PTCB content question.

[TheXc]

Hello all,

I am schedulled to take the PTCB next week. Talking to one of my fellow techs, she said that the test had some diagnosis related questions . After googling a bit I found some other people commenting about this as well. I am wondering if the PTCB was recently revamped because another tech I talked to said that it was mostly very basic calculations and a few hospital related questions.

MY BACKGROUND: I have been working in a retail pharmacy during the weekends for almost three years now. My original plans were to look over/do some of the calculations and conversions and look over some of the hospital pharm content. Thoughts?

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[Passion4Sci]

Hello all,

I am schedulled to take the PTCB next week. Talking to one of my fellow techs, she said that the test had some diagnosis related questions . After googling a bit I found some other people commenting about this as well. I am wondering if the PTCB was recently revamped because another tech I talked to said that it was mostly very basic calculations and a few hospital related questions.

MY BACKGROUND: I have been working in a retail pharmacy during the weekends for almost three years now. My original plans were to look over/do some of the calculations and conversions and look over some of the hospital pharm content. Thoughts?

Well, I took the exam fairly recently and I don't recall any diagnosis questions like, "Patient A presents with X, Y, and Z symptomology..." but there were some questions about diagnostic kits for urine tests (e.g., is it Glucostix, Clinistix, Chemstrip?). A lot of things like, "Which of the following are treated/not treated with Drug A?"

Besides, even if there were some Dx-requiring questions on it, you could easily pass them up and still do great on the exam, as you only need 600/900 points to get certified, LOL. Don't worry too much about it, you seem experienced enough to slice right through it.

 

[o PHARMER o]

I took the PTCB exam about three weeks ago, and the only diagnoses related question I had dealt with a patient wondering about which drug to take with what. The Simple answer: refer to the Pharmacist. Techs don't have the knowledge/training to be counseling patients on that subject.

But with your on the job training, you have nothing to worry about. I took the PTCB exam after only a month of studying with absolutely no job experience and I passed with time to spare. So you should have nothing to worry about! Good Luck

 

[dreampharmacyj]

I took the PTCB exam about three weeks ago, and the only diagnoses related question I had dealt with a patient wondering about which drug to take with what. The Simple answer: refer to the Pharmacist. Techs don't have the knowledge/training to be counseling patients on that subject.

But with your on the job training, you have nothing to worry about. I took the PTCB exam after only a month of studying with absolutely no job experience and I passed with time to spare. So you should have nothing to worry about! Good Luck

Did they ask you pharmacology part (generic/brand names, mechanism of actions)?
Did u study for the drug names for the exam? too many names to memorize

 

[TheXc]

Well, I took the exam fairly recently and I don't recall any diagnosis questions like, "Patient A presents with X, Y, and Z symptomology..." but there were some questions about diagnostic kits for urine tests (e.g., is it Glucostix, Clinistix, Chemstrip?). A lot of things like, "Which of the following are treated/not treated with Drug A?"

Besides, even if there were some Dx-requiring questions on it, you could easily pass them up and still do great on the exam, as you only need 600/900 points to get certified, LOL. Don't worry too much about it, you seem experienced enough to slice right through it.

Thanks! I appreciate your response, makes me feel a lot better. Is passing 600 or 650? (a few threads on this forum state 650). Thanks again.

 

[Passion4Sci]

Thanks! I appreciate your response, makes me feel a lot better. Is passing 600 or 650? (a few threads on this forum state 650). Thanks again.

I was thinking about that earlier, and I thought 650 might actually be right, so I did some digging and sure enough:

"Candidates must obtain a scaled score of at least 650 to pass the PTCE. The passing score was established by a panel of content experts who used the modified-Angoff method. Using this method, each question is individually evaluated and rated by the panelists. Panelists estimate the percentage of qualified candidates who will answer each item correctly. The overall passing score is computed by averaging the panelists' ratings. The PTCB Certification Council recommends the passing score to the Board of Governors."

So yeh, it is 650, I apologize for my mistake.

Did they ask you pharmacology part (generic/brand names, mechanism of actions)?
Did u study for the drug names for the exam? too many names to memorize

It'd behoove you to know the Top 200 backward and forward, even if they don't present themselves necessarily on the PTCE. Better now than later if you want to go to Pharmacy school in my opinion.

Some of the "Assisting the Pharmacist..." portion of the exam had stuff like,

"Which of the following drugs would be best suited to treat depression?" It'd then give you a list, with one SSRI and the rest distractors. In this sense, knowing the generic names of medication will be extremely handy (i.e., is fluoxetine Ativan or Prozac?) and the more familiar you are with the trade names and drug name, the most useful you'll be when you're, you know, actually working in the pharmacy.

I don't agree with teaching to the test, so I can't recommend you only learn exactly what's in Mosby's, or get "cribs" from people like us on the forum on what exactly to study for so you don't have to do extra work. An attitude and work ethic (or lack thereof) like that won't get you too far. I'm not saying that's what you're looking for, but cautioning against it in general.

I don't remember any specific MoA questions (i.e., cocaine blocks the reuptake of dopamine in the midbrain, increasing stimulation and euphoria).

 

[TheXc]

I was thinking about that earlier, and I thought 650 might actually be right, so I did some digging and sure enough:

"Candidates must obtain a scaled score of at least 650 to pass the PTCE. The passing score was established by a panel of content experts who used the modified-Angoff method. Using this method, each question is individually evaluated and rated by the panelists. Panelists estimate the percentage of qualified candidates who will answer each item correctly. The overall passing score is computed by averaging the panelists’ ratings. The PTCB Certification Council recommends the passing score to the Board of Governors."

So yeh, it is 650, I apologize for my mistake.

Once again, thanks for all your help. It is much appreciated.

 

[icemanxlb]

I took the PTCB on June 16th, so pretty recently. To be honest with you, I only studied the morning of the exam and it was scheduled for 2:30pm that day. As you suspect, I was trippin because I simply didn't have time to study prior to the exam because of vacations and summer procrastination.

Over the 3 hours that I had to study, I just pretty much concentrated on practicing calculations (IV admixtures, IV rate, basic algebra) and quickly skimmed through hospital laws and etc. I hoped that upon skimming my PTCB Review book, I would pick up familiar answers in the multiple choice.

The exam was pretty easy, and if you have basic biology knowledge and know certain generic med names like Paroxetine and etc, you should be fine. As long as you know algebra well, the exam is fairly easy. And if you work in retail settings, you should pick up on some of the random questions they ask.

 

[soyicecream]

I took PTCB last week and I passed!
if you worked at a pharmacy for 3yrs, you should be able to pass easily.
just practice unit conversion and pharmacy law for few days.
it's pretty easy.. good luck!

 

[o PHARMER o]

It'd behoove you to know the Top 200 backward and forward, even if they don't present themselves necessarily on the PTCE. Better now than later if you want to go to Pharmacy school in my opinion.

Some of the "Assisting the Pharmacist..." portion of the exam had stuff like,

"Which of the following drugs would be best suited to treat depression?" It'd then give you a list, with one SSRI and the rest distractors. In this sense, knowing the generic names of medication will be extremely handy (i.e., is fluoxetine Ativan or Prozac?) and the more familiar you are with the trade names and drug name, the most useful you'll be when you're, you know, actually working in the pharmacy.

Well put Passion. Xc, Getting to know the drugs class and mechanism of action is all the PTCE exam requires for the most part. Although it does help to know the generic names of some of the top few prescribed SSRI, anti-anxiety, Antibiotic, and Schedule II ADD meds. I found those to be referanced more than anything else.

 

[tendram]

I am scheduled to take the PTCB test later this month and from what I have gathered through classes and talking to people who know whats on it it will be alot of math (algebra) and brand-generic questions like others have said. I have also heard that there is hospital pharmacy on it as well but I'm not sure how many questions are on it. I would assume the people that make the test make it as fair as possible to everyone and if you know your way around brand/generic, calculations (compounding), and the do's and dont's of pharmacy you should be fine.

 

[TheXc]

Thanks everyone. My pharmacist gave me three books to look over. One of the books states that the Apothecary System will not be tested on, but the other two books have A LOT of practice problems on it (and has no disclaimer about it not being on the test).

This is the book that has the disclaimer:
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Revi...=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247421698&sr=8-2
And these are the other two:
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Review-Pharmacy-Technician-Training/dp/1582120773/ref=pd_sim_b_1

http://www.amazon.com/Pharmacy-Tech...dy-Training/dp/1582120986/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b


Any ideas?

ALSO

I am thinking of buying a practice exam from PTCB.org. Are they a one time use, or can you go back and retake it (or at least review it)?