How to Do Well on the Pharmacy Exams PDF

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! RxPrep

! ® ® !!NAPLEX ,!MPJE ,!and!! !!CPJE!Board!Review!

1334 Parkview Ave | Ste 100 Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

! ! How!to!Do!Well!on!the!Pharmacy!Exams! ! !! This!contains!the!method!that!has!helped!many!students!before!you!succeed!on!their!exams!with! RxPrep.!This!document!is!written!for!the!NAPLEX,!but!the!method!can!be!applied!to!the!law!exams.!!The! document!is!not!short! —! but!that!is!because!the!information! in!it!requires!careful!explanation.!The!study! method! is! critical.! We! have! found! that! it! is! not! IQ! that! matters! most! for! pharmacy! test! preparation,! but! rather!the!study!method!used.! !! The$ability$to$keep$your$mind$focused$on$the$material$is$as$important$as$using$a$successful$study$ method.$Suggestions$to$help$retain$focus$that$have$been$useful$for$others$are$included$at$the$end$ of$this$document.$If$you$need$this$help,$you$know$who$you$are$—review$the$various$methods$to$ help$focus$the$mind$at$the$end$of$this$document$and$find$one$that$works.$ !! Map!Out!Your!Study!Time:! ! The!NAPLEX!is!more!complex!than!in!previous!years,!with!a!higher!percentage!of!select!all!that! apply! questions,! questions! on! unique! formulations! (selfMinjectors,! patches,! gels,! others)! and! math! problems! that! can! appear! tricky,! but! are! not! if! you! have! prepared! adequately.! There! are! tons! of! information!to!remember!prior!to!the!exam.!It’s!not!an!exam!that!can!be!quickly!mastered.!You!will!have! to!plan!out!your!preparation:! !! For!spring/summer!US!graduates:!During!the!APPEs,!serious!study!should!begin!(at!the!latest)!in! early!January.!Many!students!will!use!the!holiday!(Christmas)!break!to!begin!preparation.!On!most!nights,! devote!2M4!hours!to!exam!prep,!alternating!an!hour!of!math!with!an!hour!of!a!nonMmath!topic.!!You!can! increase!the!study!time!on!the!weekends!if!you!are!not!working.! !! For!those!testing!at!other!times:!plan!out!your!study!time!hour!by!hour—and!set!the!schedule!to! complete!the!72!chapters!prior!to!the!tentative!exam!date.!Extend!the!exam!date!if!the!steps!described! here!are!not!completed!prior!to!the!test!date.! !! For! all:! Use! your! rotations! and/or! work! time! to! your! advantage.! Do! not! work! in! any! setting! mindlessly;;!this!is!study!time!that!will!“stick”!because!you!see!the!drugs,!the!patients!and!can!view!patient! charts! or! profiles.! It! often! works! best! to! do! dedicated! study! for! an! hour! at! a! time! and! then! take! a! 10M minute! break! to! walk! briskly,! allowing! your! mind! “down! time”! !to! move! information! from! shortMterm! into! longMterm! memory.! We! suggest! not! zoning! out! in! front! of! the! television,! which! has! not! been! shown! to! improve!retention.!!Here!are!the!details!for!the!study!method:! !! A!Study!Method!that!Works!if!Used!AsMDirected.!First,!for!Math:! ! Math!is!located!primarily!in!three!chapters:!Calculations,!Biostatistics!&!Pharmacoeconomics,!and! Pharmacokinetics.!!The!math!is!not!difficult,!but!the!steps!to!solve!the!formulas!are!not!done!on!a!routine! basis!by! most! pharmacists.!How! do!you! make! it!simple?! By! doing! the! problems! repeatedly,! on! a! daily! basis.!They!will!become!simpler!as!you!repeat!them.!This!is!required!for!the!math!sections.! ! The$ information$ required$ for$ math$ problems$ is$ usually$ contained$ throughout$ the$ case;;$ for$ example,$ the$ patient’s$ weight$ may$ be$ at$ the$ top$ of$ the$ case,$ drug$ may$ be$ listed$ towards$ the$ middle$of$the$page,$and$the$renal$function$will$be$contained$in$the$labs$at$the$bottom.$It$will$take$ time$to$gather$the$information$required$to$solve$the$problem.$If$you$are$also$taking$time$to$figure$ out$how$to$set$up$that$type$of$problem,$you$should$not$be$testing—the$preparation$has$not$been$ completed.! !! Some! of! the! students! will! find! the! math! complex,! but! what! causes! complexity?! The! formulas! themselves!do!not!change.!!The!problem!you!are!solving!may!have!information!in!it!that!is!not!needed!to!

solve!the!problem,!the!units!may!be!different!than!what!the!formula!requires,!the!weight!may!need!to!be! calculated,!and!rounding!may!be!required.!!Through!diligent!repetition,!(and!repetition!and!repetition)!you! will!be!able!to!do!any!problem!accurately!and!!efficiently.!Practice!the!math!from!the!test!bank!until!you! are!able!to!answer!them!quickly!and!accurately;;!this!way,!you!will!not!make!errors!when!testing.!A!math! mistake! in! our! profession! means! that! the! patient! receives! a! wrong! dose,! which! is! not! acceptable! for! licensure.! “I!Find!Math!Difficult.”!Sorry—We!Don’t!Believe!It!&!Here’s!Why:! ! Anyone!that!has!been!accepted!into!pharmacy!school!can!master!the!math.!Most!of!the!math!is! solved!with!the!same!algebra!methods!that!were!mastered!in!middle!and!high!school!years!ago.! !! Doing!math!accurately!and!with!adequate!speed!is!similar!to!learning!how!to!drive!a!car.!When! you! first! learned! to! drive,! you! would! have! had! difficulty! applying! enough! gas,! or! applying! the! brakes! without!jerking!the!car.!Now,!most!of!us!drive!effortlessly.!! ! You!need!to!be!almost!on!automatic!pilot!when!completing!math!problems,!similar!to!driving!a!car,!which! you!have!achieved!through!repetition.! !! Do!not!“read”!the!math!in!the!text!—!you!need!to!work!out!each!problem,!and!then!test!yourself! with! the! corresponding! test! section.! The! tests! consist! of! the! same! problems! in! different! patient! presentations! and! with! the! numbers! changed.! !If! using! the! video! course,! complete! the! problems! alongside! the! instructor.!Pause! the! video,! and! complete! the! rest! of! the! problems! in! that! section.! When! you!arrive!at!the!next!section!(a!new!type!of!math!problem),!then!unMpause!the!video!lecture.!For!each!of! the!test!banks!(4!math,!1!biostat!math,!1!PK!math),!complete!the!section,!clear!the!score,!do!this!again! (and!again).!You!will!notice!that!each!time! the!speed! has!improved!and!the!score!is! higher.!Only!when! the!math!is!accurate,!and!with!decent!speed,!should!you!be!sitting!in!the!exam!room.! !! A!Study!Method!that!Works!if!Used!AsMDirected.!Second,!the!Rest!of!the!Sections:! ! What$does$not$work$first—don’t$do$this:! Some!students!choose!to!go!back!and!change!a!wrong!answer!on!the!test!bank!until!they!have! 100%!in!that!section,!but!this!does!not!mean!(at!all!)!that!they!have!mastered!the!test!items.!!If!you!let!the! computer!store!missed!information!for!you,!or!if!you!have!a!computer!prepare!flash!cards!or!summaries! for!you,!the! learning!is! by!a! passive!process.! Will!you!learn! some!of!the! information?!Yes,!but! perhaps! not! enough! to! do! well! when! testing.! Babies! can! learn! well! passively! (such! as! a! small! child! who! has! parents!speaking!different!languages;;!the!child!can!easily!learn!both).!But!by!the!time!we!are!adults,!the! ability!to!learn!passively!is!decreased!to!a!large!extent.!Preparing!in!the!active!manner!described!here!will! help!you!retain!more!information!than!using!a!passive!approach.!Use!this!proven!method:! !! Purchase! 8M9! packages! of! 3! x! 5! lined! index! cards! and! place! by! your! computer.! You! will! be! organizing!the!missed!questions!on! these! cards!and! keeping!all!you! need! to!learn!in! one!place.! Get!a! shoebox!or!something!similar!to!store!the!cards!that!you!have!prepared.! ! How!to!Prepare!a!Card!Properly!for!the!Missed!Questions:! ! 1)! When!a!question!is!missed,!write!the!question!on!the!front,!the!answer!on!the!back,!and! include!any!information!in!the!explanation!if!you!do!not!know!it!easily.! ! 2)!!! Do!not!skip!this!step:!Explain!aloud!to!someone!you!care!about!or!to!another!student!(it! has! to! be! spoken! so! you! can! hear! it)! why! the! answer! is! correct,! using! patientMfriendly! language.! The! person!does!not!have!to!be!present;;!you!can!pretend!they!are!in!the!room.! !! Why!is!this!important?!If!you!cannot!easily!reword!the!material!you!do!not!understand!it,!and!you! may! not! be! able! to! answer! a! similar! question! on! the! exam.! You! need! to! say! it,! and! hear! yourself! say! it.!!Once!this!has!been!done,!place!the!card!into!the!box,!and!review!an!inch!or!two!of!these!prepared! cards!the!following!day.!

RRxPrep©!!October!28,!2015!! PPage$2$

$ If$you$find$that$a$score$in$a$test$section$is$...