Breaking Through: My Journey to Passing the NAPLEX
Hi everyone!
Here’s my journey for the NAPLEX.
Got the RxPREP book and Uworld access circa September 2024…. didn’t touch that!
My school had required courses, assignments, quizzes, exams and anything else they could formulate through Uworld.
I have a wife and a VERY new baby at the time. I pleaded with my University and they gave me sympathy and I didn’t have to keep up with it.
January 2025:
My school did a 200 question (4 hour) mini-naplex to assess how we are progressing. I got a 53% and they told me I was in a “coin-flip” area where people are a 50/50 on passing first try.
May 2025:
Took ANOTHER mini-naplex of similar standards. I got a 55%. More disappointment from the school and I got the same speeches. I was told to study for 2-3 months then take the naplex to “have a hope”.
- Graduated May 3rd. (GPA with graded APPEs: 3.65)
- REST of the MONTH 40 hours/wk studying
- Took Sundays off and didn’t touch material
- Had my wife quiz me on brand-generic in the evenings.
LEAVE YOUR HOME AND STUDY. DELETE SOCIAL MEDIA. AVOID YOUTUBE/STREAMING WHILE OUT STUDYING. Take this seriously.
June 2025:
- Exam June 6th
- Residency started June 16th
Studying:
- I read the RxPrep book cover to cover over 3 full weeks.
- At first I took heavy notes, but eventually it weighed me down and I stopped around week 2.5
- I WISH I would’ve only taken notes over the hard stuff (HIV, ID, Onc, etc.)
- By the end of my study time I NEVER touched those heavy notes ONCE.
- I practiced math and stats every day for ~1-2hrs.
Now let’s make this clear: I am GREAT at math and good at stats. I was a TA in our lab during school so I had a lot of experience.
BEST BEST BEST thing I can tell you: TEACH THE MATERIAL TO YOURSELF OR SOMEONE THAT CARES
Talk out loud. Do not look at notes of how to do something. Sit there and work through the whole process of the math regardless of how tedious.
If you cannot teach through a whole calculation and not get the correct answer without your notes…. YOU DO NOT know the material.
Allegation example: “Now we have 2 creams, but neither is the concentration we want. SO we are going to use the LESS concentrated to dilute the more concentrated. That should tell you which you’ll need more of. Set it up like this…. Think like this…. you get this many parts…. you set up this proportion. NOW STOP! Does this make sense logically before you submit an answer…. It does and here’s why….”
It is slow and tedious, but you will get faster and VERY consistent in your math
Biostats
YOU MUST get good at this.
I had to teach myself all of this for the first time. I talked through material outload, watched youtube videos on it, and tried to UNDERSTAND NOT JUST MEMORIZE.
Once you get a calculated answer or results. Regardless of what the question is asking: STOP!!!!!! Interpret the number. What is an RR of , what is an RRR of _? What do they MEAN! Understand the number, not just blindly enter answers
My last week:
Morning: 8am-noonish
Pick a hard, consistent (everyone questions on it) topic and take good notes
Onco, HIV, ID, Biostats… good topics to repeatedly review and get better at!
Look for the QUALITY key drug guys/ study tip gals: MEMORIZE THEM (examples: Do not refrigerate drugs, Protect from light drugs, NS only drugs, D5W only drugs, and all the others from that chapter.)
If its a NICHE topic (PAH, cystic fibrosis)… don’t bother memorizing those guy/gal tips. Its only a 225 question exam with a LOT of repeat topics…. they won’t put super focused on that crap.
Noon-3 or 4
BURN through those UWorld questions and take notes
Every question was a learning opportunity. DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT: JUST ANSWER TO MOVE ONTO ANOTHER QUESTION.
If you get it right and don’t know why: look it up and figure it out (~2-5 minutes)
If you get it wrong and don’t know why: look it up and figure it out (5-10 minutes)
Actual Exam:
Got there 40 minutes early. Went over a few things including brand and generic
An estimate of my exam:
- ~25-35% raw Math (TPN, misc math, BMI, BSA, ANC, etc.)
- ~15% ID
- 7 HIV questions (know brand/generic BTW)
- 5 Onco questions
- 7ish Gout questions (I was surprised)
- Ethics ~5 questions (all VERY stupid and you just gotta use some logic for them)
- Preceptorship ~5 questions (all very stupid and you just gotta use some logic for them)
- Biostats ~10-15% (50/50 math and interpreting results)
Things to absolutely know:
- Brand generics in the front of the book (I don’t care how good you are at them in school, spend time on these!!)
- Chemo Man!!! Also look through the highly emetogenic drug a few times KNOW THE SUPPORTIVE CARE!!!! Nausea care, rescue drugs, etc.
- HIV First line regimens AND what are in those regimens
- Mechanisms of actions for ALL HIV drugs
- Drug conversions (statins, steroids, IV:PO drugs) and ALL equations on the required memorization list
- Look over all bolded drugs!!!!! Don’t waste your time on drugs that are not bolded. There is come good info in there, but learn it during residency in the future when you HAVE to.
I finished my exam in 3 hours and 10 minutes. I was slow compared to my friends.
TRUST YOUR GUT!!!!!!!!!! If you sit there for 10 minutes and reassess your answer 40 times…. you’re gonna go crazy. If you gut says B, but you logic yourself into C or maybe D…. JUST GO WITH B
Final words of advice:
I get it. This is important, but chill. This is an exam and the result DOES NOT DEFINE YOU.
You are better than this exam. You ARE NOT what the exam result is. A failure does not make you a failure. It means it wasn’t your day.
STOP delaying your exam. Just take IT!
You will not feel ready
You will not have the entire book memorized and you will not be 100% on every topic (I was about 70-80% correct on my Uworld exam on the GOOD days with EASY topics)
Take the exam earlier rather than later. There is data that shows the longer you wait from graduating, the less likely you are to pass.
I asked my school advisor to email me every Monday to see how I’m progressing until I passed. It helped keep me accountable.
Finally: You can do this. It’s just an exam. I get it. This is important. Just take it.
If you fail: Schedule your exam ASAP, reflect on the exam (you’ll know where you struggled… I definitely do and I passed), and build on the building blocks you already placed.
Take one step forward everyday after failing. DO NOT wipe your brain and start over fresh.
Thank you all posting users for the information you have placed on here. It was helpful and good for helping me shape my study plan and pacing myself. Do not ask me for “where can I get a video on this, where can I get a pneumonic on this….” You have a doctorate and I’m sure you can do that!
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