult side right. Math was relatively easy I thought overall. My recommendation to anyone reading this is know how to do the SDN 120?s. It's questions in general are more complicated, but made me understand the math concepts if they seemed dicey. I just did RxPrep's 4 calculation sets a few times to re-inforce the math and was very confident on math going into my exam. I also used RxPrep's book and 2700? bank. I also attended my school's review session and a 2 day RxPrep course a month ago, and both were beneficial. I spent at least an hour a day studying for clinical stuff, really anywhere from 1 hour if just doing RXPrep questions to actually reviewing material. I also spent at least 5 of 7 days every week for a couple hours doing SDN or other math problems to get myself used to setting up a problem so I wouldn't hesitate when my NAPLEX math problems showed up. I liked to learn both ways, so I utilized the book and question bank. I finished my exam with almost 2 hours left. Personally, I have no idea how someone could use the whole 4.5 hrs to complete the test, unless you really get hung up on math. If I was clueless on a question, I made an educated guess and moved on. I also didn't hesitate on any math, double checked and moved on. I'll let everyone know how it went once I get my score.

 

[CardinalGirl210]

This is very helpful!!!! Congrats on passing - I'm practicing my math all day tomorrow. John888, how long did you spend on ID? I feel that is my major weak spot - bad teacher in pharm school screwed my whole class

 

[naplexnaplex]

Did they gave you handheld calculator? How important are Oncology, HIV and Hepatitis chapters?

 

[Mateco]

Thank you for this, and congratulations![/QUO

Thanks for the thread.

Took NAPLEX today and I was in the same boat as you for your background and pharmacy school experience. I always didn't do great on tests in school because I always thought there were questions that were worded strangely and always missed a couple easy ones by overthinking.

My NAPLEX experience: I didn't have a lot of really difficult questions on NAPLEX, but a lot seemed to be close between 2 answers. I know I messed up at least 4 or 5 easy ones, but also was happy I got some ones I thought were on the difficult side right. Math was relatively easy I thought overall. My recommendation to anyone reading this is know how to do the SDN 120?s. It's questions in general are more complicated, but made me understand the math concepts if they seemed dicey. I just did RxPrep's 4 calculation sets a few times to re-inforce the math and was very confident on math going into my exam. I also used RxPrep's book and 2700? bank. I also attended my school's review session and a 2 day RxPrep course a month ago, and both were beneficial. I spent at least an hour a day studying for clinical stuff, really anywhere from 1 hour if just doing RXPrep questions to actually reviewing material. I also spent at least 5 of 7 days every week for a couple hours doing SDN or other math problems to get myself used to setting up a problem so I wouldn't hesitate when my NAPLEX math problems showed up. I liked to learn both ways, so I utilized the book and question bank. I finished my exam with almost 2 hours left. Personally, I have no idea how someone could use the whole 4.5 hrs to complete the test, unless you really get hung up on math. If I was clueless on a question, I made an educated guess and moved on. I also didn't hesitate on any math, double checked and moved on. I'll let everyone know how it went once I get my score.

Hi all - I just wanted to make this thread to offer some reassurance to those who haven’t taken naplex yet and might be worried about not passing. I took the exam about a week ago, and found out that I passed with a 94 (not the highest score of course, but I’m happy with it).

I was the type of student that would study for a therapeutics exam in school, pass it with a low-to-moderate grade, and then forget a lot of the information right after the test. I tried to slow down on the cramming in my last year or two of classes and moderate my studying better, but still found myself not retaining much of the info for whatever reason.

So on rotations I basically had to re-learn most everything. Of course, some things came back pretty easily because I had already learned them once before. When it came time for naplex studying I even found myself forgetting a lot of the info that I had used daily on earlier rotations – even very basic pharm stuff that was embarrassing to not know after so many years of studying pharmacy.

I had read many threads on SDN and was excited to see so many people talk about how they thought they would fail but ended up passing, and how you really just need to know calculations and the rest you should know from pharm school. But like I said, I felt pretty certain that I had not retained as much info as the typical pharm student. I was also discouraged as I started finding multiple threads with multiple people saying they failed.

Anyways, I just wanted to give a little background info and mention that I was on the low end of my pharm class and I still passed with room to spare.

I used the RxPrep book for all of my studying, and there were multiple chapters that I didn’t even get a chance to glance over at all. I went over HTN, DM, dyslipidemia, and asthma a few times to try to get a decent handle on them, and I read through most other chapters once only, with some quick skimming review in the few days before the exam. For oncology, I only looked at the drugs that require supplementation with another drug (due to major toxicities etc). I didn’t even look over brand/generics for oncology or even read through the chapter because I didn’t manage my time well enough. I had studied HIV very early on, but forgot much of it around test time – I glanced over it before the test again to try to refresh myself and retain whatever I could.

I purchased the RxPrep quiz bank but only got around to doing 10 quizzes - I scored from 61-83% on all of them, barring one 93% on smoking cessation. I started late, and in the last 5 days before the test I figured it would be better for me to keep studying/reviewing from the book than to do practice questions on topics that I didn’t know very well.

I also went through the SDN 120 calc questions twice. This is one area where I did feel pretty confident. I always did pretty well in pharmaceutics class and with calculations in general. I think this is because calculations are something that once you figure out how to do them, it usually sticks. It’s not really memorization like most therapeutics stuff. I will admit that going through RxPrep’s calc chapter I felt pretty confident but ended up being surprised at how tough some of the questions on the SDN 120 calc questions list were. Many were simple, but some of the tough ones threw me. However, once I looked up and understood how to do them I realized they weren’t so bad. The second time around was much better, though I did get caught up on one or two questions but realized my errors after checking the answer.

I took pre-naplex twice. 12 days before the test I scored a 66. I took it again 4 days before and scored a 98. BUT, I looked up multiple things during the test lol. It started with some things that I felt “I would probably know this on the exam cause I do intend to review it again, so I’ll just look it up for now to get a more accurate score,” and just went from there. The 2nd pre-naplex was really tough for me, def tougher than the first, and I didn’t want to get a really low score and freak out a few days before the exam so I ended up looking up a few things. After receiving my score, which was higher than I expected, I wished I had not looked up anything to see what my actual score would have been. I would estimate maybe 70-80, though it’s impossible to tell. I felt that the questions on both pre-naplex exams were much tougher than those on my actual naplex.


My exam (everyone’s experience will of course vary):

The calculations that I got on the exam were much easier than the ones on SDN’s 120 calc list. I had time to double check them all, and honestly felt like I got them all correct. This was probably a huge part in helping me pass. Just like everybody else, I recommend you know your calculations – it will probably play a large part in your score.

I also felt like my non-calc questions were not all that hard. It is an adaptive test, so maybe I was getting easier questions if I got certain ones wrong, but either way I didn’t feel like I was bombarded with impossible stuff like I did on the 2nd pre-naplex. This was good, because it kept me in a good mood throughout the test (as opposed to feeling hopeless like I’ve heard others feel). There were many questions which I wasn’t sure of the answer to, but were not very tough questions, and I took educated guesses on.

After the test I was pretty happy, and actually felt like I passed (along with just being relieved to be finished). I know most people say they feel like they def did not pass and yet end up with a very good score, but this was not really the case for me. I think that my confidence with the math questions (of which I had a ton) helped me to feel good about how I did. There were multiple questions which I already knew I had missed, but I still felt like I would get a passing score because I knew that they grade the test somewhat leniently.

Also, as far as time – I had more than enough. I was trying to move somewhat quickly from the start, but about an hour in I realized I was doing well on time and made sure to slow down when necessary. I even took a 5 min unscheduled break about 20 min before my scheduled one to get some water and quickly eat a granola bar.

Sorry for the long post, but just wanted to let you guys know that you will probably be fine. Put in the effort to study of course, but there’s really no need to freak out about it. I certainly put in plenty of study time, but was not very quick with going through material so I didn’t get through everything I should have. I still passed though, so don’t worry too much.

Good luck!

Congratulations!!!!!
Thank you for take time to write your experience!

Did you find ID, ONCO or HIV questions?

RxPrep have a huge ID chapter.

 

[Temple2014]

Congratulations!!!!!
Thank you for take time to write your experience!

Did you find ID, ONCO or HIV questions?

RxPrep have a huge ID chapter.

Mateco - I also can't think of one disease state that was not covered on my NAPLEX.

Calculator: I got a calculator because I asked for one. They administer all kinds of test, the person wasn't sure and looked over the rules and told me it was allowed and gave me one. I'd call the testing center a few days in advance to make sure.

 

[john888]

Did they gave you handheld calculator? How important are Oncology, HIV and Hepatitis chapters?

Just to reiterate what everyone else said - yes they gave me a physical calculator. They actually asked me if I wanted one before I had a chance to ask them lol. Pretty sure it was this one in case anyone is curious, but I'm sure all sites have different calcs (but they'll all be basic ones like this):
http://www.staples.com/Staples-SPL-120-8-Digit-Display-Calculator/product_466493

Like Temple said, I'd call the testing center in advance to ask them about the calc if you're worried about it. My testing center was very receptive to all questions that I called in about in the last days before the test, and answered everything to make sure I was comfortable with the testing process.

Congratulations!!!!!
Thank you for take time to write your experience!

Did you find ID, ONCO or HIV questions?

RxPrep have a huge ID chapter.

I'm pretty sure I had all three, and I probably took educated guesses on many. Similar to Temple, I also found myself narrowing down many questions to two choices and taking an educated guess from there.

This is very helpful!!!! Congrats on passing - I'm practicing my math all day tomorrow. John888, how long did you spend on ID? I feel that is my major weak spot - bad teacher in pharm school screwed my whole class

ID was actually my weak spot as well, so I understand how you feel - it was one of the areas that I was very worried about before taking the test (along with oncology/HIV/hep/anticonvulsants).

That being said, it ended up being fine. I did guess on a bunch of ID questions, but I was able to narrow most down to 2 choices (some questions I had no idea though). It really wasn't too bad, even for not feeling prepared in that area. I got some pretty basic and intermediate questions (of course some tough oddballs thrown in too but that's to be expected and shouldn't throw you off). If you are having trouble with this area, I would just focus on the major antibiotic classes: which drugs are in which class, and what major SE of each class are.

(aminoglycosides, the beta-lactam classes, fluoroquinolones, macrolides, tetracyclines, sulfonamides, vanc)

I actually blanked on some of the ID info on the exam that I should've known from my studying but I guess I answered whatever I needed to correctly.

 

[Temple2014]

Still haven't got my scores, but after letting everything sink in, another huge recommendation I would make to anyone is to do a bunch of practice questions before the test. I had access to RxPrep's ? bank and I did a lot of these the week or 2 before my exam. It really got me used to the format of being able to answer questions, which is why I think I finished the test so fast.

I would also know brands/generics very well. I felt most of the questions I missed were because I was lacking in this area. Another thing I found myself recalling "who taught me this" from school. It might sound weird, but it definitely helped me with recalling drug indications. We usually only had 1 professor for a P/T topic, some cover 2, maybe 3. But I would often see a drug when I wasn't sure about something and think, well Professor X, Y, or Z talked about that so I know this drug is likely for this topic/indication.

Also know MOA. You don't need to know mechanistic details, but know what neurotransmitter or receptor might be effected by the drug.

 

[nagoyankitty]

My classmate had no HIV or oncology, and maybe 2 or 3 ID questions, but I had TONS on the three topics...
The ID chapter is long but I'd say just know the main treatment for pneumonia and UTI...and focus on other chapters lol
I feel like I should've focused more on counseling points for drugs more

 

[john888]

I also wanna add that you should look over biostats (esp calculating RR, RRR, ARR, NNT, and knowing what alpha, beta, p-value etc means and how to interpret them)

I read in other threads that people suggested doing this and I'm glad that I did because I had a few of these questions on my exam. They were easy points. You don't have to have everything in the chapter down but you should learn the stuff I mentioned above, this was all I was tested on. It's not that hard either, you will be probably be comfortable with it if you go over it just a couple times. Remember the formulas for RR, RRR, ARR, NNT

 

[Mateco]

Mateco - I also can't think of one disease state that was not covered on my NAPLEX.

Calculator: I got a calculator because I asked for one. They administer all kinds of test, the person wasn't sure and looked over the rules and told me it was allowed and gave me one. I'd call the testing center a few days in advance to make sure.

Thank you!!!

 

[m_Aya]

Thanks for the thread.

Took NAPLEX today and I was in the same boat as you for your background and pharmacy school experience. I always didn't do great on tests in school because I always thought there were questions that were worded strangely and always missed a couple easy ones by overthinking.

My NAPLEX experience: I didn't have a lot of really difficult questions on NAPLEX, but a lot seemed to be close between 2 answers. I know I messed up at least 4 or 5 easy ones, but also was happy I got some ones I thought were on the difficult side right. Math was relatively easy I thought overall. My recommendation to anyone reading this is know how to do the SDN 120?s. It's questions in general are more complicated, but made me understand the math concepts if they seemed dicey. I just did RxPrep's 4 calculation sets a few times to re-inforce the math and was very confident on math going into my exam. I also used RxPrep's book and 2700? bank. I also attended my school's review session and a 2 day RxPrep course a month ago, and both were beneficial. I spent at least an hour a day studying for clinical stuff, really anywhere from 1 hour if just doing RXPrep questions to actually reviewing material. I also spent at least 5 of 7 days every week for a couple hours doing SDN or other math problems to get myself used to setting up a problem so I wouldn't hesitate when my NAPLEX math problems showed up. I liked to learn both ways, so I utilized the book and question bank. I finished my exam with almost 2 hours left. Personally, I have no idea how someone could use the whole 4.5 hrs to complete the test, unless you really get hung up on math. If I was clueless on a question, I made an educated guess and moved on. I also didn't hesitate on any math, double checked and moved on. I'll let everyone know how it went once I get my score.

Hello,
I didn't pass my Naplex, I used the RxPrep. I am a foreign graduate from europe. I know I can do this, I just need to know how to better prepare for it.
I was curious about the references you used.
1. RxPrep's 4 calculation sets : are those from the book
2. my school's review session: Do you have notes I can borrow if that's ok
3. RxPrep course: is it the online course for ~$900

Thank you so much for your insight!

 

[kalexan2]

I passed the Naplex with a 75. Guessed on over 80% lol so anyone can pass. The onky thing I really knew was math and that's about it. Good luck y'all

 

[Temple2014]

Got my score today and passed with LOTS of room to spare. My advice after getting my score: Know calculations and understand key concepts, and you will do fine. RxPrep is a great resource but is a lot of "overkill" I thought. I also think Pre-Naplex is a waste of money. I took it blind not reviewing anything in March because our school required it. Scored a 30. Only thing it did for me was waste $65.

Best of luck to all who are going to take it. Most importantly take time from studying to relax and do what you enjoy normally for fun.

 

[rexiSH]

congrats Temple! I agree with pretty much all your advice.

 

[Mateco]

I passed the Naplex with a 75. Guessed on over 80% lol so anyone can pass. The onky thing I really knew was math and that's about it. Good luck y'all

Congratulations! thank you for your advise!

 

[Mateco]

Got my score today and passed with LOTS of room to spare. My advice after getting my score: Know calculations and understand key concepts, and you will do fine. RxPrep is a great resource but is a lot of "overkill" I thought. I also think Pre-Naplex is a waste of money. I took it blind not reviewing anything in March because our school required it. Scored a 30. Only thing it did for me was waste $65.

Best of luck to all who are going to take it. Most importantly take time from studying to relax and do what you enjoy normally for fun.

Congratulations!!!!!!

 

[oldasndood]

I passed the Naplex with a 75. Guessed on over 80% lol so anyone can pass. The onky thing I really knew was math and that's about it. Good luck y'all

Wow man, not something to be proud of.

 

[EML9255]

oh man i just took this today and i really hope i passed, i feel like i failed!

The beginning of my test was flooded with ID and the ID kept showing up!!!! Only had like 5 DM or mental disorder questions and those i feel are my two best subjects so go figure i had minimal questions. Had a decent amount of HF/Asthma, not many on hyperlipidemia A LOT of very random out of nowhere questions. After the break I started to get more of the HF/Asthma quetions sooo idk if that means i was doing poorly at the beginning or what.

I had 3 questions on valerian and i could not remember what it was used for soo just guessed on all 3 of those idk why it showed up multiple times, meningitis also showed up 2x with almost same question. Math was pretty basic, probably had 15 problems and 3 of them i struggled with. A few brand/generics caught me up too

This is going to be hell waiting the next few days until i get my score. I keep telling myself a lot of people feel like they fail and they pass but i really do not know, ahhh.

 

[obsession]

You got only 15 math questions that's really strange, people say that they get like 30 to 40. How many questions you got from Oncology, HIV and Hepatitis. My NAPLEX is in few days and I am also freaking out. Do you got any pharmaceutic question?

 

[christy101]

I also just took naplex and am feeling really depressed about it right now. I studied a lot but I don't know what happened . I guessed on a lot of questions and near the end I was running out of time because I was flooded with ton of math questions. So that caused me to rush and some of the math I literally had to guess on or else I can never move on. Right now I am really scared and depressed, I don't feel like there was a chance that I passed the test. There is just no way with the way I was unsure of the questions. When I came home I realized all the mistakes I made and the easy questions that I should've gotten right but however during the exam it just all slipped my mind and right now I am hating myself for it. My questions were kind of everywhere, but I see a few ID cases. I was probably getting them wrong so thats why it kept showing up so I don't know if I failed because of that. I had only about 1 oncology question and no HIV. I don't know if that is a bad sign. A lot of people told me if you keep getting the same subject questions then you probably didn't do well and perhaps its a fail. Some people also told me if you start seeing subjects like oncology then you might have passed since its a tougher subject? I really don't know whats true since I only saw 1 oncology question on mine and am freaking out right now. I'm so scared of failing since the retest is 3 month and everyone keeps telling me its hard to fail naplex so I would feel really embarassed if I failed and I would really doubt myself if I didn't pass. I studied a lot using RxPrep and the test bank and went through the whole book and test bank. The test bank questions helped me study but I feel like the real naplex has a different kind of formating with the patient profiles and there were so many of them. I highly suggest to get your math down like its the back of your hand so you won't waste time on it. The math isn't tough and we can all probably solve it but it takes time and you have to know how to do it fast so you can quickly move on. I spent too long on the math although I felt I got most of the ones I did in the beginning correct since I took my time, but near the end I was so rush it was hard to think and can't solve math problems when you are rushing and your mind is racing. I'm not sure if I got the math at the end right and had to guess on a few. If I had more time then I probably been able to work them out and got them correct. So do study your math including biostats!

 

[RGD1077]

I'm sure you passed, just try and relax. If you went through RxPrep you likely know the info quite well, they tend to give you a lot of extraneous stuff. It is much easier to pass than to fail, BE CONFIDENT IN YOURSELF AND YOUR SKILLS!!

 

[obsession]

Thank you for reply. I am hoping that you all definitely pass.How many biostatistics questions came, were they easy ones and were they from RXPREP types. And how many total math questions do you think you encountered in exams, 30 or 40?

 

[oldasndood]

Background: I graduated in 1999 and have worked in retail for the past 15 years. Studied about 3 months from the RxPrep book and used the quizbank. I did most of the questions in the quizbank. Skipped oncology. Too dry. Also used my old pharm calc book and the 120 SDN questions. Woke up everyday between 3 and 4 AM to cram a few hours of studying. Took notes in my Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopeia so I could study while working. 50 hours of work per week, married with two young kids. Found out this morning I passed with a 122.

I took the test this past Friday fighting a sinus infection. Pearson VUE likes to keep it icy in the exam room. I was freezing my butt off.

I got about 25 to 30 calculations and 5 or so Biostat questions.

 

[rxbud]

WOW oldasndood congrats,I am worried about maths,is rxprep good for maths,I am sort of 50-50 with SDN 120.

 

[john888]

Background: I graduated in 1999 and have worked in retail for the past 15 years. Studied about 3 months from the RxPrep book and used the quizbank. I did most of the questions in the quizbank. Skipped oncology. Too dry. Also used my old pharm calc book and the 120 SDN questions. Woke up everyday between 3 and 4 AM to cram a few hours of studying. Took notes in my Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopeia so I could study while working. 50 hours of work per week, married with two young kids. Found out this morning I passed with a 122.

I took the test this past Friday fighting a sinus infection. Pearson VUE likes to keep it icy in the exam room. I was freezing my butt off.

I got about 25 to 30 calculations and 5 or so Biostat questions.

wow, what an achievement - congrats! your study situation (working full-time with children to take care of) was much tougher than most of ours i'm sure, certainly much tougher than mine lol and your score still destroyed mine. well done

 

[oldasndood]

WOW oldasndood congrats,I am worried about maths,is rxprep good for maths,I am sort of 50-50 with SDN 120.

Do the 120 questions. If you can do all of the problems you will have zero issues on the NAPLEX. The RxPrep while adequate, is not enough.

 

[oldasndood]

wow, what an achievement - congrats! your study situation (working full-time with children to take care of) was much tougher than most of ours i'm sure, certainly much tougher than mine lol and your score still destroyed mine. well done

Thank you! School is the best time of your life. Enjoy it. I know I did!

 

[FuturePharm21]

I also just took naplex and am feeling really depressed about it right now. I studied a lot but I don't know what happened . I guessed on a lot of questions and near the end I was running out of time because I was flooded with ton of math questions. So that caused me to rush and some of the math I literally had to guess on or else I can never move on. Right now I am really scared and depressed, I don't feel like there was a chance that I passed the test. There is just no way with the way I was unsure of the questions. When I came home I realized all the mistakes I made and the easy questions that I should've gotten right but however during the exam it just all slipped my mind and right now I am hating myself for it. My questions were kind of everywhere, but I see a few ID cases. I was probably getting them wrong so thats why it kept showing up so I don't know if I failed because of that. I had only about 1 oncology question and no HIV. I don't know if that is a bad sign. A lot of people told me if you keep getting the same subject questions then you probably didn't do well and perhaps its a fail. Some people also told me if you start seeing subjects like oncology then you might have passed since its a tougher subject? I really don't know whats true since I only saw 1 oncology question on mine and am freaking out right now. I'm so scared of failing since the retest is 3 month and everyone keeps telling me its hard to fail naplex so I would feel really embarassed if I failed and I would really doubt myself if I didn't pass. I studied a lot using RxPrep and the test bank and went through the whole book and test bank. The test bank questions helped me study but I feel like the real naplex has a different kind of formating with the patient profiles and there were so many of them. I highly suggest to get your math down like its the back of your hand so you won't waste time on it. The math isn't tough and we can all probably solve it but it takes time and you have to know how to do it fast so you can quickly move on. I spent too long on the math although I felt I got most of the ones I did in the beginning correct since I took my time, but near the end I was so rush it was hard to think and can't solve math problems when you are rushing and your mind is racing. I'm not sure if I got the math at the end right and had to guess on a few. If I had more time then I probably been able to work them out and got them correct. So do study your math including biostats!

That' exactly how I feel too! I am so nervous as well. I'm still waiting for my score after I took it couple weeks ago!

 

[molyhelp]

I also just took naplex and am feeling really depressed about it right now. I studied a lot but I don't know what happened . I guessed on a lot of questions and near the end I was running out of time because I was flooded with ton of math questions. So that caused me to rush and some of the math I literally had to guess on or else I can never move on. Right now I am really scared and depressed, I don't feel like there was a chance that I passed the test. There is just no way with the way I was unsure of the questions. When I came home I realized all the mistakes I made and the easy questions that I should've gotten right but however during the exam it just all slipped my mind and right now I am hating myself for it. My questions were kind of everywhere, but I see a few ID cases. I was probably getting them wrong so thats why it kept showing up so I don't know if I failed because of that. I had only about 1 oncology question and no HIV. I don't know if that is a bad sign. A lot of people told me if you keep getting the same subject questions then you probably didn't do well and perhaps its a fail. Some people also told me if you start seeing subjects like oncology then you might have passed since its a tougher subject? I really don't know whats true since I only saw 1 oncology question on mine and am freaking out right now. I'm so scared of failing since the retest is 3 month and everyone keeps telling me its hard to fail naplex so I would feel really embarassed if I failed and I would really doubt myself if I didn't pass. I studied a lot using RxPrep and the test bank and went through the whole book and test bank. The test bank questions helped me study but I feel like the real naplex has a different kind of formating with the patient profiles and there were so many of them. I highly suggest to get your math down like its the back of your hand so you won't waste time on it. The math isn't tough and we can all probably solve it but it takes time and you have to know how to do it fast so you can quickly move on. I spent too long on the math although I felt I got most of the ones I did in the beginning correct since I took my time, but near the end I was so rush it was hard to think and can't solve math problems when you are rushing and your mind is racing. I'm not sure if I got the math at the end right and had to guess on a few. If I had more time then I probably been able to work them out and got them correct. So do study your math including biostats!

Thank you very much for sharing. We will include you in our prayers

 

[christy101]

Thanks, I'm praying and hoping too. The more time pass the more mistakes I realized and they were questions I would have known and should have known if I paid more attention and wasn't so nervous. I know there is nothing I can do about it and whats done is done. I highly suggest studying with the idea of patient profiles in mind since a lot isn't stand alone questions. I think there were a few times the extra information in the profiles mislead me to choose the wrong answers because I overthought my answers. Usually your first thought is the correct answer but with the profile and everything you tend to overthink and second guess yourself sometimes. I'm still waiting for my score and its really hard to take my mind off of it while I study for my other exams. I know passing rate is high but you can never be sure. So just really praying and hoping.

 

[obsession]

In actual NAPLEX test , were there any diseases background type questions like classification. For example classification of CHF, Cardiac Arrhythmias, physiology of diseases, pathophysiology of diseases stable angina, unstable angina, Bipolar disorder 1 , Bipolar 11.

Should I only focus on medicines which medicine in which disease, MOA, major toxicity , major interaction , drug of choice, important consultation points about medicines. What is the best approach to save time and focus on. If you have to take NAPLEX again with little or no time for study which approach would you prefer. Approach 1 combined with approach 2 or just approach 2 is enough for NAPLEX passing with flying colors.

 

[rxbud]

How many Q can we expect from IV Drugs,That is one freaking crazy chapter

 

[EML9255]

I think i had two but honestly you can't really expect things is what i have learned form the test.

Everyone will have a different test so when people say things like "know the generic name for tylenol!" you probably wont even get that same question.

obviously everyone knows that answer just as an example

 

[Dr.Awesome]

Passed NAPLEX ! Now the long wait for CPJE results. Wish yall best of luck.

 

[EML9255]

I found out today I passed as well!!! what a relief omg so glad to be done with all these tests

Good luck to everyone, you can do it!

 

[takingoverworld]

I took the NAPLEX on Monday.

REFLECTIONS:
I overhauled on studying for math, since everyone told me that the exam will have anywhere from 30-50 math questions that are weighted heavily toward your score. On my actual exam, I had maybe 12-15 math questions. This had me in a panic because instead of math I got tons of questions on things that I should know but didn't adequately review. In fact, there were questions that I am 100% sure that I missed (mostly due to anxiety) that any and every proficient pharmacist should know. ID, diabetes, anticoag, and the like. My exam questions were not difficult, but my ability to answer them was clouded by lack of preparation and test anxiety. My final 10 questions were so painfully easy that I was certain I was tanking. I left the exam room feeling horrible, and the last few sleepless nights have been spent contemplating how I would tell my employer that I was one of the 4-5% who didn't pass.

I passed with a 109. Keep your heads up and believe in yourself. God will see you through.

 

[RXasaurus]

I took the NAPLEX on June 28th so I thought I'd share my story for those that are feeling hopeless.

I was always an average student in pharmacy school: B's in Pharmacology, B's in Pharmotherapy, B's/C's in Pathophysiology, C's in Kinetics, A's in the easy classes. I always had it in the back of my mind that I would never pass the NAPLEX. I used the RxPrep book and quizzes and studied probably a month in advance and focused primarily on ID, Psych, DM, HTN, Dyslipidemia (not as much), Anticoagulation, and Calculations/Biostats. I read over the minor topics very briefly. Took the Pre-NAPLEX two days before the actual exam and scored a 61 and at that point, I was like "I'm f***ed for this exam!". The day before the exam, I spent most of the day reviewing calculations/biostats and going over the RxPrep quizzes and anything underlined/bold in the book. On test day, I woke up a 3 hours to review a few more things. Took the exam and had questions that I didn't necessarily review as much such as Immunizations and Dyslipidemia. I felt like I only got 15-20 calculations/biostats questions. I had a few questions on ID, biostats, and tons of questions on insulin (another topic that I had breezed over). I thought I had honestly failed that exam. I walked out feeling so defeated. Two days later, I found out that I got a 95 on the exam which I was in absolute total shock because my Pre-NAPLEX score said otherwise.

There is hope. Pharmacy school and rotations have trained all of you well! Essentially, know how to do calculations and biostats and you should be fine. Pay attention to units and conversions. Trust your knowledge. You'll do great!

 

[obsession]

Congratulations all who took and passed.I am feeling like same that I will not pass NAPLEX. We're calculations easy like RXPREP or they were though like SDN 120 Calculations. How much biostatistics calculations you got, and from where You did biostatistics ones. If I do not do oncology and HIV, what are my chances of passing. How many top 200 brand generic , MOA , doing types etc. Any highlight would be highly appreciated from anyone.

 

[RXasaurus]

I feel like the SDN 120 calculations were harder in my opinion. I never did the calculations from the RxPrep quizzes. I only did the calculations from the chapter as well as some of the SDN 120 calculations. I probably got 3-4 biostats questions but they were simple. Just know the basic equations for biostatistics and what they mean. I think I only got 3-4 oncology questions and 3-4 HIV questions. I studied those chapters but not as in depth as the others. Just know chemo-man (google it if you don't know what it is) and how to treat side effects from chemo, etc. I never studied the top 200 brand/generic. I just studied whatever I could from the RxPrep book such as MOA and side effects. I didn't necessarily focus on how to diagnose patients, risk factors, etc. The quizzes from the RxPrep book, to be honest, are harder than the actual NAPLEX in my opinion.

There are going to be some topics on the NAPLEX that you will 100% not know or not remember. Just keep in mind that every NAPLEX is different and the exam will adapt to you. For example, I messed up on questions about insulin so I got a lot more insulin questions towards the end of my exam. So I really can't say what to focus on. Honestly, you just need to be confident in what you know.

 

[bp2313]

I took mine last Wed and found out I passed today with a decent score. I highly recommend practicing a lot of math (guess you already know by now); I did not so I spent quite some time on them during the test. I don't know if others had the same issue but some of the math questions, I got really odd answers. Either they are not one of the multiple choices or the number is above the max value (I had to calculate a volume of admin. for a drug - I came up with ~1800 ml but the question says the max is 1500 ml and this was a free response question). And yes, I remembered the questions so I went home and redid the problems and still got the same numbers. I had a few questions on stats (number needed to treat, RR...)
I had quite a lot of choose-all-that-apply type of questions and the only thing I can suggest is knowing the differences among the agents in the same class. There were 2-3 questions on brand-generic and none was in top 200 so I had to guess (there were some hints to eliminate down to 2 choices). My test covered many different diseases and drug classes. IV potassium popped up 4-5 times, vaccination 7-10 times; everything else no more than 3.
And I used Rxprep 2012 and SDN 120 questions. Good luck to you all .

 

[obsession]

Congratulations BP 2313, were math calculations were like RXPREP text book, or were they though like SDN120. What about biostatistics, were they simple ones or long question statement, data etc?

 

[bp2313]

Congratulations BP 2313, were math calculations were like RXPREP text book, or were they though like SDN120. What about biostatistics, were they simple ones or long question statement, data etc?

To be honest I skipped the calculation chapters from rxprep so I have no idea what they are like but my questions were very similar to the SDN ones. Pay attention to what they ask for, such as volume/dose instead of volume/day. Some questions you'd be given a whole bunch of info but don't need to use them all. For biostat, I was given tables comparing placebos and drugs, # of death in each group, # of prevention, etc. Then I was asked to calculate nnt, RR, or AR. Hope this helps.

 

[CardinalGirl210]

Just took mine - my experience was very different. I also think I only had 15-20 calculations. I was really expecting around 30. I got really easy calculations in the beginning of my test. They weren't necessarily from RxPrep though. I primarily used RxPrep calculations chapter and studied it 2-3 times and made it through half of the SDN questions. Like my first one was to determine the person's daily water requirement. Luckily, they provided the formula or else I would've been screwed because I did not come across this in my studies and had to rely on my memory from my P2 year. I got basic questions on hypertension, diabetes, MDI inhaler technique; I thought the big 4 would make up most of my exam and I only got 3-5 questions on each topic. I got nothing on ADHD, Pain meds, lithium. I got a lot of HIV and Oncology though - which I did not spend a lot of time on. All my HIV/Onco stuff came in the 2nd half of the exam along with some harder calculations that I had never even seen before . I'm hoping that I knew enough to pass though - I was guessing on quite a few, but I got a lot of easy ones that I knew too. I feel like some of my classmates had the same exam as I did because they got a lot of Onco/HIV in the 2nd half too. I'm hoping that it's a sign that you are passing! I scored a 107 on Pre-Naplex and one of the cases on my exam was a repeat from Pre-naplex.


UPDATE: PASSED! Very close to pre-naplex score!

 

[Mateco]

Just took mine - my experience was very different. I also think I only had 15-20 calculations. I was really expecting around 30. I got really easy calculations in the beginning of my test. They weren't necessarily from RxPrep though. I primarily used RxPrep calculations chapter and studied it 2-3 times and made it through half of the SDN questions. Like my first one was to determine the person's daily water requirement. Luckily, they provided the formula or else I would've been screwed because I did not come across this in my studies and had to rely on my memory from my P2 year. I got basic questions on hypertension, diabetes, MDI inhaler technique; I thought the big 4 would make up most of my exam and I only got 3-5 questions on each topic. I got nothing on ADHD, Pain meds, lithium. I got a lot of HIV and Oncology though - which I did not spend a lot of time on. All my HIV/Onco stuff came in the 2nd half of the exam along with some harder calculations that I had never even seen before . I'm hoping that I knew enough to pass though - I was guessing on quite a few, but I got a lot of easy ones that I knew too. I feel like some of my classmates had the same exam as I did because they got a lot of Onco/HIV in the 2nd half too. I'm hoping that it's a sign that you are passing! I scored a 107 on Pre-Naplex and one of the cases on my exam was a repeat from Pre-naplex.


UPDATE: PASSED! Very close to pre-naplex score!

Congratulations!!!!!
The Onco calculations Q were about BSA ,using Dubois Equation?
Do you remember if ONCO and HIV questions were basics Q (brand generics, MOA , AE)?

Thank you!

 

[fxok425]

Passed! 128, can't believe it!!! I felt like a **** after the exam. I was worried about not passing for a week!

 

[Honestee]

Hi everyone, I took the NAPLEX on Thursday 07/17. I really didn't know what to make of it and pray that I passed. I felt good right after the exam (maybe because I finished all questions), but as I walked out to the parking lot I started thinking of a million things like did I miss this or that ? And I just stressed myself out thinking about it too much.

And I just took the CPJE today 7/25 and I am just feeling so nervous. I think I am drained but I can't sleep!

I am in California and have not received my results yet for the NAPLEX. When I went on the NABP website on Monday 7/21 I did see that my status was changed to closed and the Naplex button thing was clickable. I do hope the rumors are true and that it means that I have passed. I guess only time will tell.

Good luck to everyone.