Has anyone taken the Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam recently?

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MouaBoy96

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Hey everyone, I am scheduled to take the PTCE on July 13 and I am really nervous that I may not pass my first time. I really don't want to wait 60 days to retake it and I would appreciate any tips as to what I should really focus on. I have no problems with Pharmacy Calculations so I am extremely confident with those questions. What kind of questions did all you guys get in your test?

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How much time did you put into studying for it?
I spent about 2 weeks studying for mine and passed. There were mostly calculations, a few law-related questions, some pharmacology.
I felt like I didn't really know about 40% of the test, but I still passed anyway. If you feel confident about the material you studied for, you should be fine.
 
How much time did you put into studying for it?
I spent about 2 weeks studying for mine and passed. There were mostly calculations, a few law-related questions, some pharmacology.
I felt like I didn't really know about 40% of the test, but I still passed anyway. If you feel confident about the material you studied for, you should be fine.

It's been about two weeks plus next week so I'll have about 3 weeks of study. I feel like pharmacy law isn't really difficult but pharmacology might be a little more difficult for me. If you don't mind telling me, how does the day of the test go??
 
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On the day of the test, you show up with your ID and I believe they fingerprint you and take a photo of you. Any cellphones, keys, sweaters can be put away in a locker. You wait and someone will call you in to verify your identity with a fingerprint and photo. They give you a mini calculator and dry erase board and marker for your calculations. You then start the exam when you're ready. You won't need the entire time to finish the exam. My best advice is to answer as many questions as you can and flag the ones you can't immediately answer. You can always go back to them. Remember, the cPhT test gauges the likelihood of another tech/potential tech answering the question correctly vs. it being a wrong or right answer. In a way, the test is based on a curve.
Working as a pharm tech now, I would say that pharmacology is definitely something you should know to make your life easier when you're working. Knowing the difference between generic and brand goes a long way when you're talking with patients, not so much with the pharmacists. If you can't find time to know it all before the test, definitely review and brush up prior to starting work :)

Good luck!
 
I took the certification test way back in July 2006. I don't know how much has changed since then, but I actually recall it being pretty easy. I don't know if you've been going to classes, but back when I took it classes were not required and I didn't go to any. I think as long as you worked as a tech, are familiar with the drugs and can perform calculations, you'll do just fine.
 
On the day of the test, you show up with your ID and I believe they fingerprint you and take a photo of you. Any cellphones, keys, sweaters can be put away in a locker. You wait and someone will call you in to verify your identity with a fingerprint and photo. They give you a mini calculator and dry erase board and marker for your calculations. You then start the exam when you're ready. You won't need the entire time to finish the exam. My best advice is to answer as many questions as you can and flag the ones you can't immediately answer. You can always go back to them. Remember, the cPhT test gauges the likelihood of another tech/potential tech answering the question correctly vs. it being a wrong or right answer. In a way, the test is based on a curve.
Working as a pharm tech now, I would say that pharmacology is definitely something you should know to make your life easier when you're working. Knowing the difference between generic and brand goes a long way when you're talking with patients, not so much with the pharmacists. If you can't find time to know it all before the test, definitely review and brush up prior to starting work :)

Good luck!

Thank you for the insight! :)
I will definitely use that tip you gave me of flagging questions if I don't know them. I'd probably answer all calculation questions first then focus on the others.
 
I took it back in 2011, but what my exam was mainly over was laws, what types of books would you use to reference this and that (e.g. red book, orange book), a couple of drugs and their classifications, and maybe 3 questions over math. Everyone's exams varies to be honest. It is best to go over the laws, math portion, and drug classifications. Good luck!!
 
I just took the exam on June 26th, know your laws i.e. pregnancy classes, different legislative laws, calculations and drug interactions primarily. The test is pretty straight forward if you know your basic sig codes and what I mentioned above you should do great. More than enough time given on test to go back and check answers I went through the test completely and had 30 minutes to review. It wasn't too hard for me just about a week of studying. I was a pharmacy technician for about 2 years before I took the test though so that might have helped me a little but,
 
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