Difference in Pharmacy Between California andthe Rest of the United States

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ampere12345

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Hi, I'm new here. I'm currently taking pre-pharm classes and am hoping to attend Pharmacy school. I am sorry to beat a dead horse, but can anyone tell me about the special pharmacy requirements for California. I have tried using the search tool, bu have been unable to find the answer.

I know that the PharmD program in California is different than the rest of the U.S. and that the program in California is more difficult, but what does this mean exactly. If I go to pharmacy school in a non-California school, does it mean I can not pratice in California? What if I don't go to a California School, but pass the California pharmacy exam. Do California schools also use the PCAT like the rest of te U.S.

I am asking this because I currently live in on the east coast and hope to go to a pharmacy school on the east coast, but there is a possibility that I might want to live in California in the future.

Thank you for any light you can shine on this topic for me. Any help would be much appreciated. :)

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This is no difference anymore. Cali now uses the same boards as the rest of the country. Check out the pre-pharm section for me info.
 
You need more education in order to persuade the Scientologists over in L.A. that SSRIs really aren't that bad. That's at least a whole other semester the rest of the country isn't exposed to.
 
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WVUPharm2007 said:
You need more education in order to persuade the Scientologists over in L.A. that SSRIs really aren't that bad. That's at least a whole other semester the rest of the country isn't exposed to.

well played
 
:laugh: hahaha - you are all too funny!

Seriously, though, the CA exam changed Jan 2004. We now use the NAPLEX which is the same as the rest of the country (altho the NAPLEX went thru a revision before CA would accept it - so it is generally more difficult to pass in all states than it was previously!) You must also pass the CPJE which is the California Pharmacy Jurisprudene Exam which is not all exactly what its title seems. It sounds as though it is strictly a law exam - it is clinical judgement intertwined with law.

To find out what is required to be licensed in CA - go to www.pharmacy.ca.gov. The website is easy to maneuver & give information for both US graduates & foreign graduates. IMO - the sooner you take the exams the easier they are to pass because you won't lose the detail of fine points of pharmacy. In this state, if you fail the exam four times (which, surprisingly is not uncommon!) you are not allowed to take it again until you complete a certain # of units at an accredited pharmacy school (16, I think). So.....be ready when you take it - you don't want to have to do it too often! PM me if you have any more questions......
 
sdn1977 said:
:laugh: hahaha - you are all too funny!

Seriously, though, the CA exam changed Jan 2004. We now use the NAPLEX which is the same as the rest of the country (altho the NAPLEX went thru a revision before CA would accept it - so it is generally more difficult to pass in all states than it was previously!) You must also pass the CPJE which is the California Pharmacy Jurisprudene Exam which is not all exactly what its title seems. It sounds as though it is strictly a law exam - it is clinical judgement intertwined with law.

To find out what is required to be licensed in CA - go to www.pharmacy.ca.gov. The website is easy to maneuver & give information for both US graduates & foreign graduates. IMO - the sooner you take the exams the easier they are to pass because you won't lose the detail of fine points of pharmacy. In this state, if you fail the exam four times (which, surprisingly is not uncommon!) you are not allowed to take it again until you complete a certain # of units at an accredited pharmacy school (16, I think). So.....be ready when you take it - you don't want to have to do it too often! PM me if you have any more questions......

i've heard that the passage rate on the CA boards of those who went to non-California schools is very low, ~40% or less. is that true?
 
Oxycotin said:
i've heard that the passage rate on the CA boards of those who went to non-California schools is very low, ~40% or less. is that true?

Probably on the law section. My school taught me national & Florida law, so I wouldn't expect to do well on that section in California.

BTW, in Florida it is the Florida Law exam + MPJE (multi-state jurisprudence exam). The average national passing rate was 88.5% in 2005, the state of Florida passing rate was 82.7% (worse than national!), and the UF passing rate was 96.6%. Since the UF scores were included in the poor state passing rate, I can only imagine what it was for the other schools in Florida.
 
Oxycotin said:
i've heard that the passage rate on the CA boards of those who went to non-California schools is very low, ~40% or less. is that true?

Sorry - I can't give you the percent passage rate of nonCA educated applicants. You can probably find that online somewhere. It always was & is a difficult exam and out of state residents do pass at a lower rate, but tha is probably because CA students are educated over their years in pharmacy school to think the way the test is written. It makes them no better than their counterparts, just makes it easier for them to take the test.

When I said the jurisprudence exam is not just law....that is really true. You can't just study the CA law book & know the differences between CA & other state's laws. The tests incorporates clinical judgements in the law portion.

I will caution you, however.....CA is very particular about their exam. Recently, there was an expensive fine, public apology & other penalties levied against a company which runs review sessions for the exam - Morris Cody, I think. Don't be tempted to share actual test questions publicly or otherwise - its against the law! There are sample questions on the state board website if you are interested.
 
When CA had their own Board Exam (non-Naplex) the passing rate for the CA grads ranged from 75 to 85%+ and the out of state applicants enjoyed the 50% passing rate.

Difference in Education or was it a difference in the way CA grads prepared for the board exam?

We'll never know..

But PharmD curriculum in CA has a long history..with USC dating back to the 60's. I can tell you that my clinical rotations at USC were organized, regimented, and rigorous.

For the past 10 years, I've witnessed non-CA pharmacy school's 4th year rotations.... :eek: I've yet to come across a student who could tell me the Vd of Vancomycin.. 0.76L/kg. I always get the same reply..."oh my gosh...I used to know it.."
 
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