Hi. First I want to say that I love your site and ideas. With that in mind, I hope you can give me sound advice.
I'm a fifth year pharmacy student in New York with three more semesters left (2010) and I want to know if I should be starting to study for Naplex/MPJE at this time. I bought a book called Appleton & Lange's review of pharmacy but its 2001 edition and I haven't touched it yet.
· Which is the more important exam, Naplex or MPJE?
· What did you and your classmates study from when you took the Naplex/MPJE?
· When did you start to study for Naplex/MPJE?
· Is live prep. Courses like Kaplan good for Naplex/ MPJE review?
· How many times can I retake Naplex/MPJE?
· Am I within a set timeframe to take these exams?
· Are there different MPJE’s for different states? If so, which states have ‘easy’ MPJE’s?
· Is it true that you can retake the MPJE the next day or even the same day if you fail?
Regarding state selection, is it easier if I get licensed in New Jersey than New York? I heard that the compounding exam is really hard in New York and I only worked in retail for a year and a half at CVS. The only compounding experience I have was in school back in fourth year. Would it be better to take New Jersey MPJE and reciprocate back to New York?
Regarding miscellaneous options,
· Are there states that will license RPh’s that have below 75 in Naplex or accept Naplex without MPJE? If so, which states and are there any special conditions (work in state for X years, take specific pharmacy courses after licensure, etc).Dear Letter Writer,
· Regarding California's licensure exam, is it easier than Naplex/MPJE?
· Can I use California's results to reciprocate back to New York if I pass it?
· I’m a US citizen and want to know if I need to take the FPGEC as well?
· Are there special licensure situations that require me to take all three Naplex, MPJE, and FPGEC?
What the hell are you talking about? I have a feeling this FPGEC of which you speak is some sort of English proficiency test. I also have a feeling, based on my day to day work experience, it must be very easy to pass.
MPJE? If I knew what the fuck that was I might be able to answer some questions about it. I bet Google knows what it is, but like you evidently, I don't really feel like looking up stuff about the MPJE on the Google right now. My future doesn't depend on knowing what the MPJE is though. Just sayin'
You seem to be forgetting letter writer, I'm old. Not old enough to have had to have taken a compounding test though. What the hell is up with that? When I took the NABPLEX, administering it was an event. You showed up at the same time in the same place with everyone else taking it and you took it using a pencil and paper. You were not allowed to use a calculator. I shit you not. The day I took the NABPLEX I spent a good 10 minutes trying to remember how to do long division involving decimal points by hand.
By the way, The NABPLEX was given in a building that contained the Ohio Agricultural Hall Of Fame. Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I never would have believed someone took the time and effort to create an Ohio Agricultural Hall Of Fame.
Eight years later I took California's exam, which was harder because it was geared towards PharmD's at a time when the rest of the country was still giving out BSPharms. There was an essay part, and I will never, ever forget that I missed a question about administering Plan B. I will never forget it because I had been a practicing pharmacist for eight years, and I had DISPENSED the fucking Plan B probably dozens of times in the last year and I still flubbed the question. Brain farts happen to the best of us my friend.
All in all though, this Bachelor Of Science degree holder kicked the California test's ass. Scored a 92 on the multiple choice and an 87 on the essay. If you're a *cough cough* Doctor (snicker snicker) of Pharmacy and scored less, you pretty much wasted a year of your life and a few thousand in tuition money. There's also a good chance you do the exact same things during the workday that I do. Ha ha.
Anyway Letter Writer, what I'm saying is that very little of what I went through would apply to you now. I'm sure a few alert readers, or um, Google, the company that built its empire on making the world's information easily accessible, will be able to help you out though.
The comment floor is now open.
30 comments:
Well MPJE is the law exam short and sweet and as far as I know that is usually harder because we only have 1 semester of pharmacy law and thats it. I have a cousin who just graduated with a PharmD and to answer the question on when she started to study and she had said about a week before and she is now able to practice pharmacy as a licensed PharmD. I'm actually surprised by a lot of the questions, I would think a 5th year student should know the majority of those things, seeing that they are a 5th year. Anyway, found it comical NABPLEX, wonder if they get the hint.
WTF is up with this kid? Just another snot nosed brat too lazy to look up the answer to his own questions. What happens when he is behind the counter and can't answer a real fucking question? Any why the hell does every pharmacy student think that every experienced pharmacist knows anything about the exams today. I took mine at the convention hall at the Monroeville Mall (almost missed it since they moved them that year from Soldiers and Sailors Hall). Oh yeah, one more thing.....if you need to study for your licensure exam, you didn't pay attention in class.....just sayin'.
Apparently, he sent this email out to any and everyone because I got the exact same email.
I still contend that if you fail the current iteration of the NAPLEX, you are a complete idiot... not because it's easy. More because they give you practically a 70 point curve on the stupid thing. I swear you only need to get about 4 questions right to pass it.
dear letter writer,
First of all, you need to relax. You are in the last years of pharmacy school and you need to spend your time learning about all the different place you can practice before you sign up with someone and kiss all those chances goodbye. So seriously, just take a deep breath and settle down. Ok?
I just got my license in IL along with about 15 other new grads who signed up with walgreens (sorry DM but 45k is a lot of money). The Naplex is a joke. Some of us studied, some didn't, all of us passed. I read a review book from walgreens for like two hours the day before the test and got a 92. I don't know if it's a good score or not, but its a pass.
Regarding the MPJE, its a little harder and impossible to study for. The questions are crazy off the wall and you will not be prepared for them. All but one of us passed with about as much studying. If you want to know which state is easier, you need to get law books for both states because they make their own. And I guarantee that if some states want their pharmacists to pass a compounding exam, you will take a compounding exam before you get your license.
Specific answers:
-you can retake both exams 3 times before you they make you take a refresher course. You wait 90 days before you can retake the naplex, 30 for mpje.
-Both exams are timed, but you have gobs of time.
-Don't be stupid about states. Get you license where you want to practice or take the test 50 times. Seriously.
-No next day retest
-<75=fail everywhere, no conditions. you fail
-I'll give you a hint on the FPGEC. What does the F stand for.
-The only special situation would be your an overachiever/valedictorian/president of your apha chapter who did really well in school but can barely speak english and is of east asian or indian ancestry. So you probably need to take all three.
Good luck, and stay out of Illinois please.
OK, I'll tackle this one. (I graduate in May.) MPJE = Multistate Jurisprudence Exam, a test of state pharmacy law.
1. You don't graduate till 2010 and you want to study for the boards NOW??? You need more to do. No, really. Go do something fun, and don't give the boards another thought until the semester you graduate.
2. Both exams are equally important. Flunk either and you can't get licensed.
3. I have a Kaplan book and the APhA review book.
4. I haven't yet. I'll probably start in April. (Jobs I'm applying for have a July 1 start date.)
5. Prep courses - yeah, maybe. I hear some employers will give you a prep course. Or you could just buy the book and use that.
6. Depends on the state. Ask the Board of Pharmacy in the state where you want to practice.
7. Depends on the employer - although it's in your best interests to pass them ASAP so that you can be paid like an pharmacist and not an intern.
8. Yes, each state has its own. There's no such thing as an easy MPJE - it's a law exam, and lawyers like to torture the rest of us as revenge for lawyer jokes.
9. You can retake it, although I don't know how quickly you get your results. Again, it probably depends on the state.
10. Don't know. I live in Flyover Country.
11. NAPLEX scores: Contact the state board and ask them. Every state requires you to pass their MPJE. No exceptions.
12. See #10.
13. If you mean your NAPLEX results, yes, after you've practiced for a year. If you mean your MPJE, no.
14. I'm not entirely sure what the FPGEC is, but if you graduated from a foreign pharmacy school, then yes, you do have to take it.
15. If you are a graduate of a foreign pharmacy school who's never had a US license, then no matter where you want to practice in the US, you will have to take all 3 exams. If you are a graduate of a US pharmacy school who's never been licensed before, you only take the NAPLEX and the MPJE.
to the writer :
dont worry about studying for the naplex or mpje right now. get through pharmacy school and in your last semester start studying. you only need about 6 weeks or so to study ... so right now do well in pharmacy school and concetrate on gaining oodles of knowledge so that way when it comes time for the naplex studying will be easier (o: as far as which is harder ... the mpje is harder based on the fact that the questions have alot of "gray area" and you will want more information but alas, will not get it. As to your last question, I know plenty of new yorkers that get a new jersey or ct license, work for a year, then reciporcate back. If you aren't good at compounding I suggest doing this or taking an advance compounding lab. Good luck and I hope this helps!
I live in NC and I recently took the NAPLEX and MPJE in May (licensed in June). I thought the MPJE was harder but I hated law. I did take a live MPJE review b/c my law professor was not that great and I thought I could use a refresher. I don't think that you can retake either test on the same day b/c you have to schedule them online and in NC you don't even know you passed (or failed) until 2 days later. As for the other states and all those questions, I would have to refer you to the board of pharmacy in the state in which you want to practice. That board can tell you which states licenses can be reciprocated to where. But in general, it is easier to get licensed in multiple states right out of school than to reciprocate (it costs a bunch of money to do that). You can transfer your NAPLEX score to multiple states but you still have to pass each state's individual MPJE or equivalent. Personally, I started studying for each test about 1-2 weeks before the test. Def. not months in advance! Are you crazy?
Letter writer, they will teach you some of this stuff in your law class and fill you in along the way as well. Also like the drugmonkey said, a lot of this stuff is online at state sites and pharmacist requirements. There are actual charts that show what each state requires. California and florida are the hardest and anything with a wet lab (compounding exam) is a bitch, but I think there are only a couple of those left.
-I wouldn't say either the naplex or MPJE(law exam) are more important, if you fail either you are fucked and have to retake it which costs a lot
-There are special review books geared toward the naplex, you should get one of those to study. I myself am going to buy a review book, practice test book, and quiz cd combo
-I am in my last semester of pharmacy school ($18,000 thank you very much drugmonkey) and haven't started studying yet, but I am going to buy it soon.
-I am going to a live prep course which is paid for by my company, i've head they are very helpful
-If you have to retake the Naplex or MPJE more than 3 times you are a life fail
-I don't think there is a certain time frame to take the test in, they may only offer it certain times of the year though
-Each state has it's own laws and thus it's own MPJE. Wisconsin has one of the hardest. I heard some of the southern states had to dumb down their naplex for their students, so you could try there if you are really worried.
-I have no idea why you would retake the MPJE the same day or next day because it costs like $500-1500 and you don't actually know how you did for about a month. I've heard most people feel like they failed but end up doing fine.
Do New Jersey and New York have reciprocation for sure?
-Seriously, just study and get better than a 75 on the naplex, don't worry about which states allow dumb pharmacists to work
-California's exam is one of the hardest like I stated before (good job with the 92 drug monkey)
-If you pass the Naplex in one state you are covered for all the other states that use the naplex, but you have to take the law test for each and every state
-Google the requirements for having to take the FPGEC, jesus
<3 Tyler
the u.s. citizen and the FPGEC part(must be veeeery important..it's all in capitals) had me stumped..what is that??? is it a loyalty oath? If you're not an american citizen, is it required? Does it stand for foreign pharmacists gladly entering country? Please enlighten me.
45k? O_O SHOES!
Shoes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCF3ywukQYA
There are 43 states that accept the MJPE while 7 don't accept it (namely NY and CA). It's one test for multiple states (you save time and money overall). Just tell the state board of pharmacy (state you want to practice) of your intent before you take the test.
Good luck with the wet lab portion (making a lotion, suppository, capsule, etc.) of the NY exam, because a majority flunk that particular part.
You shouldn't sweat over the NAPLEX exam. The MJPE is different. Law isn't a strong topic among pharmacy students. Means that a larger part fail this portion when compared to the NAPLEX.
The state board should send you a link or a small book of the current state laws that is being tested when you contact them of your intent.
Some pharmacy schools tailor law into the curriculum so that you should be able to pass your state board (if not, then...).
The states that don't accept the MJPE because it doesn't cover the 'finer' aspects of pharmacy. It's going to be harder to study for.
Midwest Woman: No, it's not a loyalty oath. It's a competency exam for people who graduated from a pharmacy school outside the US. Anyone who went to pharmacy school in a foreign country needs to take it, regardless of their citizenship status. People who went to pharmacy school in the US do not need to take it, even if they aren't citizens. I don't know what FPGEC stands for, but I'm sure if you Google it you can find out.
Back in the '80s our law class was taught by the guru of pharmacy law, so he made sure we knew it inside and out before externships in 5th year, so I basically review my law notes the night before jurisprudence--and passed--wasn't too worried about getting a high passing grade.
For NAPLEX, in the last year, after finishing didactics, I recopied p'cology, med chem, 'ceutics, and p'kinetics notes, and that was it. (Our professors gave a thorough drubbing on internship rotations, and so we knew our therapeutics by the time we go done.) Took me about a month, but it was good review and I was able to tie up some loose ends and make some corrections to reasoning; got a darn good NAPLEX score, too.
Recommend pass the test where you did internship--maybe where graduated, and reciprocate PRN. It's not a big deal. Some states require jurisprudence scores in their State (AK) and showing up at the Board of Pharmacy, others require some kind of test--maybe law (IN), but in IL all we had to do was find the place, sit for a hour-long intro, and shake hands.
Main point, consider that the majority--if at possible of graduates WILL pass, and all you have to do is know your stuff, get your experience in, and apply yourself during schools. (My recommendation is to get as much out of the money you so willingly put into paying tuition, and then not worrying about having a job later--avoid long-term cramming stresses, if at possible--just end up with cortisol deficiency and having to take hormone replacement!)
Does his school not offer advising that is geared to know all the answers to this shit?!
I've begun looking into the GRE and grad school entry and all that- and frankly- there's extremely little that I need to know that I didn't find in 45 minutes of looking it up. And, imagine that- the GRE website even covers 99% of the questions I had!
OMG and I thought I was flippin' out about graduating from nursing school... This guy's freakin' just a tad too much, and why the hell would he think that YOU would know the answers to all these questions??
I read this last night, and I'm STILL laughing at "Is CA's exam easier than NAPLEX/MPJE?"
DrugMonkey, you really ARE the Master of Pharmacy with that 92; I believe the CA boards have been toned down since you took them and they are still one of the hardest in the nation!
You know, pharmacy school was harder than all hell to get into, and most people keep telling me it's going to be harder than all hell to get through, but more and more I'm feeling like I'm going to do just fine. What the hell are they teaching these kids these days?? I haven't even started pharm school and I know the answers to all his questions. We just fired a graduate intern at my hospital because he couldn't pass the CA boards. We would have kept him on and given him another chance if he'd shown, well.. any glimmer of motivation or intelligence in the three months he worked with us. But.. nothing. He seemed genuinely surprised he failed (us, not so much).
If this kid can't even google his state board to find these answers, I wonder what the hell he's gonna do when he comes across a new drug when he's working..
I obviously haven't taken the NAPLEX yet, but a co-worker of mine who graduated from pharm school five or six years ago told me that any technician should be able to pass it. Now, I'm sure when my turn comes, I'll buy a book and do some studying anyway. But if you are that worried about studying for it, then you're doing something wrong.
This is the most ridiculous CRAP I've ever read! Where do you go to Pharmacy school and don't you have an advisor? Go waste their time that's what they are paid to do.
I worked in MA for a year then took NH and NY boards. The NY boards were entirely about the Drug Facts OTC label requirements. (federal questions if you ask me)
Why would you bother the wise DM with such non-sense?
I graduated from Rx school in 2000 with a solid B average and scored a 114 on the NAPLEX 6 months later (I had a super sweet grad internship) without studying for even one minute. I think if you didn't pay attention in Rx school you are really going to struggle with the NAPLEX, no matter how much you try to cram with a study guide.
I actually did study for the MJPE, and I am glad I did. It was a short test, but the questions were damn tricky. Got a 90 on that.
And I have to agree with the second comment...go look this shit up yourself, kid!!! You are going to be totally frakked and useless in the real world if you can't figure this out on your own.
Now I'm not from America-land, but from my quite recent experiences in exam writing as a Canadian grad, I found that you hardly need to study. In fact, if you find that you need to study, you probably slept your way through your thousands of dollars worth of tuition hours. Focus on what you're learning now. Reviewing from time to time doesn't hurt. If you need to use a study guide to prep, then wtf was the point of going to school for all those year?
Law exams are pretty easy in general. If you've worked in a pharmacy as a tech (hopefully you were paying attention to the pharmacists around you if you're going to be one as well) then you should know about 90% of the law already.
Hi Drugmonkey. I miss your twittering. I like listening in to you talk to yourself.
Fuck this little pissant and his request for a tutorial. You have better things to do. Twitter man.
"If this kid can't even google his state board to find these answers, I wonder what the hell he's gonna do when he comes across a new drug when he's working."
my thoughts exactly!!
just take the damn tests , you'll do fine! I too took them in the 90's , on paper, fuck if I can remember anything else about them!
sure hope this isnt one of those new grads that utterly lack a trace of any confidence for the next, 10 years... ugh
I agree with Utah savage, I look forward to your twitters, they make me laugh.
Jeez, kids today.......
If you slept your way through pharmacy school this is where it comes back to bite you. If you didn't, a week or two of intelligent 'review' will suffice.
We weren't allowed to use calculators at all during our entire pharmacy 'math' course, and we had a very thorough pharmacy law course too. (What, they don't do that anymore?) And I am a proud survivor of the NY state wet-lab !!
Dear Pharmacy Student,
Don't you have any friends in pharmacy school? If you do, aren't any of them a year or two ahead of you? These are the people to ask all your questiona if for some reason you can't ask your school's academic advisement office or your desired state's board of pharmacy. My only advice on exams: the MPJE will be easier for the state in which you attened pharmacy school, because your school will teach law for that state and federal. If you take the MPJE in another state, you have to teach yourself the state specific laws. But like another commenter noted, that state's BOP will provide you with study material.
go to the NABP web site and you'll find answers to all your existential questions.
If you need to study for your NABPLEX you are a complete moron. Do you study before you go to work? If you can't practically apply the miniscule amount you've learned, get a fucking paper route or learn this phrase: "Would you like to see our desert menu?" Tipping is not just a city in China my friend. Seriously, if you fail the NABPLEX you have severe problems....Doctor. Having said that, if you can answer 25% of the A&L book correctly, you'll pass. You won't, though, so don't bother. I'll give you one answer from the review book (free) - the most addictive form of morphine is diacetyl morphine (heroin). Now you're smarter. As for the NY compounding exam - it will fuck you worse than life has. If you don't have a shred of common sense and your head on a swivel then you're....you. Best of luck in another job.
FPGEC = Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee
FPGEE = Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Exam
As the name implies, the exam only applies to FOREIGN PHARMACY GRADUATES.
If you don't know what it is, ignore it.
And how the heck did a US pharmacy student even hear of the EPGEE?
I took the NABPLEX back when it still had that "B" in it. It was written, a whole day locked up in a room, no food, drink, calculators, or talking. Sounds difficult, but really, it wasn't. My friends and I went to dinner and a movie the night before. We figured if we hadn't learned it in the previous 5 years, we weren't going to learn it in one night (or even 6 months). Back then, the hardest part for me were the questions about OTCs. I had done my internship in a hospital, so I didn't have a lot of experience answering OTC questions. Classmates who did internships in retail had the same problems with questions about IV admixture. If that tells you anything, letter writer, it should be that you need to have a variety of experience in the real world and learn everything you can while you're working! The law exams (we had two then, federal and state, given the day after the NABPLEX) were much harder. I re-read all of my law exams the night before (many of the state questions were word-for-word the same as my professor's).
Letter writer, don't start studying now - just make sure all you learn in class and rotations really sticks in your brain and makes sense to you. You'll be fine.
I went to school in New York State and they were *really* heavy on the compounding, all through from 4th year on. Stood me in good stead when I had to take the compounding exam... At the time, I had to take the NABPLEX, the New York law exam, the New Jersey law exam, and the compounding exam. I could have reciprocated after a year, but I didn't want to wait a year. It was helpful to me, given that the New York City metro area covers two states (Well, three if you count Connecticut, but I don't.) and this let me work either side of the border.
If you intend to work in an independent pharmacy, I'd suggest getting a good foundation in compounding; it's one way we get business away from the chains, who don't generally want to get involved with it. Also a hell of a lot of fun sometimes. ("Sometimes" does *not* include any compound with LCD or sal acid in it, but I do them anyway.) Seems to me that the definition of a pharmacist should include the knowledge of extemporaneous compounding anyway.
Just took the Naplex and MPJE last week (Jan 21)...I was a wuss and decided to take the Prenaplex... What a waste of time...(Here's an idea...lets charge $50 for a test that is a joke and just to make them feel better, we will give them a passing score). Do not take this exam...go out and buy yourself something nice.
Naplex was about 2 hours longer than it should have been. Also, they like to take random questions that you will probably never see and give you about 6 questions on them.
MPJE (OH)...Am I the only one who thought this test was simple??? I studied for 1 day...was done in 30 minutes, and walked out jiggling my booty...
Post a Comment