Did anyone take the PTCE and feel like they failed, but passed?

[socalgirlie]

Hi all!
I just took the PTCE the other day, and I am waiting on my results, but I am nervous because I counted like 25 questions that could be wrong because I pretty much guessed (most were drug related)...I think I did not pass...has anyone else felt this way and passed? I am nervous :/ thanks

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[cystapharm]

i think i got about at least 90 out of the 100 problems correct. they were a breeze. I can't believe I studied more than I should. I studied for 10 hours.

 

[socalgirlie]

i think i got about at least 90 out of the 100 problems correct. they were a breeze. I can't believe I studied more than I should. I studied for 10 hours.

I know I did the same thing! 3/4 the stuff I studied wasn't even on the test. It was pretty easy, but there were those 25 where I wasn't sure if it was "the best answer". Hopefully they all were. Did you just recently take the exam too?

 

[rxgrl08]

I took the exam yesterday (9/22) and thought it was soooo easy!!

I had borrowed a friend's books from a pharm tech course she took and when I started reading them and studying from them I go so nervous that I was gonna do bad. I only had time to study for like 2 days so I was stressin!

But, yeah I think 90/100 I got right. It took me less than an hour to go through the whole test and go back over all of my answers!

 

[anteater07]

I took the PTCE on 09/07 and thought I failed...I barely studied. I received my results on 09/15 and passed with a 710!

 

[jayce00]

i know how you feel,
i took the PTCE on 8/27, walked out there because I knew i guess on some of them, especially the brand-generic names[since i didn't have time to really memorize them]

but i gotten my score w/ the certificate!

 

[takins33613]

Is there a lot of Pharmacology on the exam?

 

[socalgirlie]

yes!!! I just looked online and it said I passed!! what a relief

pharmacology...no there was not a lot, do not stress at all about memorizing all the drugs...however, there were a few questions and in order to get those, memorize the suffix/prefixes/roots of the drug classifications! like azole=fungal or dine=antihistamines...it will help you answer questions involving those.

 

[takins33613]

Do you by any chance have a link to the prefixes/suffixes that you mentioned earlier? My book that I was studying with does not have them. Thanks a lot.

 

[socalgirlie]

Do you by any chance have a link to the prefixes/suffixes that you mentioned earlier? My book that I was studying with does not have them. Thanks a lot.

I'm sorry, I actually don't have them I left them back home (Mosby's Review for the PTCB Exam), but maybe you can check the book out at a library or find them somewhere online. Try wikipedia? I know some or the main important ones are:

Antidepressants (SSRIs): pram/ox (they had these in the generic names)
Antianxiety: pam
Antihistamines: dine/zine (example: lortadine)
bronchodilators: rol (like albuteROL, ect)
H5 (for headaches): trip
MS: ron
ADD: date
alpha blockers: zosin
ACE inhibitors: pril
beta blockers: lol
angiotenstion (antihypertension): sartan (ex: valsartan)
HMG-CoA: statin
Calcium channel blockers: diazepam, vasodilator, and anything ending in "pine"
Corticosteroids: -arin
Antifungal: -azole

I am sorry I can't remember all of them, but that was a good chunk of them. Good luck!

 

[FlippinChink]

Going into the test, I felt really guilty about not studying. I managed to just skim over a few things, like calculations and figuring out whether a DEA number is valid. I looked at the daunting task of memorizing the drugs...and said forget it. I know I did well with the calculations and the sigs. But the rest of the exam is sketchy. I guessed on the "word" problems. Honestly, I really feel like I failed, since I finished the exam 90 minutes in.

So how soon can I expect my results online?

 

[takins33613]

I took the exam yesterday also 9/27. And I also thought that It was hard even though I studied. It said the scores will be up in 3 weeks so I guess that we can just wait until then. Also, you can check online from time to time before then to see maybe they had the scores ready in less than the 3 weeks that they mentioned.

 

[jayce00]

yeah, about 3 weeks, they start sending the results as well

 

[FlippinChink]

I checked the website today, and it said I passed! So yeah, future advice for anyone that's taking the PTCE - just nail the calculations, conversions, and the sigs, and I can guarantee that you'll pass because that's all I studied.

 

[takins33613]

I just checked my results online too....and I PASSED!!! I am overjoyed because I was really nervous about the results. I felt the most confident about the calculations, and the sig codes. But then I also studied the inventory materials, the technology things (computer, scanner, etc), and I made flashcards to memorize the prefixes and suffixes and also all the top 200 brand names, generic names, and mode of actions that my brain could handle in the last 2 hours before the exam. I used the book "Delmar Learning's Pharmacy Technician Exam Review" By Patricia K. Anthony. If anybody else is trying to take the exam, I definitely recommend that book..it covers everything that you need to know for the exam.

 

[goldberry]

I took the exam 2 weeks ago today and my results were on-line yesterday. I was very unsure if I passed or not because there was a lot on the exam that I had not seen in any study book. I finished so early that I thought perhaps I failed. Guess I need to trust what I know. I would have to agree that as long as you know the math you should do fine. It really was not that hard even if you do not know all the drug names. If you know a few roots then you can deduct to find the right answer.

 

[i am lost]

For those that took the exam, what should those who haven't taken it yet (me) focus on? Did yall spend a lot of time on studying?