Hey guys,
This website really encouraged me and motivated me to pass the NAPLEX throughout studying for it, so I thought I would post my experience and maybe encourage someone else along their journey. Thank you to anyone who posted about their experience, it helped a lot. I took the new 2017 NAPLEX in late June, graduated in May 2017.
First off, I was a pretty average student, and I didn't score very well on the Pre-NAPLEX (got a 69 in January, took the real thing in July). I would encourage you to take the Pre-NAPLEX early, before studying even, to see where you stand before the test. I am glad that I found out early that my math was very rusty. I can't say that the questions were all that closely related to the actual NAPLEX, but it was useful in isolating weaknesses to spend time on. Not mandatory by any means, but I found it helpful. Taking it soon before the test could be helpful too, but the board website was down a few days before my test, so I didn't get to retake it after studying. It could be worth taking it about a week before or so to prevent running into this problem.
I used RxPrep to study most of the material. I thought it was a good resource, especially the first half of the book talking about compounding and drug interactions. My school taught that material during P2 year mostly, so a review was great. I didn't actually finish the whole book. I read the first half and then skipped around to disease states that I knew were either big for pharmacists (HTN, HLD, DM, etc), or that I wasn't very good at (Onco, HIV, Hep C...). I did have the lecture videos, and they contain some helpful memorization techniques, but I didn't really feel that they alone would be sufficient without reading the book. I had the quiz bank, but didn't really look at it. Maybe should have, but I ran out of time. I have heard it is helpful if you have time for it. Overall, I feel like the book alone would be okay if you are good at memorizong material by reading. But please, use the videos or practice questions if you find those types of things helpful! I am not trying to discourage you from using them by any means.
The SDN calculations on this site are great, and I did them multiple times, as well as the math in RxPrep. Math is a must know for sure. I felt that these two resources alone are more than sufficient to prepare for the math on the exam.
Make sure you don't run short on time during the exam. You never know if they will give you a string of math problems at the end, so leave yourself some time. I finished with about 40 mins left, but better early than late I figure. Don't rush through it carelessly, but do read the question before the case (you don't always need to read the case to answer). Also, don't get hung up on a single question for too long. If you don't know it after like 2-3 minutes, I would guess and move on. Most likely one question will not cause you to either pass or fail, and remember, it might not even be graded. Only 200 out of 250 are. Make sure to finish the exam!
In total, I would say I studied about 3 weeks for the exam, but didn't get really serious until about the last 2. I haphazardly read the book throughout my final rotation, but meh, not sure how helpful studying while still in school was for me. You are most likely learning on rotation anyhow. Pay attention if you have an HIV or Onco rotation, since those tend to be more alien topics than things like HTN, and anything you learn then will make those sections easier studying later on.
Remember, you can do it! You passed pharmacy school, and that is no small feat! You are an intelligent person, and you can pass this exam if you got this far. Don't give up studying. I did not enjoy reading RxPrep by any means, but remember, this could be the last exam you ever take, so make it a good one and make yourself proud!
Pre-NAPLEX: 69
Actual thing: 103
Also, I apologize, but I do not have any material for sale.
This website really encouraged me and motivated me to pass the NAPLEX throughout studying for it, so I thought I would post my experience and maybe encourage someone else along their journey. Thank you to anyone who posted about their experience, it helped a lot. I took the new 2017 NAPLEX in late June, graduated in May 2017.
First off, I was a pretty average student, and I didn't score very well on the Pre-NAPLEX (got a 69 in January, took the real thing in July). I would encourage you to take the Pre-NAPLEX early, before studying even, to see where you stand before the test. I am glad that I found out early that my math was very rusty. I can't say that the questions were all that closely related to the actual NAPLEX, but it was useful in isolating weaknesses to spend time on. Not mandatory by any means, but I found it helpful. Taking it soon before the test could be helpful too, but the board website was down a few days before my test, so I didn't get to retake it after studying. It could be worth taking it about a week before or so to prevent running into this problem.
I used RxPrep to study most of the material. I thought it was a good resource, especially the first half of the book talking about compounding and drug interactions. My school taught that material during P2 year mostly, so a review was great. I didn't actually finish the whole book. I read the first half and then skipped around to disease states that I knew were either big for pharmacists (HTN, HLD, DM, etc), or that I wasn't very good at (Onco, HIV, Hep C...). I did have the lecture videos, and they contain some helpful memorization techniques, but I didn't really feel that they alone would be sufficient without reading the book. I had the quiz bank, but didn't really look at it. Maybe should have, but I ran out of time. I have heard it is helpful if you have time for it. Overall, I feel like the book alone would be okay if you are good at memorizong material by reading. But please, use the videos or practice questions if you find those types of things helpful! I am not trying to discourage you from using them by any means.
The SDN calculations on this site are great, and I did them multiple times, as well as the math in RxPrep. Math is a must know for sure. I felt that these two resources alone are more than sufficient to prepare for the math on the exam.
Make sure you don't run short on time during the exam. You never know if they will give you a string of math problems at the end, so leave yourself some time. I finished with about 40 mins left, but better early than late I figure. Don't rush through it carelessly, but do read the question before the case (you don't always need to read the case to answer). Also, don't get hung up on a single question for too long. If you don't know it after like 2-3 minutes, I would guess and move on. Most likely one question will not cause you to either pass or fail, and remember, it might not even be graded. Only 200 out of 250 are. Make sure to finish the exam!
In total, I would say I studied about 3 weeks for the exam, but didn't get really serious until about the last 2. I haphazardly read the book throughout my final rotation, but meh, not sure how helpful studying while still in school was for me. You are most likely learning on rotation anyhow. Pay attention if you have an HIV or Onco rotation, since those tend to be more alien topics than things like HTN, and anything you learn then will make those sections easier studying later on.
Remember, you can do it! You passed pharmacy school, and that is no small feat! You are an intelligent person, and you can pass this exam if you got this far. Don't give up studying. I did not enjoy reading RxPrep by any means, but remember, this could be the last exam you ever take, so make it a good one and make yourself proud!
Pre-NAPLEX: 69
Actual thing: 103
Also, I apologize, but I do not have any material for sale.
