Pass October Naplex and November CPJE!

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fremontRx

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Hi everyone,

I just passed the October Naplex and the November CPJE. Realizing that the Naplex will change in November, I scheduled Naplex right before the cut date in November. I took CPJE 2.5 weeks later in November. This is my second time taking both exams. I had a panic attack the first time, so I just clicked the answer without thinking, and of course I could not pass Naplex with a score in the 60s. CPJE the first time I got 73/90, I missed 2 points to pass.

Naplex:
I was calmer this time, so I could read each question carefully and answer logically. I used the Rxprep Naplex book both times, but for the second time, I also studied the APhA book and used the APhA Pharmacy Library questions. I found that the APhA book is very good, it has less details than RxPrep, but you don't need that many details for the Naplex. You need to know the basic concepts. The book is free online.
http://www.pharmacylibrary.com/resource/44

The APhA Pharmacy Library questions are very helpful, you can group to 185 or 250 questions to test yourself. Each question also has an answer that explains to you clearly, they focus on the concepts you need to know for the exam and as a pharmacist. So for the second time, I combined both APhA and Rxprep books. I didn't buy the Rxprep question bank the second time because I realized that there are too many details I don't need to master for the exam.
- For Math, the 120 SDN questions are all you need to practice + the math problems in Rxprep book. The ones in the Rxprep question bank are too easy, so you should practice the 120 SDN math problems. I practiced twice and was pretty confident with my math.
- Another thing is biostats questions, there are more than I expected in both times. I don't think Rxprep questions are enough for me, so I bought the ACCP Biostatics book for BCPS exam and practiced more from there. You need to know how to interpret the results from clinical trials, not only the calculations, therefore you need to practice reading questions from clinical trial results. Frankly speaking, the second time the exam was a little bit harder than the first one.

CPJE: I got 84/90
- Timing: I think the time is adequate, both times I finished about 20 minutes early.
- Content: The content is heavily clinical, there are more law questions in the second time.
- What I used to study: Weissman book is an excellent resource to study, including the two supplements update for 2015 and 2016. I read from cover to cover and practiced the questions twice. I also read the Rxprep CPJE booklet that I got from the first time. This time I didn't buy any question bank, I just focused on Weissman and the Rxprep CPJE booklet. The reason is I know that CPJE has more clinical questions, therefore during my last week of CPJE studying, I reviewed Naplex and the important guidelines for hypertension, diabetes, asthma, HIV, etc. So for CPJE, you still need to review Naplex. I read the Script on the BOP website to know if there's anything knew or updates. I also used this quizlet flashcards to review my Naplex:
https://quizlet.com/133389494/flashcards.

I also read the self-assessment forms. They summarize what you just read from Rxprep CPJE and Weissman. Here are the links:
Community pharmacy: http://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/forms/17m_13.pdf
Compounding: http://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/forms/17m_39.pdf

I plan to take MPJE TX and WA, so if you have any tips, please share with me. I appreciate very much.

Hope that helps. Good luck for the next exam takers. I would be happy to answer any question.

Update: Forgot to tell that I got the CPJE results in 2 weeks with a green letter saying congratulations. Last time it took about 4 weeks for me to receive the results.
 
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Hi everyone,

I just passed the October Naplex and the November CPJE. Realizing that the Naplex will change in November, I scheduled Naplex right before the cut date in November. I took CPJE 2.5 weeks later in November. This is my second time taking both exams. I had a panic attack the first time, so I couldn't finish the Naplex. CPJE the first time I got 73/90, I missed 2 points to pass.

Naplex:
I was calmer this time, so I could read each question carefully and answer logically. I used the Rxprep Naplex book both times, but for the second time, I also studied the APhA book and used the APhA Pharmacy Library questions. I found that the APhA book is very good, it has less details than RxPrep, but you don't need that many details for the Naplex. You need to know the basic concepts. The book is free online.
http://www.pharmacylibrary.com/resource/44

The APhA Pharmacy Library questions are very helpful, you can group to 185 or 250 questions to test yourself. Each question also has an answer that explains to you clearly, they focus on the concepts you need to know for the exam and as a pharmacist. So for the second time, I combined both APhA and Rxprep books. I didn't buy the Rxprep question bank the second time because I realized that there are too many details I don't need to master for the exam.
- For Math, the 120 SDN questions are all you need to practice + the math problems in Rxprep book. The ones in the Rxprep question bank are too easy, so you should practice the 120 SDN math problems. I practiced twice and was pretty confident with my math.
- Another thing is biostats questions, there are more than I expected in both times. I don't think Rxprep questions are enough for me, so I bought the ACCP Biostatics book for BPCS exam and practiced more from there. You need to know how to interpret the results from clinical trials, not only the calculations, therefore you need to practice reading questions from clinical trial results. Frankly speaking, the second time the exam was a little bit harder than the first one.

CPJE: I got 84/90
- Timing: I think the time is adequate, both times I finished about 20 minutes early.
- Content: The content is heavily clinical, there are more law questions in the second time.
- What I used to study: Weissman book is an excellent resource to study, including the two supplements update for 2015 and 2016. I read from cover to cover and practiced the questions twice. I also read the Rxprep CPJE booklet that I got from the first time. This time I didn't buy any question bank, I just focused on Weissman and the Rxprep CPJE booklet. The reason is I know that CPJE has more clinical questions, therefore during my last week of CPJE studying, I reviewed Naplex and the important guidelines for hypertension, diabetes, asthma, HIV, etc. So for CPJE, you still need to review Naplex. I read the Script on the BOP website to know if there's anything knew or updates. I also used this quizlet flashcards to review my Naplex:
https://quizlet.com/133389494/flashcards.

I plan to take MPJE TX and WA, so if you have any tips, please share with me. I appreciate very much.

Hope that helps. Good luck for the next exam takers. I would be happy to answer any question.


Hello!

Congratulations on passing!!

I am a pharmacist from Maryland who will be taking CPJE for the first time 12/5/2016. I did 2yrs of residency, passed bcps 1.5yrs ago and been out practicing for ~1yr in inpatient palliative/pain, so no recent community experience. I have been reading the Weissman book and RxPrep again...very worried about not passing the CPJE since I have never practiced as an intern or in community. What would you say was the most helpful/influential in you passing?

Thank you!
 
Hello!

Congratulations on passing!!

I am a pharmacist from Maryland who will be taking CPJE for the first time 12/5/2016. I did 2yrs of residency, passed bcps 1.5yrs ago and been out practicing for ~1yr in inpatient palliative/pain, so no recent community experience. I have been reading the Weissman book and RxPrep again...very worried about not passing the CPJE since I have never practiced as an intern or in community. What would you say was the most helpful/influential in you passing?

Thank you!

Thank you. My suggestion is to practice all the questions in Weissman book because it has scenarios. The exam gives you scenarios and asks you what to do, especially with controlled substances. Definitely use the CPJE bulletin/content outline as the guideline, here is the link:
http://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/publications/phy_handbook_psi.pdf
You can see that CPJE is heavily clinical. So brand/generic names in therapeutic exchange is a must to review. My first exam has some calculations, but none in the second one. As I mentioned above, guidelines are the ones we should know.

Regarding community pharmacy, read the assessment form. Here is the link:
http://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/forms/17m_13.pdf
I read this one and the compounding self assessment form too.
http://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/forms/17m_39.pdf


With your experience I'm sure it's not going to be a problem for you, I think you can pass CPJE the first time. Good luck on your exam in December.
 
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Hi there.. Congrats on passing...

Do you have any notes for biostats?? I have gone over the Rxprep biostats, but like you said it doesn't prepare us in interpreting the trials in the exam. I am kind of having hard time where to start and what to look at to make myself better at this..
 
Hi there.. Congrats on passing...

Do you have any notes for biostats?? I have gone over the Rxprep biostats, but like you said it doesn't prepare us in interpreting the trials in the exam. I am kind of having hard time where to start and what to look at to make myself better at this..
Hello,
Unfortunately I don't. To me biostats is hard, not because of the stats calculations but how to interpret the trials. I don't think Rxprep does a good job on this part. The APhA biostats chapter is totally different, I'm not sure if that helps either. So I ordered the ACCP Biostats book for BCPS exam which I could use later if needed. It has questions and answers at the back, so it helps a little bit. I didn't have time to read the whole book, so I just picked some areas that I need to understand more. There are quite some questions on biostats in the exam, including the stats calculations which I could do easily. For the questions about interpreting the trials, I read carefully and just used my logic to answer. But frankly speaking, I found the questions pretty confusing, maybe because I'm not good in biostats.
 
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Yeah! I have the same problem...I don't think I am bad at interpreting, but I need to be in a nervous free zone and have time to look at the study. I feel like I am running out of time so I just usually guess one of the answers randomly after reading half of the question.
 
That doesn't work though. In the Rxprep book, there are some examples on how to interpret the results based on the ratio if crossing 1 or not, etc., that might help.
I think for this exam, if we can keep ourselves calm, we could do much better. I was panicked the first time, and my brain suddenly shut off.
Practicing answering questions is the key, not reading the books. The APhA Pharmacy Library has a lot of questions to practice and good explanations, so I like it. I put 180 questions together from each chapter and kept on practicing, that's why I was calm this time. I could understand each question, it was just whether I could answer or not. After the exam, I had the feeling that I would pass.
 
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I might buy that apha library access for 30 days..I have the book so I will go over that first..
I think the questions in APhA are more similar to the exam questions than Rxprep. Rxprep questions try to make you memorize their book contents, but you might not need to know that many details for the exam. This time, I don't use their QBank at all. Try APhA QBank, I hope you like it. It works for me. I also like the APhA book, you definitely can learn something from it. Only when I need more details, I refer to the Rxprep book. Basically I studied from both books, and my score is much much better than the first time. The 3 months questions cost is not much more expensive than the one month, so I bought the 3-month questions to have more time to practice. It works!
 
Hi all,
I noticed that in 2017, there will be changes in pharmacy laws and drug compounding regulations. If you take CPJE in 2017, don't forget to go to the CA State Board website and check out these new changes.
 
congratulations for all those who passed, I am taking my CPJE in February. this is my second time. I wanted to ask, did anyone get any questions in math needing us to memorize the osmolarity,moles and millimoles , isotonicity equations?
I am afraid i can't retain any much more information than what I learned already and I am thinking on focusing on revising what I already know. I stopped practicing since i got my 2 little ones, so its been about 3 years since i had been in the field.
I am studying from RXPREP 2016. I also bought test bank and no matter how hard I study i hardly pass 80% score.
Thank you and best of luck to all
 
congratulations for all those who passed, I am taking my CPJE in February. this is my second time. I wanted to ask, did anyone get any questions in math needing us to memorize the osmolarity,moles and millimoles , isotonicity equations?
I am afraid i can't retain any much more information than what I learned already and I am thinking on focusing on revising what I already know. I stopped practicing since i got my 2 little ones, so its been about 3 years since i had been in the field.
I am studying from RXPREP 2016. I also bought test bank and no matter how hard I study i hardly pass 80% score.
Thank you and best of luck to all
I had to calculate ANC and CrCl to answer questions on dosing. My friends did not get any calculations at all.
 
my first exam i got few calculations questions but all of them where about dosing too. so far didn't hear from any one that they got any more complicated math questions.
best of luck to you,
 
congratulations for all those who passed, I am taking my CPJE in February. this is my second time. I wanted to ask, did anyone get any questions in math needing us to memorize the osmolarity,moles and millimoles , isotonicity equations?
I am afraid i can't retain any much more information than what I learned already and I am thinking on focusing on revising what I already know. I stopped practicing since i got my 2 little ones, so its been about 3 years since i had been in the field.
I am studying from RXPREP 2016. I also bought test bank and no matter how hard I study i hardly pass 80% score.
Thank you and best of luck to all
For Naplex, you should know how to calculate the osmolarity,moles and millimoles quickly, so yes, you would need to memorize the equations. Just keep on practicing, they will stick in your memory. For math and biostats, practicing is the key for you to do them quick. But make sure to practice the 120 SDN math questions.
For CPJE, I didn't have any calculation question though.
 
For Naplex, you should know how to calculate the osmolarity,moles and millimoles quickly, so yes, you would need to memorize the equations. Just keep on practicing, they will stick in your memory. For math and biostats, practicing is the key for you to do them quick. But make sure to practice the 120 SDN math questions.
For CPJE, I didn't have any calculation question though.


Congrats on passing! Did u study dosing for cpje? If yes do u recommend studying the max dose or common dosing?
 
I just went over your quizlet using the link you provided and I felt like I have to thank you, it is a great review and summarized almost everything I needed to summarize for myself.
great effort and I am grateful you shared your experience with us.
I am taking my CPJE in few more weeks.
using the RXPREP books and question bank, too much info to retain. wish me luck.
 
Congrats on passing! Did u study dosing for cpje? If yes do u recommend studying the max dose or common dosing?
No, I didn't have any math questions in my CPJE. The first time I did get some, but they are basic questions, so don't worry about dosing. Hopefully everything is still the same in 2017.
 
I just went over your quizlet using the link you provided and I felt like I have to thank you, it is a great review and summarized almost everything I needed to summarize for myself.
great effort and I am grateful you shared your experience with us.
I am taking my CPJE in few more weeks.
using the RXPREP books and question bank, too much info to retain. wish me luck.
Rasha2008, good luck with your CPJE! For the law part, I think Weissman and Rxprep CPJE are enough, just practice the questions in Weissman. I even didn't practice Rxprep questions. But do review the Naplex part because there are clinical questions.
 
fremonRx, thank you and yes the clinical part is my major concern and I am spending 80% of my study time reviewing it, law seems ok, i did well in my last test in law, just clinical part is what really scares me because I am not in the pharmacy field for few years now and I feel I am missing a lot of updates, things like what is in a generic form now? generic brand for uncommon drugs. practical experience is priceless and it does make a difference.

did any one get any biostatistics in the CPJE test BTW?
 
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