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- Nov 12, 2015
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Hi everyone, I took the NAPLEX and found out I passed on my first attempt a couple of days ago!!!! First, thank you to everyone who posted about their experiences. I was really nervous about the exam and reading everyone else's experiences about the NAPLEX helped me to prepare and calm down. I want to share my experience in the hopes it will help someone else.
I can not share specifics about the exam but I will share what I did to prepare. I will also not be sharing my class materials because these are copy-righted by my school.
Study Materials:
1) RxPrep
2) RxPrep question bank
3) Class notes (powerpoints, study guides)
4) Various quizlets I found online
Study Duration:
I studied for 2 and 1/2 months in total. During the first month, I was studying casually for about 4-6 hours a day. I studied very intensely for the 2 weeks before my exam from 8 to 12 hours a day.
How I used my study materials:
1) RxPrep book
The first month I just read through the entire book and highlighted. I did not really memorize the material. Through this process I was able to pinpoint what subjects I needed to brush up on. I went through the book a second time and focused on my weak subjects. I focused mainly on memorizing the bolded and underlined material. It is impossible to know everything in the RxPrep book so don't try.
2) RxPrep question bank
For the major disease states, I always took the question bank quizzes before I went through the chapter to see what I retained from school and to pinpoint my weaknesses. After I went through the chapter, I would take the quiz again. I also took the quiz again a couple of days later to see what I retained.
For the other diseases, I only went through the quiz after I read through the chapters.
I would redo quizzes until I got at least an 80% on them.
3) Class notes
I had issues with how RxPrep organized/explained the pathophysiology and treatment guidelines. RxPrep just covers the very basics so I went back to my class notes which were much more detailed and clear.
4) Quizlets
Sometimes there are no mnemonics to help you memorize things. I drilled myself on quizlets relentlessly until I felt I had a handle on the material.
Other Study Tips:
Knowing brand/generic for top 200 is sufficient. They don't really give you obscure brand names.
Know calculations! I don't really have tips for studying for calculations since math has always been easy for me. I did the problems in RxPrep without looking at the explanations first and got 95-100% on the RxPrep quizzes on the first try. I felt that the RxPrep questions were sufficient.
Know biostats! You have to learn how to apply the material to studies. I suggest reviewing your class notes on this subject. RxPrep is bare minimum.
Know compounding!
Pre-Naplex was helpful to me. I scored about 10 points higher than my pre-naplex. It also familiarized me with the test format/layout, which I found helpful when I took the Naplex.
Join the Facebook RxPrep Naplex study group. I got so many helpful mnemonics and study guides from this group.
Test-taking tips:
If you don't feel confident, push back your exam. I pushed back my exam 1 week. It is better to put in 1-2 extra weeks of studying than to be unprepared and be forced to wait 45 days to retake it.
Work on your timing!!! I personally didn't have any issues but I know of people who didn't have time to answer all their questions. The RxPrep quiz bank will really help you with this.
If you don't know it, move on! Sometimes, they will ask you questions about very obscure medications or disease states, don't waste your time on these. Spend that extra time on double-checking your calculation answers instead.
Always look at allergies and check for a pregnancy test in females!
Last but not least, take a deep breath and remember this test does not define you as a person. Good luck everyone!!!!!! I know you can do it!
I can not share specifics about the exam but I will share what I did to prepare. I will also not be sharing my class materials because these are copy-righted by my school.
Study Materials:
1) RxPrep
2) RxPrep question bank
3) Class notes (powerpoints, study guides)
4) Various quizlets I found online
Study Duration:
I studied for 2 and 1/2 months in total. During the first month, I was studying casually for about 4-6 hours a day. I studied very intensely for the 2 weeks before my exam from 8 to 12 hours a day.
How I used my study materials:
1) RxPrep book
The first month I just read through the entire book and highlighted. I did not really memorize the material. Through this process I was able to pinpoint what subjects I needed to brush up on. I went through the book a second time and focused on my weak subjects. I focused mainly on memorizing the bolded and underlined material. It is impossible to know everything in the RxPrep book so don't try.
2) RxPrep question bank
For the major disease states, I always took the question bank quizzes before I went through the chapter to see what I retained from school and to pinpoint my weaknesses. After I went through the chapter, I would take the quiz again. I also took the quiz again a couple of days later to see what I retained.
For the other diseases, I only went through the quiz after I read through the chapters.
I would redo quizzes until I got at least an 80% on them.
3) Class notes
I had issues with how RxPrep organized/explained the pathophysiology and treatment guidelines. RxPrep just covers the very basics so I went back to my class notes which were much more detailed and clear.
4) Quizlets
Sometimes there are no mnemonics to help you memorize things. I drilled myself on quizlets relentlessly until I felt I had a handle on the material.
Other Study Tips:
Knowing brand/generic for top 200 is sufficient. They don't really give you obscure brand names.
Know calculations! I don't really have tips for studying for calculations since math has always been easy for me. I did the problems in RxPrep without looking at the explanations first and got 95-100% on the RxPrep quizzes on the first try. I felt that the RxPrep questions were sufficient.
Know biostats! You have to learn how to apply the material to studies. I suggest reviewing your class notes on this subject. RxPrep is bare minimum.
Know compounding!
Pre-Naplex was helpful to me. I scored about 10 points higher than my pre-naplex. It also familiarized me with the test format/layout, which I found helpful when I took the Naplex.
Join the Facebook RxPrep Naplex study group. I got so many helpful mnemonics and study guides from this group.
Test-taking tips:
If you don't feel confident, push back your exam. I pushed back my exam 1 week. It is better to put in 1-2 extra weeks of studying than to be unprepared and be forced to wait 45 days to retake it.
Work on your timing!!! I personally didn't have any issues but I know of people who didn't have time to answer all their questions. The RxPrep quiz bank will really help you with this.
If you don't know it, move on! Sometimes, they will ask you questions about very obscure medications or disease states, don't waste your time on these. Spend that extra time on double-checking your calculation answers instead.
Always look at allergies and check for a pregnancy test in females!
Last but not least, take a deep breath and remember this test does not define you as a person. Good luck everyone!!!!!! I know you can do it!
