North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination — Information & Free Practice
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North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination
- Provider
- National Association of Boards of Pharmacy
- Format
- Computerized fixed form
- Exam questions
- 225 questions
- Time limit
- 6 hours
- Passing score
- Pass or Fail
Examination outline
Foundational Knowledge for Pharmacy Practice (25%)
- Pharmaceutical science principles and concepts
- Pharmaceutical science principles and concepts: Pharmacology
- Pharmaceutical science principles and concepts: Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, or pharmacogenomics
- Pharmaceutical science principles and concepts: Pharmaceutics
- Pharmaceutical compounding
- Pharmaceutical compounding: Nonsterile preparations
- Pharmaceutical compounding: Sterile preparations
- Pharmaceutical calculations
- Pharmaceutical calculations: Patient parameters or laboratory measures
- Pharmaceutical calculations: Quantities of drugs to be dispensed or administered
- Pharmaceutical calculations: Rates of administration
- Pharmaceutical calculations: Dose conversions
- Pharmaceutical calculations: Drug concentrations, ratio strengths, osmolarity, or osmolality
- Pharmaceutical calculations: Quantities of drugs or ingredients to be compounded
- Pharmaceutical calculations: Nutritional needs and the content of nutrient sources
- Pharmaceutical calculations: Biostatistical, epidemiological, or pharmacoeconomic measures
- Pharmaceutical calculations: Pharmacokinetic parameters
- Drug development processes (eg, clinical trial phases, emergency use authorizations)
- Research design principles and biostatistics (eg, blinding, randomization, biases, statistical tests and outcomes, ethics)
- Retrieval, assessment, and interpretation of primary, secondary, and tertiary resources
Medication Use Process (Prescribing, Transcribing and Documenting, Dispensing, Administering, and Monitoring) (25%)
- Prescriptions and medication order interpretation
- Prescriptions and medication order interpretation: Drug names and therapeutic classes
- Prescriptions and medication order interpretation: Indications, usage, and dosing regimens
- Prescriptions and medication order interpretation: Available dosage forms
- Prescriptions and medication order interpretation: Prescription regulations (eg, boxed warnings, risk evaluation and mitigation strategies)
- Prescriptions and medication order interpretation: Safety and effectiveness (eg, laboratory parameters, vital signs)
- Therapeutic substitutions (eg, formulary restrictions, therapeutic alternatives, shortages, biosimilars)
- Immunization services and documentation
- Immunization services and documentation: Indications and scheduling
- Immunization services and documentation: Contraindications and precautions
- Immunization services and documentation: Storage and handling
- Immunization services and documentation: Administration (eg, techniques, preparation, routes)
- Immunization services and documentation: Adverse reactions
- Medication handling, storage, stability, and disposal (eg, hazardous and nonhazardous drugs, controlled substances, parenteral medications, sharps handling, temperature control)
Person-Centered Assessment and Treatment Planning (40%)
- Medication history, allergy history, and reconciliation
- Health histories, screenings, and assessments
- Patient health conditions, including special populations and medication-related factors
- Patient health conditions, including special populations and medication-related factors: Signs, symptoms, and findings of medical conditions, etiology of diseases, or pathophysiology
- Patient health conditions, including special populations and medication-related factors: Appropriateness of therapy (eg, medications, immunizations, non-drug therapy, dosing, contraindications, warnings, evidence-based decision making)
- Patient health conditions, including special populations and medication-related factors: Interactions (eg, drug-drug, drug-condition, drug-food, drug-allergy, drug-laboratory)
- Patient health conditions, including special populations and medication-related factors: Errors and omissions (eg, dosing, duplication, additional therapy needed, unnecessary therapy)
- Patient health conditions, including special populations and medication-related factors: Adverse drug reactions
- Patient health conditions, including special populations and medication-related factors: Toxicologic exposures and overdoses
- Patient health conditions, including special populations and medication-related factors: Adherence
- Therapeutic monitoring, plan development, evaluation, and modifications
- Therapeutic monitoring, plan development, evaluation, and modifications: Therapeutic goals, clinical endpoints, and follow-up
- Therapeutic monitoring, plan development, evaluation, and modifications: Safety
- Therapeutic monitoring, plan development, evaluation, and modifications: Effectiveness
- Patient education
- Patient education: Lifestyle modifications and health maintenance
- Patient education: Medication use, storage, and disposal
- Patient education: Disease state management
- Over-the-counter medications and dietary supplements
- Devices to administer medications and self-monitoring tests
Professional Practice (5%)
- Adverse drug event reporting and medication error reporting (eg, MedWatch, VAERS)
- Public health initiatives and risk-prevention programs (eg, tobacco and nicotine cessation, antimicrobial stewardship, health screenings, opioid stewardship)
- Social determinants and drivers of health
- Ethical considerations (eg, informed consent, ethical principles, professional conduct and responsibility, patient confidentiality)
Pharmacy Management and Leadership (5%)
- Pharmacy operations (eg, operational planning, risk management, regulations and regulatory bodies, technology applications and informatics, error-prevention strategies, medication safety)
- Inventory and supply management (eg, drug recalls, drug shortages)
- Quality improvement activities (eg, medication use evaluation, root-cause analysis, continuous quality improvement)
- Mentorship and preceptorship (eg, providing and receiving feedback, delegation of work activities, preceptor roles)
Examination sources
- NABP NAPLEX Content Outline
Title page, effective-date subtitle
- NABP NAPLEX Content Outline
Content Domain Weights, page 3
- NABP NAPLEX test day information
Test Day Information, exam overview
- NABP NAPLEX exam results
Exam Results, opening paragraph
- NABP NAPLEX application page
Steps to Apply for the NAPLEX, step 3, Purchase the Exam
- NABP NAPLEX application page
Steps to Apply for the NAPLEX, step 4, Schedule the Exam With Pearson
Related license preparation
This examination may be required or accepted as an alternative, depending on the license and application pathway.
- Pharmacist License; Pharmacist Preceptor Certification; Pharmacy Certificate Denoting Special Recognition; Temporary Pharmacist Certificate
- Pharmacist License; Inactive Pharmacist License
- Pharmacist; Collaborative Drug Therapy Management; Certificate of Administration; Contraceptive Authorization; Inactive Pharmacist; Inactive Senior Pharmacist
- Pharmacist
- Certificate of Registration as a Pharmacist; Military - Temporary Nevada Pharmacist Registration
- Pharmacist
- Pharmacist License; Temporary Courtesy License for a Nonresident Military Spouse (Pharmacist)
- Registered Pharmacist; Pharmacist Clinician
- Pharmacist; limited (intern) permit
- Pharmacist
- Pharmacist License; Temporary Pharmacist License