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I originally posted this response in another thread, but I thought it might be easier for others to find this way. Hope it will be helpful for everyone!
I do not have any notes to share, but as someone who went to school in NY and has passed part 3 already... I can share some simple tips that will help you. Firstly, I have not taken Dr. Cutie's course but based on the price of it, I honestly do not think it's necessary for most people. I took a significantly cheaper course (~7x cheaper) offered by my school over 3 days and was able to pass with no problem. However, I did receive my education in NY which prepared me well for it to begin with I suppose.
Anyway, onto the tips:
-Know the point breakdown of the exam: 100pts total, 60pts for compounding section (3 compounds, 20pts each), 40pts for written portion (8 SALADs - 1pt each, 3 profile reviews ~4 pts each, 10 errors and omissions -2 pts each)
-FOCUS ON YOUR COMPOUNDING SKILLS: simply looking at the breakdown, you should know that if you do well the hands on compounding portion you only need 15 pts on the written portion to pass.
-practice writing out procedures for compounding, be sure to indicate important steps such as: geometric dilution, trituration, spatulation, levigation, mix until uniform, pre-calibration, etc
-know your calculations: conversions, alligation, dilution, etc. - if you calculate wrong for your compounds you're losing too many points
-the written portion should be very easy to at least score 20+ points. Errors and omissions is basically a straight give away. they are not trying to trick you, do not overthink/complicate things. If dosage form is wrong, write "wrong dosage form". Keep your answers <10 words. this is a requirement.
-go over the ISMP SALADs, as these are 8 easy points. Know the indication for commonly confused drugs. i.e. brintellix (depression) vs brilinta (MI)
- profile review is the hardest part of the written portion, but you can't really study for this, either you know it or you don't. do your best and that is all. if you don't know them, give it your best guess and move on. these points will not make or break you if you have followed what I listed above.
Good luck!
I do not have any notes to share, but as someone who went to school in NY and has passed part 3 already... I can share some simple tips that will help you. Firstly, I have not taken Dr. Cutie's course but based on the price of it, I honestly do not think it's necessary for most people. I took a significantly cheaper course (~7x cheaper) offered by my school over 3 days and was able to pass with no problem. However, I did receive my education in NY which prepared me well for it to begin with I suppose.
Anyway, onto the tips:
-Know the point breakdown of the exam: 100pts total, 60pts for compounding section (3 compounds, 20pts each), 40pts for written portion (8 SALADs - 1pt each, 3 profile reviews ~4 pts each, 10 errors and omissions -2 pts each)
-FOCUS ON YOUR COMPOUNDING SKILLS: simply looking at the breakdown, you should know that if you do well the hands on compounding portion you only need 15 pts on the written portion to pass.
-practice writing out procedures for compounding, be sure to indicate important steps such as: geometric dilution, trituration, spatulation, levigation, mix until uniform, pre-calibration, etc
-know your calculations: conversions, alligation, dilution, etc. - if you calculate wrong for your compounds you're losing too many points
-the written portion should be very easy to at least score 20+ points. Errors and omissions is basically a straight give away. they are not trying to trick you, do not overthink/complicate things. If dosage form is wrong, write "wrong dosage form". Keep your answers <10 words. this is a requirement.
-go over the ISMP SALADs, as these are 8 easy points. Know the indication for commonly confused drugs. i.e. brintellix (depression) vs brilinta (MI)
- profile review is the hardest part of the written portion, but you can't really study for this, either you know it or you don't. do your best and that is all. if you don't know them, give it your best guess and move on. these points will not make or break you if you have followed what I listed above.
Good luck!
This June will be my third attempt. I keep failing due to day 2 (compounding) portion from the math calculations. I even have Dr. Cutie's notes, but they honestly haven't really helped me much for the tricks on day 2 with the calculations. It all seems so different on the exam (calculation wise). I messed up on the January exam because of the IV calculation and I wasted so much time trying to figure out the correct calculation for it that I started to panic and messed up everything. I know the math calculations are my weakest. Can you tell you how you studied or what you used to help with the math calculation part?? And tips, advice, notes would be greatly appreciated. I really want to pass this time around. Thank you again for this post and your tips.
