NAPLEX Exam Syllabus

The NAPLEX Exam Syllabus is very broad and is divided into three major parts, with the first part covering more than half of the entire test (56%) entitled "Assess Pharmacotherapy to Assure Safe and Effective Therapeutic Outcomes". The second part of the syllabus covers about a third of the whole exam (33%) and is called "Assess Safe and Accurate Preparation and Dispensing of Medications". The third and last part takes care of the smallest percentile (around a tenth), entitled "Assess, Recommend, and Provide Health care Information that Promotes Public Health" (Approximately 11% of Test).

These titles are a little ambiguous, so we have dedicated this page to try and understand a little more about the different parts.

Naplex Exam Part I (56%)

The first part is responsible for the assessment of pharmacotherapy, with the sole intent of safeguarding the outcome of therapeutics by highlighting the signs and symptoms of a disorder and asking questions about it. The syllabus puts into perspective the historical background of various diseases, laboratory findings and appropriate deductions and conclusions. This part of the NAPLEX exam syllabus also aims at the identification of therapeutic agents and their categories, the administration of drugs, precautionary measures to be taken for each of the doses prescribed, and what may amount to proper or improper usage. The side effects of each medication are given detailed scrutiny, together with the appropriate recommendations.

Naplex Exam Part II (33%)

The second part of the NAPLEX syllabus is responsible for the assessment of safe, as well as precise, preparation and administration of drugs. Here, the syllabus covers the safety around proper medication, as well as keeping up to date with the current trends.

The other general procedures include the management of medications all the way through to discarding the remains of the packaging materials. At this juncture, the students are taken through the physical actions and reactions of various drugs, their specific names as well as their availability to various users, at hospitals or in the free market. The other major component here is the chemical and nutritional composition of each drug- the percentages have to be proper, and the ratios act as a core point of reference in administering any dosage. 

Naplex Exam Part III (11%)

The third and last part of the NAPLEX syllabus revolves around the assessment of healthcare and makes the necessary recommendations with regard to public health. Here, guidelines on the choice and application of various appliances in the surgical sense, and other general medical procedures are given. Handling of emergency cases, as well as immunization programs, are featured here. The whole concept here is to ensure maximum healthcare.

Part 1

Assess Pharmacotherapy to Assure Safe and Effective Therapeutic Outcomes (Approximately 56% of Test)

• Identify and assess the need for treatment and/or referral using medication/disease histories, laboratory, diagnostic methods, instruments, and interpret their results.
• Define the aetiology, terminology, signs, and symptoms associated with diseases.
• Understand genetic, and biosocial factors, and concurrent drug therapy, pharmacoeconomic factors, dosing regimen, dosage forms, delivery systems and routes of administration relevant to patient care.
• Identify the different classes of therapeutic agents and describe their known or postulated sites and mechanisms of action.
• Understand problems that can occur with drug administration, including pharmacotherapeutic duplications, interactions with other drugs, potential contraindications, precautions associated with a drug product's active and inactive ingredients, medication non-adherence, misuse, or abuse.
  
• Understand how drugs can cause adverse reactions, allergies, side effects, iatrogenic, and drug-induced illness, including their management and prevention.
• Understand physicochemical, pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties, pharmacologic actions, and stability properties of drugs and how this applies to appropriate drug dosing regimens.
• Understand how pharmaceutics/kinetics properties of administration, dosage forms, and pharmaceutical characteristics of drug dosage forms and delivery systems, assure bioavailability and enhance therapeutic efficacy.
• Drug regimens for monitoring and assessing the patient and/or patient information, collaborating with other healthcare professionals, and providing patient education to enhance safe, effective, and economic patient outcomes.
• Pharmacotherapeutic outcomes and endpoints.
• Be able to understand current drug regimens and recommend pharmacotherapeutic alternatives or modifications.

Area 2

• Perform pharmaceutical calculations relating to compounding, dispensing, and administering medication, the caloric content of nutrient sources, nutritional requirements, the rate of drug administration, concentrations, ratio strengths, and/or extent of ionization.
• Understand the safe and effective use of medicines and their promotion.
• Identify drug products by their physical attributes, generic, brand, and/or common names and whether they are commercially available or available on a non-prescription basis.
• Understand pharmacokinetic parameters in relation to quality assurance data to determine equivalence among manufactured drug products, and identify products for which.
• Documented evidence of inequivalence exists.
• Understand information regarding appropriate packaging, storage, handling, administration, and disposal of medications.
• Identify and provide information regarding the appropriate use of equipment and apparatus required to administer medications.
• Good Manufacturing Practice and extemporaneous preparations, sterile products and how this relates to incompatibility, degradation and stability.
• Identify the important physicochemical properties of a preparation's active and inactive ingredients.

Area 3

• Promote optimal healthcare.
• Suitability, accuracy, and reliability of clinical and pharmacoeconomic data by analyzing experimental design, statistical tests, interpreting results, and formulating conclusions.
• Understand medical conditions, wellness, dietary supplements, medical devices, prevention and treatment of diseases and medical conditions, including emergency patient care and vaccinations.
• Understand how nutrition and non-drug measures relate to a healthy lifestyle.
• In relation to dietary supplements provide information regarding the documented uses, adverse effects, and toxicities.
• Recommend and provide information regarding the selection, use, and care of medical/surgical appliances and devices, self-care products, and durable medical equipment, as well as products and techniques for self-monitoring of health status and medical conditions.