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The NAPLEX is a major step toward entering the pharmacy field. Jean-Claude Winkler/Digital Vision/Getty Images
The North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination, or NAPLEX, is a standardized credentialing test for pharmacists. It consists of 185 questions, but the test scorers will credit only 150 of them. The other 35 are samples that are being evaluated for future tests. The NAPLEX is multiple choice, with five possible answers for each question and only one correct one. The difficulty lies in the similarity of the answers, thus careful preparation is essential.
Calculations
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The RxPrep website warns that the graders will count questions involving calculations more highly than others. You will see problems that give you a situation, then require you to evaluate the quantity of medication that you must compound or dispense. Computation problems also may ask you to find the required quantity of ingredients for a given medication preparation. Other questions on the exam will request that you calculate the caloric content of nutrient sources. You will also see problems in which you must compute or convert drug concentrations and ratio strengths. Sample questions at Test Prep Review indicate that you should pay attention to algebraic expressions and mathematical formulas for elimination rate and clearance.
Brand Names
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According to the NAPLEX Exam website, most of the questions refer to medications by their brand names, rather than by the generic names. Create a set of flash cards to study by printing the brand names in red marker, and the generic forms using black or some other color. Pharmacy professor Brett Heintz of the University of California, San Francisco also recommends that test-takers consider working in a pharmacy one or two days a week to learn medication names.
Drugs Interactions, Side Effects and Frequencies
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According to the NAPLEX Exam website, focus your studying on the drugs that treat the following conditions: cardiology; nervous system; depression; diabetes; diuretics; and asthma. Also be prepared to answer questions about drug interactions, common and unique side effects, dosing frequencies and patient education.
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