February 2018 CPJE Experience

[Kimmy K]

Hi Longtime lurker here. I just thought I would post my CPJE experience and study tips and pay it forward.

History: I graduated a few years ago and work in a retail pharmacy. This was the second time I took the CPJE (and if we’re being frank it won’t be my last haha).

Materials:

RxPrep NAPLEX book - This was very useful. I highly suggest reading it thoroughly.
RxPrep NAPLEX test bank - This was semi-useful. If you’re a bad test taker it might be worth it just for practice. But the questions on the exam are more comprehensive. For example don’t get used to the answer choices in the topic quizzes having only the drugs in that particular subject. The answer choices on the exam be from random classes.
RxPrep CPJE set - In terms of law this plus self evaluation forms was all I used and it was adequate (make sure you read recent updates though).
Pharmacy Charts (ebay) - This was great for reviewing and nicely condensed. I would say this is not enough unless you’re good at pure memorization (I personally need to go off MoA to remember best)

I hated hearing that the test is random and obscure but honestly it is the ONLY way to describe it. My brain’s a bit addled but:

• I only had a handful of law questions. These are easy points. Study it!
• Know CrCl equation and normal lab values. They will not give you normal lab values ranges.
• Keep in mind the difference between precautions and counseling tips. They will give you example questions like “Counsel patient on Drug X” and some choices will technically be correct but only one will be a relevant counseling tip.
• Dosing. And renal dosing. There was a LOT of questions that had a dosing component.
• Brand names are really important. If you’re given a question on a brand drug you don’t know, you will be completely guessing. Try to be familiar with as many brands as possible.
• I was also asked clinical questions on initiating medications based on lab values/history.

I’m trying to avoid advice like “I had this and this topic” because this test was vastly different from the past few that were posted here and too many topics were covered. For the most part if I could go back in time I would focus more on dosing/frequency. You can narrow a lot of choices based on classes/MoA but even more if you know their general dosing. For example on the “What is wrong with this prescription" question I agonized between “Fill as is” or “Call doctor for dosing” after eliminating everything else because I was so unsure if the strength was correct

TLDR: Study broad in terms of topic and cross your fingers. Good Luck!

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[DrDay123]

Hi Longtime lurker here. I just thought I would post my CPJE experience and study tips and pay it forward.

History: I graduated a few years ago and work in a retail pharmacy. This was the second time I took the CPJE (and if we’re being frank it won’t be my last haha).

Materials:

RxPrep NAPLEX book - This was very useful. I highly suggest reading it thoroughly.
RxPrep NAPLEX test bank - This was semi-useful. If you’re a bad test taker it might be worth it just for practice. But the questions on the exam are more comprehensive. For example don’t get used to the answer choices in the topic quizzes having only the drugs in that particular subject. The answer choices on the exam be from random classes.
RxPrep CPJE set - In terms of law this plus self evaluation forms was all I used and it was adequate (make sure you read recent updates though).
Pharmacy Charts (ebay) - This was great for reviewing and nicely condensed. I would say this is not enough unless you’re good at pure memorization (I personally need to go off MoA to remember best)

I hated hearing that the test is random and obscure but honestly it is the ONLY way to describe it. My brain’s a bit addled but:

• I only had a handful of law questions. These are easy points. Study it!
• Know CrCl equation and normal lab values. They will not give you normal lab values ranges.
• Keep in mind the difference between precautions and counseling tips. They will give you example questions like “Counsel patient on Drug X” and some choices will technically be correct but only one will be a relevant counseling tip.
• Dosing. And renal dosing. There was a LOT of questions that had a dosing component.
• Brand names are really important. If you’re given a question on a brand drug you don’t know, you will be completely guessing. Try to be familiar with as many brands as possible.
• I was also asked clinical questions on initiating medications based on lab values/history.

I’m trying to avoid advice like “I had this and this topic” because this test was vastly different from the past few that were posted here and too many topics were covered. For the most part if I could go back in time I would focus more on dosing/frequency. You can narrow a lot of choices based on classes/MoA but even more if you know their general dosing. For example on the “What is wrong with this prescription" question I agonized between “Fill as is” or “Call doctor for dosing” after eliminating everything else because I was so unsure if the strength was correct

TLDR: Study broad in terms of topic and cross your fingers. Good Luck!

Hi thanks for sharing this information. I recently took the cpje for the second time as well and I had the same experience as you. It was tricky for me also and every topic should be covered because it’s so random. Im hoping for the best for our results so it won’t be our third time.