I decided that I have to make a post since a lot of people has been asking regarding the embassy interview to be able to go here to seat in for the test.

I did not have a first hand experience on this but last weekend I was able to have lunch with an old friend/dorm mate and this topic came up. She told me how she was able to get a visa. The first time she tried she was denied. All that was ask was what the purpose of the visit and she did not hesitate to answer to seat in for the FPGEE test since this is the truth. A few months later, she tried again but this time she opened another pharmacy making it 2 under her name plus she has a regular 8 hour job. Upon questioning she just told the consul outright that she has to go on this trip cause otherwise her FPGEE application will be forfeited since she rescheduled it  after being denied during the first interview. They just look at her ties meaning financial capability like how can she afford the trip and so she showed her bank account and other assets that would prove that she has enough ties to come back. She was given 10 years multiple entry. This experience was true for her and a friend who went for the interview at the same time and  got denied the first time then approved on the 2nd. To give a background of her friend she was working for the military as a Pharmacist, no other business just savings.

I hope this will be of help. And I must just say what they have gone through is not a guarantee to get a visa. I am just sharing their experience since I have been asked a lot of times on what to say to the consul for their interview.  I came here in USA with a green card after I was petitioned by my spouse so I was so happy to hear my friends ordeal cause I know this will be of valuable help to others. Good luck on your journey in becoming a USA Pharmacist.

Please feel free to share your experience to all Kabayans out there so we can help those who would want to try FPGEE.

Thanks everyone for following my journey in being a licensed pharmacist here in CA.It is a great pleasure to have this blog wherein everybody shares their personal experience about the different tests. I have learned a lot by reading from the experiences of our fellow kabayans from my previous posts.

And now I am ready to share my personal experience with NAPLEX………

FIrst off as I mentioned before the study time will really depend from person to person. Some needed more time while others are better with cramming. My suggestion is that you set your study frame to 3 months, 4 months the most. As for me, I started in April and since I am at my own pace, I would study on and off 4-8 hours a day. That is one thing I had difficulty with, we set the date we want to take the test. Compared to FPGEE before, not sure how it is now, there is a set date for the exam so you have no choice but finish what you have to know before the test date. So if you are like me, I think the best first thing to do is your exam date. From there, make your study strategy, how many hours and what topics per day. The longer you take studying and the more you procrastinate the more chances that you have to keep going back to review what you have read and since you did it a long time ago the more likely you’ll forget it. Another thing that I had difficulty with is, most of my friends who took it keeps saying it is easy. So my mind set is very lax and that scares me since I was not as motivated as the FPGEE which is a lot harder.

Next off is study material:

APHA- this is the first material that I used, I had to read it several times since it is so detailed it was hard to know which ones might be asked. I read in one forum that the first seven chapter is not important. Last minute before my test, I focused on this chapter and true enough no single question was asked. I should have focused more on math problems.

Prontopass- it is quite pricey but worth it. I still feel though that you would need other materials like APHA for some additional info.

KAPLAN- it is a good supplement and last minute guide

Appleton and Lange- I did not even finish the whole book. I focused on the profile questions and the first chapter questions. The kinetics and compounding part are hard and didn’t have much time so I skipped it. It was good that they didn’t ask any question from those topics.

Prontopass Math- this is enough to get you through the math problems. In my case even the statistics part was covered with this material.

Stoklosa and Shroff Math- I used both and the Protopass math but with just the Prontopass you will be able to answer the NAPLEX math problems.

Pre-Naplex- I think this more or less gives you an idea on how ready you are. I suggest you take it a  month before so you can focus on what you may feel your weaknesses are. From my readings, it is accurate in giving the approximation of your score. I got an 85 from Pre-naplex and the range it gave me is 67-104. I got 97 in the test, surprisingly

All of us face different challenges each day, one reason that it took me long to take this test is I kept getting sick. It maybe from stress or who knows but with all those trips to the clinics and ER specially after setting the exam date the more I get sick. Thanks to my husband who keeps encouraging me and my family who always prays and look after me, I did take the test on date I set it to. After taking the test, since I wasn’t confident enough I was praying so hard to get 75, usually I would set my bar high but not for this one. I kept praying that I would be happy as long as I passed. God is very good he answered my prayers and gave me more than what I prayed for. I feel that the test was not that hard cause unlike FPGEE that mostly I had to eliminate choices, the questions in NAPLEX is somewhat there in the materials that I used but I may have forgotten it but remembered having read it.  The questions I got are mostly profile, maybe more than 15 and its mostly an application of what I read. There are some direct brand generic question but mostly application on which on the medicines given by the Dr. is not appropriate, which is good alternative for the patients case, what is causing a drug reaction, stuff like that. You really have to do math last, this is the best advised I can give. I did math 3 weeks before and did not listen to advise of people from the forum I go to. A day before the test, I browsed math again and I already forgot some of the formulas, the bad thing is  it is hard to comprehend what you have learned when your mind is already drained and stressed out. SO, DO MATH LAST AND REST the DAY BEFORE your TEST.

I hope this will be of help to those taking the test in the future. As they say the odds of passing is high, 93% of the test takers pass the test so this is a high chance to get your license. I have to keep saying though that together with hard work, keep on praying that God will guide you in your study and on the day of your test and God will do miracles for you.

Now I hope people who have experience with CPJE will also guide me in my next journey. Best of luck to all of us. God bless us all !!!

Hi everyone, it has been a while since I last blogged.
It’s just a month to go then I will be completing my internship hours. I know that after passing the FPGEE and TOEFL this is another obstacle since the recession made it difficult for foreign grads to find internship position in the location most accessible to them.
It has been a great experience overall since the practice of pharmacy in Philippines is totally different. Pharmacist here are called “doc,dr” and they do deserve it, they know not just the drug but they can even diagnose which I did not know how after graduating from a pharm school. Maybe I do but not as in depth from what they studied here but it can be learned through books, reading and experience. It is a plus factor being a doctor of medicine of course but I know if I did not pursue graduate school it is not impossible to pass FPGEE but it will just take more effort and patience.
Anyways, I worked with clerk and technician in an independent pharmacy and mostly we handle derma prescription since we are next to dermatologist. It is not as busy as the big chain so I was able to learn everybody’s task, which is good so that if you don’t have the tech or clerks you still know how to manage on your own. It is a whole new experience for me answering a call, dealing with the customers, greeting everyone “Hi , How are you, How may I help you, Thank you and Have a good day”……. we did not have these in Philippines. I do not remember going to pharmacy being greeted like this well hindi lang siguro ako sanay since when I got here I have to get accustomed to that not just in pharmacy but in any establishment here. Being able to compound some RX is nice too since not a lot does that. What I had difficulty with at the beginning is running the computer, there are commands that you have to know so you can transmit to the insurance. Wala din insurance sa Phi to transmit the prescription bills, mostly its cash in Phi. Well in the end I guess in any field thats why there is such a thing called internship is for us to get used to the ways and system so that it will be easier to troubleshoot and work when we become full-pledge professionals.
I know everybody has different experiences, good or bad share it here so that others can learn from it and expect these things to come.