PharmLaw

1. Not studying the “uncomfortable areas”

Everyone has some topic areas that they are less comfortable with than others. For you, maybe compounding is really just outside your comfort zone. Maybe you know you’ll never work in compounding and just don’t have interest in this field of pharmacy. However, you’ll be in big trouble if you ignore compounding for the MPJE! You have to know nuances between non-sterile compounding, sterile compounding, AND hazardous compounding. If it’s on the NABP Competency Statements, (which it is) then you gotta know it! 

Or perhaps you are planning to work at a hospital, so maybe knowing which prescribers can issue outpatient prescriptions isn’t super relevant to your career. Problem is, knowing this is extremely important for the MPJE. Knowing the Scope of Practice of prescribers in your state is likely to be tested, according to the Competency Statements, so this is an area you can’t disregard! Don’t tell yourself “Eh, I probably won’t have to know that” - because you probably WILL need to know it.

What is your “uncomfortable area”? Identify it, make a gameplan for it, and dive in and attack it!

2. Not realizing what the question is REALLY asking

When taking PharmLaw practice questions, and on the real MPJE, you will often be given a scenario and asked what is BEST choice. These questions are effective not only because it makes you think of the real world scenario, but also because multiple concepts may be incorporated and tested in the same question. For each question you come across, you need to pause and ask yourself “what topic is this question testing me on here” and really think about what the exam-creator is trying to see if you know on this question!

For example, if you are asked to transfer a prescription for alprazolam, can you legally do so? What do you need to check? What knowledge is this question really testing you on, to see if you can draw upon in order to answer it correctly? Well, maybe you start by saying okay alprazolam is a C-IV, what do I know about transferred schedule IV controlled substances. Well I know those can only be transferred 1-time (some states vary), and I know these prescriptions expire 6 months from the date of issue. Did this question provide me with info about when it was issued? Maybe the question says it was issued 8 months ago, and therefore cannot be transferred because it’s expired. Or Maybe the question says it’s already been transferred once before, and therefore cannot be transferred again.

In these scenarios, you will likely have to pull together multiple concepts in order to prove to the exam-creator you do in fact understand what is being asked and that you are prepared to answer correctly!

3. Not preparing adequately

Guys, the MPJE is really really hard. Don’t believe us? 1 out of 4 people fail, on average. You need to prepare as if this test is going to be VERY hard (because it will be) and as if you MUST pass on this one attempt.

How many days do you have left until your exam? What is your study strategy? We advise that you really focus your time on taking quiz questions. You will not be tested on reviewing notes or rewriting notes. You WILL be tested on answering quiz questions, and that is what you need to prioritize! Of course, at PharmLaw we provide you with study guides that are helpful to get you going and allow you to review, but we strongly recommend you get your hands dirty with the quiz questions and take them over and over until you are consistently getting a very high percentage correct.

Good luck!