For pharm tech exam, do I have to memorize medications?

[libraryismyhome]

I see an old thread written in 2008, and a lot of people passed without knowing med and saw only 2~3 questions.

But how about in 2011? For those who took this exam recently, do you think I should memorize medications including prescription name, generic name, and types? If there are still 2~3 questions, I would rather focus on math and law.

Thank you in advance!

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[xKenny]

You should. I memorized top 100 drugs and it helped a lot. I think there were like 5-6 questions on there. There were a lot of drugs that I didn't know, but I was able to eliminate the wrong answers. But if I were to get those questions wrong, I still think that I would pass the exam.

If you want to memorize the drugs, use flash card app on iPhone. That's what I did 🙂 It was so helpful. I could study anywhere with it.

 

[libraryismyhome]

You should. I memorized top 100 drugs and it helped a lot. I think there were like 5-6 questions on there. There were a lot of drugs that I didn't know, but I was able to eliminate the wrong answers. But if I were to get those questions wrong, I still think that I would pass the exam.

If you want to memorize the drugs, use flash card app on iPhone. That's what I did 🙂 It was so helpful. I could study anywhere with it.

Thank you for the answer. So I guess you passed? I really would need to take this test this Saturday, and I realize that I should study generic names of the drug. Were the majority of questions you saw had generic names and classifications only?

In addition, I am worried about preparing with a book written in 2002. It's Reifman's book, so it has a great reputation, but should I use other books to study current laws?

 

[xtsukiyox]

Rather than trying to memorize the top 100 drugs by Saturday, I'd suggest trying to memorize the top drug suffixes. -statin, -cin, etc. Once you've spent some time with the suffixes, review a top 100 list so you have exposure & see how accurate you are. While there are certainly exceptions to the rule, I think this might make more efficient use of your time - if I'm wrong, you've only used a few hours.

Well, I'd suggest the above approach unless you're a memorization god, of course. 😉

Just out of curiosity, your status is pre-med - thinking of joining us over on the pharmacy side? We have cookies. 😎

 

[delano2000]

Like someone said, be familiar with the common suffices. Although there are exceptions (eg Nystatin is not in the class of "statin" drugs), this should definitely help you out in terms of remembering a class of drugs.

 

[libraryismyhome]

oh wow thank you guys!!!

I am actually looking for a part time job as a pharmacy technician, because the job allows me to interact with patients from various backgrounds, and I would be able to learn many medications and know how pharm professionals perceive prescriptions, so I believe this job would help me greatly in the future. 🙂

 

[coolbna]

I took it last year and I was glad I did not waste my time memorizing drug names. However, know your common prescriptions including the blood pressure meds (enaprils), antihistamines, and CONTROL SUBSTANCES!!

You should spend more time on dilution problems and conversion. I high recommend, if you have not already done so, to read Mosby's Pharmacy Technician. The questions on the test were word for word from this amazing text book. BTW if you have at least a "B" in gen chemistry there is no way you gone fail this test.

 

[owlegrad]

Like someone said, be familiar with the common suffices. Although there are exceptions (eg Nystatin is not in the class of "statin" drugs), this should definitely help you out in terms of remembering a class of drugs.

I never thought of that.

If you know that nystatin comes from the NY STATe INstitute of health, it isn't hard to remember. 😉

Never thought about it ending in statin.

 

[xtsukiyox]

BTW if you have at least a "B" in gen chemistry there is no way you gone fail this test.

👍 QFT

The info that pertained to the PTCB exam was split into Gen Chem II where I live.

 

[delano2000]

I never thought of that.

If you know that nystatin comes from the NY STATe INstitute of health, it isn't hard to remember. 😉

Never thought about it ending in statin.

You learn something new everyday.

My professor was telling us about that earlier in the semester in our dispensing class.

 

[marscole]

For the book that I would recommend is Pharmacy Technician - Test Preparation Study Guide Questions and Answers, published by National Learning Corporation (NLC).

Study basic conversion, like 200 mcg/5 ml is also same as 100 mcg/2.5 ml, something like that. This book explains a lot. That I would recommend.

Also, some latin abbr such tib, qq, qh, qid,... This may show up in the exam too.

For medications, study some very commonly prescribed such as Nexium, Plavix, Amoxilin, Z-Pak, Plan B,... etc.

The pharmacy law isn't that much. But, go through once so that you have an idea how pharmacy works.

Good luck!!!😉