aabdraff57

Hello everyone. I thought I'd start this thread to invite those who went through the FPGEE process and had some point or another; in their quest; used this forum to seek for guidance, ask questions, or share information. How has your life as a pharmacist been? 1) Internship: What challenges did you face? How did you overcome it? 2) Employment: Which sector of the pharmacy industry in the USA are you in? Retail? Hospital? LTC? 3) Was it worth it? Would you go through all the hurdles all over again? Why? Why not? My response: 1) Internship: Challenges: None was available except if I was willing to do it for free, which I did. But he was a good preceptor and I was really glad that he took me in. It was an independent pharmacy so we had a lot of time revising the law and discuss the best practice. 2) Employment: I am currently in retail and I have gone through 2 major retailers since my licensure. Floating wasn't really appealing to me and I cut down my hours voluntarily and gradually I left. I liked the compensation but the traveling, the retail setting was gruesome and I was beginning to grow a think skin! I resigned my position and currently with another chain but with a store. So much better but I had my days. 3) Upon reflection, the process was intensive, laborious, and really painstaking. But it do believe it's worth it. What do you think?

Hi Knok, I once had that idea and I received so many brochures but then decided to put that idea on the back burner. I like Howard University. It's cost effective and doesn't take too long. http://healthsciences.howard.edu/education/colleges/pharmacy/programs/Non-Traditional-pharmD

Hi, I paid for the whole course and passed easily. The online courses give you extra information that you might not find in the book or might miss. The former being VERY rare. Good luck!

No job, notwithstanding how hard it is to prepare for; is worthwhile unless you're passionate about it. Only you can answer this question. I see some pharmacists who have been at it for 25 years and they could retire comfortably but they still love doing it. So, to answer your question; IMHO, you can expect to be hired as a pharmacist in a hospital, retail, Long Term Care, consultant, manufacturing, sales, or even a faculty member if you have a Pharm.D with a 2-year residency. Salary varies and currently you should expect a salary range of 70K-125K per year, depending on which setting you're in. Good luck.

It's always good to have several plans for your career. I am actually considering it at Idaho. Having a Pharm.D can get you into residencies and open doors to many specialties. You can also be board certified (Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist), a certification that requires that you are involved in the specialty for at least 2 years. Only Pharm.D's with residencies are considered for faculty positions at colleges of Pharmacy. As you can see, your life would be more than retail and hospital pharmacy. You might want to check with the Pharmacy Board of the foreign country you wish to practice. As you know, Pharmacy is such a highly regulated profession. I do know that many countries have their own Pharm.D's and these degrees unless are accredited by the ACPE, would not hold the same credentials as USA-based Pharm.D's. Good luck!

Rishita, FPGEE was tough and I was working full time. Gold helped me a lot. I only used CPR and tried my hardest. But NAPLEX was very different. You need the RXPrep course.

Hello, You might want to check NABP website about any changes made to the FPGEC program. 1) FPGEE: Comprehensive Pharmacy Review 2) NAPLEX: RX Prep program (book, online videos, and online quizzes) 3) Many internships don't give pay unless you work with big chains or hospitals. 4) 2 years is pretty unrealistic actually. I'm not sure of your visa status, many companies right now won't sponsor H1B for foreign pharmacists. I don't know otherwise. Thanks.

I don't necessarily know if retail experience is NEEDED to pass. The questions were all-encompassing. I will tell you this, the retail experience helped me cut down my memorizing brand-generic, dosing, and dosage forms for many drugs big time because I saw them almost everyday. I am pretty sure hospital setting helps in some way. The RXPrep is a very well-organized reference book with relevant information. If you fell lost in studying you might want to rethink your strategy. I did not try APHA 8th, so, I can't vouch for it being useful. All the best!

Praise to God I passed NAPLEX with a good score. All I used was RX Prep book, video, and on-line quizzes. If you are a foreign graduate and have never practiced pharmacy in the US other than 1000 hours of internship, IMHO, the RX Prep complete course is the most invaluable investment you could ever make in your pharmacy career in the US. Video: The videos is comprehensive and help you understand concepts and give you many tips. I watched all videos at least once. Book: This is the most comprehensive without being overkill. All information is relevant. I finished all chapters at least twice. The third time was a bonus. I also made my own notes from the book so that I could see everything on 1-2 pages (mind map). Quiz bank: The format is perfect for NAPLEX and the explanation to the questions and answers are all spot on. I finished all quizzes at least three times. I did the calculations 3 days before NAPLEX (I have short term memory) and the SDN 120 calculations. The practice enables you to identify the format and quickly figure out what to do (alligation, ratio, etc). I graduated college in 1993 and then left pharmacy practice for 17 years! RX Prep made everything; compounding, calculations, MOA's, SE's, and everything you need to know for the exam; a breeze. I also tried using Manan Shroff's ReXam questions and answers but found it really dry and irrelevant so I stopped using it. Good luck everyone!

Mahmoud, don't be depressed. I graduated Pharmacy in 1993 and then left the field to become a teacher (became the Vice Principal). I took FPGEE in 2010 (that is 17 years!) and alhamdulillah, Allah let me pass. I used only 1 book: The Complete Pharmacy Review and I was working full time as a teacher (50 hours a week). Plan your time wisely and you will do it, insha Allah!

Hello everyone! I just want to praise and thank Allah for the blessings that He had bestowed on me. Another blessing today, I passed NAPLEX. :) Alhamdulillah. For those of you who are still in the process, I pray that He would make things easy for you too. I've learned a lot from this forum. It has been an arduous journey, albeit rewarding. Here's my timeline from FPGEE to NAPLEX. 1) FPGEE exam: April 2010 2) Results: July 2010 3) Passed TOEFL requirements: Sept. 2010 4) FPGEC Certificate received: Nov. 15, 2010. 5) Internship (unpaid): June 2011 - April 2012 (1,000 hours) 6) NAPLEX: 5/22/12: FAILED 7) MPJE: 5/23/12: PASSED 8) NAPLEX: 10/24/12 : PASSED. 9) State Board Interview scheduled: 11/7/12. As you can see, I did fumble on my NAPLEX the first time. I was working 3 jobs (Internship, part time teaching (before and after internship) and I scheduled the MPJE and NAPLEX back to back. I did not have time to really study for the NAPLEX. Then, I quit my job and took some loans from my friends and just had 1 part time job so that I don't have to owe a lot of money. It was definitely worth it. I had a lot of time and my mind wasn't exhausted. I thought I'd share this with so that you might find some benefit. If you have any questions (please don't ask me about what questions were asked in the exams), please feel free to ask me. Good luck!

Hello, 1) Internships are rare and I suggest to register at Indeed dot com so that you can receive emails about vacant intern positions. It is very challenging for any pharmacy to employ you as an intern if the pharmacist doesn't know who you are. 2) With your green card you can gain non-pharmacy employment and start from there. I hope you're not expecting to secure an internship while you're abroad. 3) Pharmacy technicians have different legal responsibilities in a pharmacy. Your pharmacy internship requires that you assume the role of a pharmacist (receiving new prescriptions, counseling, etc) and you may not do that if you work as a pharmacy tech. I'm not sure if any conscientious preceptor would sign off your internship hours while you work as a pharmacy tech. I'm not sure which study material is the "best". You might want to look at the NABP blue print for NAPLEX and compare that to the content in AphA. Hope this helps. Thanks.

FPGEE is an examination taken by graduates who have a pharmacy degree that is not conferred by an accredited by the ACPE. It's part of the FPGEC, that includes the FPGEE AND TOEFL requirements.The FPGEC program requires that you bachelor's degree is equivalent to a US pharmacy degree. Pharm.D is a first professional pharmacy degree awarded by any US based accredited college of pharmacy. Many US Colleges of Pharmacy do not award the BS in Pharmacy anymore. Once you received your FPGEC, depending on the state in which you want to practice pharmacy, you would need to furnish internship hours. After you complete your hours satisfactorily, the state will confirm with NABP (National Association of Boards of Pharmacy) that you are eligible to sit for NAPLEX (North American Pharmacist Licensing Examination) and MPJE (Multiple Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination). If you pass both exams, you can be a licensed pharmacist in the US. All Pharm.D degree holders must also go through NAPLEX and MPJE but they finish their internship hours while they attend college. I hope that clears the air a bit. Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions.

Dear future pharmacists, I am very much disturbed at the trend that I am seeing in this forum. I don't think it is ethical and legal to share or to offer to share any review program available. I am not related to Dr's Karen Shapiro or Dr. Sherry Brown but these are our colleagues in the pharmacy industry and they worked hard to come up with a very good review program for future pharmacists. Regardless of what you think about how much the program costs, we should support them, not stab a knife on their backs. Pharmacy is a heavily regulated profession with its own laws and it baffles me that individuals like us would want to initiate our career by breaking one. :upset:

I actually called NABP and understood, a little. Each question on NAPLEX carries a different weight/score. For example, if answer question #1 correctly and it happens that it carries 1 pt, question #2 for you would be a question that carries a bigger weight. If can't answer question #2 due to it's toughness, question #3 would be a question that carries a lesser weight. So, basically, theoretically speaking, if the maximum weight of a question is 3, you would have to get 25 3-point question right just to "pass" NAPLEX. But, if you always miss tougher questions, you have to make sure you answer at least 75 1-point question to pass. Hope that makes sense.

what is an acceptable score for pre-naplex? i got 81

same here. mine is next Tuesday :-(

I'm contemplating in registering for the RXPrep online course. So, it did help you to pass? I'm motivated but I need the right tool. Please advise.

Too bad you're experiencing such a challenge in your intership. First and foremost, a preceptor can accept or deny to supervise any intern at his/her whims and fancies. If the preceptor is doubtful of an intern's pharmacy knowledge or practice, it is within his/her right to not verify the intern's hours. Having said that, a preceptor is a pharmacist who has agreed to teach and train an intern while acknowledging the risks. A preceptor cannot expect an intern to be flawless. That's why they're interns and you're the preceptor, duh! :-) It seems that your preceptor doubts your diligence. You can either lessen your errors and work harder than you ever work in your life or quit and find another match. Who knows, she might be "sleeping" with some of the board members (metaphorically) speaking and that might put your intern license in jeopardy. Just my two cents.

Based on my conversation with my boss, independent pharmacies are gradually making a comeback. I just finished 500 hours last week. Phew. 500 to go. I was thinking along your thoughts about diversifying my internship's scope but considering the pain that I had to go through while looking for internship I kept that idea on the back burner. I think LTC is novel. I'm curious how pharmacists function there.

Well guys, I reported my 240 hours a couple of days ago and 760 hours to go! :-) So far, the experience has been very educational and extremely pleasant. My preceptor is didactic, professional, cordial, and very positive! His evaluation was spot on and very honest. We'll be working on the areas of growth in the next 3 quarters of my 1000 hours. I can basically do everything that a pharmacist is legally allowed to do except the final verification of all prescriptions. My duties include (not limited to) receiving scripts, filling, counseling, transferring, and receiving new prescriptions for patients. I am truly excited because I got his trust in transcribing scripts in less than 3 months working with him. :-) I'm blessed. I'll keep you guys posted. Hopefully we can hear from the other interns too. Peace!

after much reflection, the answer to all your questions is YES. It is difficult to get any internship (paid or volunteer). You can try your luck and hope for the best. I'm not being pessimistic but I'm giving you a glimpse of my own experience.

Hopefully all pharmacists will realize that working with chains are killing the profession. They want nothing more but profits.

Man, i'm sorry it didn't work out for you. Hopefully something better would come along.

I'm not sure I've heard of any company petitioning the H1-B (non-immigrant employment visa) for a pharmacy tech. The process is lengthy and expensive that includes the company providing proof to the department of labor that there is no American qualified for the pharmacy tech job (very unlikely).