PeteBald316
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- Aug 6, 2018
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Hi all. Just wanted to add one of these posts since they helped with the studying and anxiety leading up to the exam.
Background: I was an average student at a top pharmacy program. I was an inconsistent crammer. When I applied myself, I would do as well as anyone. When I procrastinated and was not as well prepared, I was very average and even bombed a couple of exams.
Studying material: Rx prep
Study regimen: Over the course of 6-7 weeks, I studied 3-4 hours per day and got through about 90% of the book. I focused heavily on calculations, biostats, compounding, ID, DM, Asthma, heart disease, and HIV. I occasionally did the end of chapter quizzes, but mostly skipped them as I was not sure they were helping. Knowing everything that I had heard about the exam, these questions seemed nothing like the format or focus of it.
Day before the exam: I did not do a whole lot. Mainly relaxed. Spent a couple hours memorizing calculations and doing problems. I went to bed around 8:30 hoping to sleep until 5am so I had a nice relaxing morning before the exam. Unfortunately I spent 4 hours tossing and turning and was lucky to get 4 hours of sleep. Needless to say I woke up dead tired.
Day of the exam: I had a large breakfast as I knew I would not grab another bite to eat. When I sat at my test station, I was so nervous and anxious I felt like I was about to pass out. I could not even understand the tutorial. Then the exam started and I got started with a few lobs and calculations which really helped with my nerves. I got through 135 questions by the time I got my first 10 minute break. At this point, I felt really good about the exam. I was like "how do people fail this thing?" I didn't exactly know the answer to every question, but I could at the very least provide an educated guess on a vast majority of them. Then came the last ~45% of the exam. I didn't know if the computer thought I was doing too well or what but from that point on, I was asked just about everything I didn't cover from the book and things I hadn't looked at since I started studying weeks before. I felt like I was completely guessing every other question and when I wasn't doing that, I had to give educated guesses. I was praying for a string of calculations, but they never came. I finished 1.5 hours early. By the time I left the exam, I had no idea how I did and I was freaking out. I thought either I failed or BARELY passed.
Got my score today and passed with flying colors
Overall impressions and suggestions: The exam questions are VERY surface level. You won't have to go more than 1 step in making a treatment decision, whether it be due to allergies, interactions, or pregnancy. Most of them don't even need that much investigation. As expected, I got more ID than any other disease state. Make sure you know common pathogens of different infections, mainly meningitis and pneumonia. 1st line drugs should be sufficient but know 2nd line as well. If not, you should be able to rely on knowing antibiotic coverage to get an answer without a problem. Many people said their exam was 1/3rd calculations. Mine was not even close to that, which really threw me off and made me think I was in a lot of trouble. I was lucky if my exam was 1/4 calculations. Probably closer to 1/5 and I only needed to use 4 equations. There was a LOT of biostats. Make sure you have that down pat. Compounding as well, though I didn't feel like the rxprep compounding section was good at preparing me for the questions on the exam.
Definitely study all the main subjects that are usually suggested. Calculations, ID, biostats, compounding, and common disease states (Asthma/COPD, heart disease/HTN/anticoag, DM, etc) but that does not mean those subjects will cover 80+% of the exam. That was what I expected but got something completely different. You may get an exam where 4-5 topics will carry you, or you'll get one like mine where you get a little bit of everything. I spent a lot of time on HIV and Onc and got 2-3 questions total between them. I got more osteoperosis than I did HIV. If you master calculations, biostats, and ID alone, you would have to ROYALLY bomb the rest of the exam to not pass, if that. Just relax and think each question through. You know more than you think. If you put the time, you will pass. Yes, the studying sucks, the stress sucks, and the exam certainly sucks (250 questions???), but you'll make it. We're all gonna make it.
Background: I was an average student at a top pharmacy program. I was an inconsistent crammer. When I applied myself, I would do as well as anyone. When I procrastinated and was not as well prepared, I was very average and even bombed a couple of exams.
Studying material: Rx prep
Study regimen: Over the course of 6-7 weeks, I studied 3-4 hours per day and got through about 90% of the book. I focused heavily on calculations, biostats, compounding, ID, DM, Asthma, heart disease, and HIV. I occasionally did the end of chapter quizzes, but mostly skipped them as I was not sure they were helping. Knowing everything that I had heard about the exam, these questions seemed nothing like the format or focus of it.
Day before the exam: I did not do a whole lot. Mainly relaxed. Spent a couple hours memorizing calculations and doing problems. I went to bed around 8:30 hoping to sleep until 5am so I had a nice relaxing morning before the exam. Unfortunately I spent 4 hours tossing and turning and was lucky to get 4 hours of sleep. Needless to say I woke up dead tired.
Day of the exam: I had a large breakfast as I knew I would not grab another bite to eat. When I sat at my test station, I was so nervous and anxious I felt like I was about to pass out. I could not even understand the tutorial. Then the exam started and I got started with a few lobs and calculations which really helped with my nerves. I got through 135 questions by the time I got my first 10 minute break. At this point, I felt really good about the exam. I was like "how do people fail this thing?" I didn't exactly know the answer to every question, but I could at the very least provide an educated guess on a vast majority of them. Then came the last ~45% of the exam. I didn't know if the computer thought I was doing too well or what but from that point on, I was asked just about everything I didn't cover from the book and things I hadn't looked at since I started studying weeks before. I felt like I was completely guessing every other question and when I wasn't doing that, I had to give educated guesses. I was praying for a string of calculations, but they never came. I finished 1.5 hours early. By the time I left the exam, I had no idea how I did and I was freaking out. I thought either I failed or BARELY passed.
Got my score today and passed with flying colors
Overall impressions and suggestions: The exam questions are VERY surface level. You won't have to go more than 1 step in making a treatment decision, whether it be due to allergies, interactions, or pregnancy. Most of them don't even need that much investigation. As expected, I got more ID than any other disease state. Make sure you know common pathogens of different infections, mainly meningitis and pneumonia. 1st line drugs should be sufficient but know 2nd line as well. If not, you should be able to rely on knowing antibiotic coverage to get an answer without a problem. Many people said their exam was 1/3rd calculations. Mine was not even close to that, which really threw me off and made me think I was in a lot of trouble. I was lucky if my exam was 1/4 calculations. Probably closer to 1/5 and I only needed to use 4 equations. There was a LOT of biostats. Make sure you have that down pat. Compounding as well, though I didn't feel like the rxprep compounding section was good at preparing me for the questions on the exam.
Definitely study all the main subjects that are usually suggested. Calculations, ID, biostats, compounding, and common disease states (Asthma/COPD, heart disease/HTN/anticoag, DM, etc) but that does not mean those subjects will cover 80+% of the exam. That was what I expected but got something completely different. You may get an exam where 4-5 topics will carry you, or you'll get one like mine where you get a little bit of everything. I spent a lot of time on HIV and Onc and got 2-3 questions total between them. I got more osteoperosis than I did HIV. If you master calculations, biostats, and ID alone, you would have to ROYALLY bomb the rest of the exam to not pass, if that. Just relax and think each question through. You know more than you think. If you put the time, you will pass. Yes, the studying sucks, the stress sucks, and the exam certainly sucks (250 questions???), but you'll make it. We're all gonna make it.
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