Some helpful NAPLEX advice for future takers

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
K

KKHeal

Pharmacist pursuing an MBA
15+ Year Member
20+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2003
Messages
40
Reaction score
7
Members don't see this ad.
Pre-NAPLEX & TEXTBOOK
Take the Pre-Naplex as soon as you graduate. Its a helpful reality check. Then, Start RX-PREP ASAP. In my opinion, RX-Prep Textbook is all you need. I could swear every Naplex exam question I knew or did not know, can be found in that Texbook!! It is not excellent with the calculations portion. Borrow the APHA Textbook from a friend and use it just for the Pharmacy Calculation Portion.

Topics to Focus
(1) Firstly, you MUST know your calculations. You will NOT be given any formulars
(2) Know the major disease states that pharmacists manage
(3) Know Brand/Generic of Top 200 especially if you have not worked retail or hospital

SUGGESTIONS

Calculation Topics: Alligation(Must), BSA, BMI, CrCl(dont forget to multiply by 0.85 for female), IBW, volume of distribution, elimination rate constant, NNT, ARR, millimoles, milliequivalents and milliosmoles ETC (I know these seem basic but these are like 12 questions you can get right and be on the right track!

Some of those major disease states that a pharmacist should know such as Infectious disease, Asthma, Diabetes, Hypertension, Psych. I got like 3 questions each from Cancer and HIV. Some questions will come from random stuff such as cystic fibrosis, gout, glaucoma etc. Just get it right!

Words of Advice
Be rest assured that you will see a lot of things you know as someone who went to pharmacy school.

Keep moving and pace yourself well with time. You have at least 4 hours depending on your pace. There are 185 questions~Thats like an average of 1.2mins per question.

You will see some questions that are weird that you guarantee yourself not to have seen in your pharmacy life. Do not beat your chest..just make the best guess and move on!

You will realize after the exam that you just screwed on on at least 5 things you can remember. I personally remembered 8 and still passed with a high score, so anyone can do it!

Do not let the naplex experience bug you down. Its done. Have fun for the rest of the day and jump into the MPJE and do not look back at the naplex!!

Sometimes you think you just failed but you probably passed. Whats the worst? That you then passed MPJE and now have to redo naplex in 91 days? I highly doubt it if you did your best to prpare but if thats the case, not the end of the world.

When your license arrives, there will be ample time to party like a rockstar if you want!! Goodluck!!
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
KKHeal said:
Pre-NAPLEX & TEXTBOOK
Take the Pre-Naplex as soon as you graduate. Its a helpful reality check. Then, Start RX-PREP ASAP. In my opinion, RX-Prep Textbook is all you need. I could swear every Naplex exam question I knew or did not know, can be found in that Texbook!! It is not excellent with the calculations portion. Borrow the APHA Textbook from a friend and use it just for the Pharmacy Calculation Portion.

Topics to Focus
(1) Firstly, you MUST know your calculations. You will NOT be given any formulars
(2) Know the major disease states that pharmacists manage
(3) Know Brand/Generic of Top 200 especially if you have not worked retail or hospital

SUGGESTIONS

Calculation Topics: Alligation(Must), BSA, BMI, CrCl(dont forget to multiply by 0.85 for female), IBW, volume of distribution, elimination rate constant, NNT, ARR, millimoles, milliequivalents and milliosmoles ETC (I know these seem basic but these are like 12 questions you can get right and be on the right track!

Some of those major disease states that a pharmacist should know such as Infectious disease, Asthma, Diabetes, Hypertension, Psych. I got like 3 questions each from Cancer and HIV. Some questions will come from random stuff such as cystic fibrosis, gout, glaucoma etc. Just get it right!

Words of Advice
Be rest assured that you will see a lot of things you know as someone who went to pharmacy school.

Keep moving and pace yourself well with time. You have at least 4 hours depending on your pace. There are 185 questions~Thats like an average of 1.2mins per question.

You will see some questions that are weird that you guarantee yourself not to have seen in your pharmacy life. Do not beat your chest..just make the best guess and move on!

You will realize after the exam that you just screwed on on at least 5 things you can remember. I personally remembered 8 and still passed with a high score, so anyone can do it!

Do not let the naplex experience bug you down. Its done. Have fun for the rest of the day and jump into the MPJE and do not look back at the naplex!!

Sometimes you think you just failed but you probably passed. Whats the worst? That you then passed MPJE and now have to redo naplex in 91 days? I highly doubt it if you did your best to prpare but if thats the case, not the end of the world.

When your license arrives, there will be ample time to party like a rockstar if you want!! Goodluck!!
Click to expand...
Awesome post. Cheers
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
This was truly very helpful!!! Thanks!! I just have one question. How many questions did you get asked on doses, dosage forms? Also, did they ask a lot of brand/generic that were NOT on the Top 200 list?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
shahj3 said:
This was truly very helpful!!! Thanks!! I just have one question. How many questions did you get asked on doses, dosage forms? Also, did they ask a lot of brand/generic that were NOT on the Top 200 list?
Click to expand...


Yeah, though I dont want to discourage anyone from knowing the Top 200 drugs but the two direct questions I got on that WASN'T even on the top 200 list! However, Knowledge of top 200 will help you do well on some questions that they deliberately use the brand name instead of the generic name.

I dont think I got any questions on doses, but YES I did get like a couple on dosage forms like if something is in suppository form or IV; and also a few on if a medication is adminitered SC or IM..
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
3boooda said:
Awesome post. Cheers
Click to expand...


One more thing I forgot is..Look for the 160 naplex Calculation questions that is circulating here. VERY VERY helpful to make sure that you got the calculations nailed!!

You will be surprised simple questions like mmol, mEq and mOsm and folks will be mixing them up. Again, if you think you may be weak in Pharm Calc!!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hi guys, on my prenaplex I received a question asking to calculate the ANC. However it did not give me segs, just the bands...and the WBC. --but there were PMN labs. Do we use PMNs to calculate ANC? would it be wbcx(pmn + segs) in this case?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
NYPharmRes said:
Hi guys, on my prenaplex I received a question asking to calculate the ANC. However it did not give me segs, just the bands...and the WBC. --but there were PMN labs. Do we use PMNs to calculate ANC? would it be wbcx(pmn + segs) in this case?
Click to expand...

Yes
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
thanks for all the helpful tips! 🙂
Can someone post the link for the 160 math questions?
(i found the 120 questions from 2006 if anyone is interested)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Pharmacist 33 said:
thanks for all the helpful tips! 🙂
Can someone post the link for the 160 math questions?
(i found the 120 questions from 2006 if anyone is interested)
Click to expand...

Yeah..Thats what I was referring to..the 120 math questions from 2006 (not 160 questions)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
First, don't panic and stress out over the NAPLEX. It is JUST a test. Really. The worst that can happen to you is you might fail, and you'll be forced to study for 3 more months. Thirty years later looking back, what's a few months eh?
For students who haven't looked deeply into the NAPLEX yet, I will explain the scoring system. You need a raw score of 75 points to pass. Out of how many possible points? I don't know actually, but some questions are worth multiple points and there are, I believe, 150 graded questions and 35 non-graded experimental questions. So what percent is 75 points out of 170 (my guestimation) points? Anyway passing is not 75% like some of you think. No way! That would be a hard test if it was. It's 75 raw points. OK so the break down goes like this:

One, focus your study on calculations. You NEED to be FAST and ACCURATE. Don't worry, they're rather easy. But if you don't practice, you will get flustered and make dumb mistakes. The thing that kills a lot of test takers is the speed aspect of it. You need to be fast.
There's a bunch of them in the beginning, then dispersed throughout the test, then another group of them towards the end. So make sure you have enough time for the last group of calc questions.

Two, focus on DI and ADR. I used RxPrep to study and they have dedicated chapters just on these topics. The mistake I made was that I glanced over them quickly because I wanted to focus more on disease state specific topics. WRONG. You gotta know your DI and ADR very well first before you even think about studying other topics.
It's safe to say that on my test (and my wife's too she said), calculations, DI, and ADR made up about 60% of the questions.
Thing is, the questions aren't worded like, "What is the ADR of ____ drug?"
Instead, they give you case questions. On one side of the screen you'll have patient profiles, and the other side of the screen will be the questions.
Want to know a secret?
DON'T READ THE CASES.
Just go straight to the questions and see if you can answer them. Most of the times you can and it'll save you time. And a sample question might look like, "CC is taking _____ at home. The attending wants to write an order for _____. What should you tell him/her?"
A. CC should not take ____ with _____ because of (some DI).
B. CC should not take ____ with _____ because of (some other DI).
C. It is OK for CC to take ____ with _____.

So for questions like this, you need to know your DI's. ADR questions look similar too.

Three, know your brand-generics. NAPLEX likes to use them interchangeably and getting a question right is often predicated on knowing your brand names/generic names.

Four, save the less-important topics e.g. Pharmacoeconomics/genomics, Emergency protocol, etc. for LAST when you study. I'm tempted to even say don't study these at all. But I won't say that 😛 In order to pass the NAPLEX, they're not important. But in order to be an exceptional pharmacist, yes you do need to know everything yes? 🙂

Five, DO NOT listen to people who tell you that the NAPLEX is easy. No, it is not. Let me explain. Being able to pass is MADE somewhat easy because of the low score needed. But the test ITSELF and the questions are not. Yes some are, but if you answer the easy ones correctly, the test will scale its difficulty up and start asking a bunch of very detailed clinically oriented questions. And they're not easy -- you have to know your stuff. So bottom line is, don't fear the test, but don't underestimate it either.

Six, not only should you follow my recommendation, but you should also know how to take breaks when you study! It's a proven fact that your brain has a threshold for optimum performance. Each brain is different so get to know yours. For me, I can focus intensely and get a lot done in bursts of 30-40 minutes. Then I need to take a break because my brain becomes useless. So schedule your days so you can stagger this sprint-jog-sprint method.

Seven, set goals when you study. Contrary to what people are saying (study for x hours per day), do not set your goals based on number of hours per day. Instead, gather all your study material in front of you. Then divide the pile of notes/preps into how many days you have to study (2 weeks, 4 weeks, etc.). I studied for a whole month. So I divided all my notes into 30 separate mini stacks. Then each day, I set a goal to meet the day's quota.
Trust me this works much better because you will begin with a certain chapter/topic, and end with a certain chapter. And it makes it seem more manageable. And on some days when you finish early, you can spend the rest of the day relaxing (highly recommended) without the guilt because you'll know you can't possibly be behind (each day has its own share)! Down side is, maybe on some days you'll be studying all day. But still, remember to take your breaks even on those days 🙂

And lastly, it is OK to postpone your test date. If you feel that you need just a tad more time, like a week, then pay the $50 rescheduling fee and do it. It's better to spend the $50 to make sure you'll pass rather than going in unprepared and failing, then spending another $485 (or whatever it is) for the next test and having to sit out for the minimum 3 months they make you wait before you can sign up for another test.

All right then, have fun studying and if there's one major thing I want you to take away from this, it is that you shouldn't fear the NAPLEX. It is just a test. And hey, if a guy like me can pass... lol
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
Also, 96% of people pass the NAPLEX the first time. If you aren't in the bottom 20% of your class, you probably don't need to worry much.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ChillPill777 said:
First, don't panic and stress out over the NAPLEX. It is JUST a test. Really. The worst that can happen to you is you might fail, and you'll be forced to study for 3 more months. Thirty years later looking back, what's a few months eh?
For students who haven't looked deeply into the NAPLEX yet, I will explain the scoring system. You need a raw score of 75 points to pass. Out of how many possible points? I don't know actually, but some questions are worth multiple points and there are, I believe, 150 graded questions and 35 non-graded experimental questions. So what percent is 75 points out of 170 (my guestimation) points? Anyway passing is not 75% like some of you think. No way! That would be a hard test if it was. It's 75 raw points. OK so the break down goes like this:

One, focus your study on calculations. You NEED to be FAST and ACCURATE. Don't worry, they're rather easy. But if you don't practice, you will get flustered and make dumb mistakes. The thing that kills a lot of test takers is the speed aspect of it. You need to be fast.
There's a bunch of them in the beginning, then dispersed throughout the test, then another group of them towards the end. So make sure you have enough time for the last group of calc questions.

Two, focus on DI and ADR. I used RxPrep to study and they have dedicated chapters just on these topics. The mistake I made was that I glanced over them quickly because I wanted to focus more on disease state specific topics. WRONG. You gotta know your DI and ADR very well first before you even think about studying other topics.
It's safe to say that on my test (and my wife's too she said), calculations, DI, and ADR made up about 60% of the questions.
Thing is, the questions aren't worded like, "What is the ADR of ____ drug?"
Instead, they give you case questions. On one side of the screen you'll have patient profiles, and the other side of the screen will be the questions.
Want to know a secret?
DON'T READ THE CASES.
Just go straight to the questions and see if you can answer them. Most of the times you can and it'll save you time. And a sample question might look like, "CC is taking _____ at home. The attending wants to write an order for _____. What should you tell him/her?"
A. CC should not take ____ with _____ because of (some DI).
B. CC should not take ____ with _____ because of (some other DI).
C. It is OK for CC to take ____ with _____.

So for questions like this, you need to know your DI's. ADR questions look similar too.

Three, know your brand-generics. NAPLEX likes to use them interchangeably and getting a question right is often predicated on knowing your brand names/generic names.

Four, save the less-important topics e.g. Pharmacoeconomics/genomics, Emergency protocol, etc. for LAST when you study. I'm tempted to even say don't study these at all. But I won't say that 😛 In order to pass the NAPLEX, they're not important. But in order to be an exceptional pharmacist, yes you do need to know everything yes? 🙂

Five, DO NOT listen to people who tell you that the NAPLEX is easy. No, it is not. Let me explain. Being able to pass is MADE somewhat easy because of the low score needed. But the test ITSELF and the questions are not. Yes some are, but if you answer the easy ones correctly, the test will scale its difficulty up and start asking a bunch of very detailed clinically oriented questions. And they're not easy -- you have to know your stuff. So bottom line is, don't fear the test, but don't underestimate it either.

Six, not only should you follow my recommendation, but you should also know how to take breaks when you study! It's a proven fact that your brain has a threshold for optimum performance. Each brain is different so get to know yours. For me, I can focus intensely and get a lot done in bursts of 30-40 minutes. Then I need to take a break because my brain becomes useless. So schedule your days so you can stagger this sprint-jog-sprint method.

Seven, set goals when you study. Contrary to what people are saying (study for x hours per day), do not set your goals based on number of hours per day. Instead, gather all your study material in front of you. Then divide the pile of notes/preps into how many days you have to study (2 weeks, 4 weeks, etc.). I studied for a whole month. So I divided all my notes into 30 separate mini stacks. Then each day, I set a goal to meet the day's quota.
Trust me this works much better because you will begin with a certain chapter/topic, and end with a certain chapter. And it makes it seem more manageable. And on some days when you finish early, you can spend the rest of the day relaxing (highly recommended) without the guilt because you'll know you can't possibly be behind (each day has its own share)! Down side is, maybe on some days you'll be studying all day. But still, remember to take your breaks even on those days 🙂

And lastly, it is OK to postpone your test date. If you feel that you need just a tad more time, like a week, then pay the $50 rescheduling fee and do it. It's better to spend the $50 to make sure you'll pass rather than going in unprepared and failing, then spending another $485 (or whatever it is) for the next test and having to sit out for the minimum 3 months they make you wait before you can sign up for another test.

All right then, have fun studying and if there's one major thing I want you to take away from this, it is that you shouldn't fear the NAPLEX. It is just a test. And hey, if a guy like me can pass... lol
Click to expand...


Thank you so much for your tips and advices
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ChillPill777 said:
First, don't panic and stress out over the NAPLEX. It is JUST a test. Really. The worst that can happen to you is you might fail, and you'll be forced to study for 3 more months. Thirty years later looking back, what's a few months eh?
For students who haven't looked deeply into the NAPLEX yet, I will explain the scoring system. You need a raw score of 75 points to pass. Out of how many possible points? I don't know actually, but some questions are worth multiple points and there are, I believe, 150 graded questions and 35 non-graded experimental questions. So what percent is 75 points out of 170 (my guestimation) points? Anyway passing is not 75% like some of you think. No way! That would be a hard test if it was. It's 75 raw points. OK so the break down goes like this:

One, focus your study on calculations. You NEED to be FAST and ACCURATE. Don't worry, they're rather easy. But if you don't practice, you will get flustered and make dumb mistakes. The thing that kills a lot of test takers is the speed aspect of it. You need to be fast.
There's a bunch of them in the beginning, then dispersed throughout the test, then another group of them towards the end. So make sure you have enough time for the last group of calc questions.

Two, focus on DI and ADR. I used RxPrep to study and they have dedicated chapters just on these topics. The mistake I made was that I glanced over them quickly because I wanted to focus more on disease state specific topics. WRONG. You gotta know your DI and ADR very well first before you even think about studying other topics.
It's safe to say that on my test (and my wife's too she said), calculations, DI, and ADR made up about 60% of the questions.
Thing is, the questions aren't worded like, "What is the ADR of ____ drug?"
Instead, they give you case questions. On one side of the screen you'll have patient profiles, and the other side of the screen will be the questions.
Want to know a secret?
DON'T READ THE CASES.
Just go straight to the questions and see if you can answer them. Most of the times you can and it'll save you time. And a sample question might look like, "CC is taking _____ at home. The attending wants to write an order for _____. What should you tell him/her?"
A. CC should not take ____ with _____ because of (some DI).
B. CC should not take ____ with _____ because of (some other DI).
C. It is OK for CC to take ____ with _____.

So for questions like this, you need to know your DI's. ADR questions look similar too.

Three, know your brand-generics. NAPLEX likes to use them interchangeably and getting a question right is often predicated on knowing your brand names/generic names.

Four, save the less-important topics e.g. Pharmacoeconomics/genomics, Emergency protocol, etc. for LAST when you study. I'm tempted to even say don't study these at all. But I won't say that 😛 In order to pass the NAPLEX, they're not important. But in order to be an exceptional pharmacist, yes you do need to know everything yes? 🙂

Five, DO NOT listen to people who tell you that the NAPLEX is easy. No, it is not. Let me explain. Being able to pass is MADE somewhat easy because of the low score needed. But the test ITSELF and the questions are not. Yes some are, but if you answer the easy ones correctly, the test will scale its difficulty up and start asking a bunch of very detailed clinically oriented questions. And they're not easy -- you have to know your stuff. So bottom line is, don't fear the test, but don't underestimate it either.

Six, not only should you follow my recommendation, but you should also know how to take breaks when you study! It's a proven fact that your brain has a threshold for optimum performance. Each brain is different so get to know yours. For me, I can focus intensely and get a lot done in bursts of 30-40 minutes. Then I need to take a break because my brain becomes useless. So schedule your days so you can stagger this sprint-jog-sprint method.

Seven, set goals when you study. Contrary to what people are saying (study for x hours per day), do not set your goals based on number of hours per day. Instead, gather all your study material in front of you. Then divide the pile of notes/preps into how many days you have to study (2 weeks, 4 weeks, etc.). I studied for a whole month. So I divided all my notes into 30 separate mini stacks. Then each day, I set a goal to meet the day's quota.
Trust me this works much better because you will begin with a certain chapter/topic, and end with a certain chapter. And it makes it seem more manageable. And on some days when you finish early, you can spend the rest of the day relaxing (highly recommended) without the guilt because you'll know you can't possibly be behind (each day has its own share)! Down side is, maybe on some days you'll be studying all day. But still, remember to take your breaks even on those days 🙂

And lastly, it is OK to postpone your test date. If you feel that you need just a tad more time, like a week, then pay the $50 rescheduling fee and do it. It's better to spend the $50 to make sure you'll pass rather than going in unprepared and failing, then spending another $485 (or whatever it is) for the next test and having to sit out for the minimum 3 months they make you wait before you can sign up for another test.

All right then, have fun studying and if there's one major thing I want you to take away from this, it is that you shouldn't fear the NAPLEX. It is just a test. And hey, if a guy like me can pass... lol
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for your dedications ans heartful tips. I can see you are compassionate pharmacist. Good luck with your new career
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
KKHeal said:
Pre-NAPLEX & TEXTBOOK
Take the Pre-Naplex as soon as you graduate. Its a helpful reality check. Then, Start RX-PREP ASAP. In my opinion, RX-Prep Textbook is all you need. I could swear every Naplex exam question I knew or did not know, can be found in that Texbook!! It is not excellent with the calculations portion. Borrow the APHA Textbook from a friend and use it just for the Pharmacy Calculation Portion.

Topics to Focus
(1) Firstly, you MUST know your calculations. You will NOT be given any formulars
(2) Know the major disease states that pharmacists manage
(3) Know Brand/Generic of Top 200 especially if you have not worked retail or hospital

SUGGESTIONS

Calculation Topics: Alligation(Must), BSA, BMI, CrCl(dont forget to multiply by 0.85 for female), IBW, volume of distribution, elimination rate constant, NNT, ARR, millimoles, milliequivalents and milliosmoles ETC (I know these seem basic but these are like 12 questions you can get right and be on the right track!

Some of those major disease states that a pharmacist should know such as Infectious disease, Asthma, Diabetes, Hypertension, Psych. I got like 3 questions each from Cancer and HIV. Some questions will come from random stuff such as cystic fibrosis, gout, glaucoma etc. Just get it right!

Words of Advice
Be rest assured that you will see a lot of things you know as someone who went to pharmacy school.

Keep moving and pace yourself well with time. You have at least 4 hours depending on your pace. There are 185 questions~Thats like an average of 1.2mins per question.

You will see some questions that are weird that you guarantee yourself not to have seen in your pharmacy life. Do not beat your chest..just make the best guess and move on!

You will realize after the exam that you just screwed on on at least 5 things you can remember. I personally remembered 8 and still passed with a high score, so anyone can do it!

Do not let the naplex experience bug you down. Its done. Have fun for the rest of the day and jump into the MPJE and do not look back at the naplex!!

Sometimes you think you just failed but you probably passed. Whats the worst? That you then passed MPJE and now have to redo naplex in 91 days? I highly doubt it if you did your best to prpare but if thats the case, not the end of the world.

When your license arrives, there will be ample time to party like a rockstar if you want!! Goodluck!!
Click to expand...


Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the initiative to share with others. I am sure you have set a very good example for others to follow.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

G
NAPLEX 2024
Replies
4
Views
66K
BC_89
BC_89
P
Transferring NAPLEX 5th attempt to CA
Replies
0
Views
1K
pharmd530
P
BC_89
  • Sticky
Forum Members May 1st 2025 - NAPLEX Update
Replies
0
Views
3K
BC_89
BC_89
F
Naplex Preparation
Replies
8
Views
6K
Flowerpower98
F
J
Pharmacy, Naplex, MPJE exam preparation.
Replies
1
Views
5K
Karnold801
Karnold801
Top