NAPNES pharm. cert

Nurses LPN/LVN

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Anyone take the NAPNES pharm exam? Seems like a lot of employers in my area require it. How did you study? Should I plunk down the cash for the test prep materials from NAPNES or can I just pull out my pharmacology book from school?

Thanks for any help. :redpinkhe

pagandeva2000, LPN

7,984 Posts

Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

I wanted to know the same, because I was thinking about taking it, also. It has not been required in my area, but I would like to have it just in case.

Well, my suggestion (for the moment), is to review an NCLEX book such as Saunders for medications and practice questions. I think that Saunders has as much as 600 or more pharm questions that can be used, at least for starters. I would like to see the responses!

OldMareLPN

166 Posts

Specializes in Hospice, ALF, Prison.

I paid for the on line presentation. I think it was thirty dollars.

Do not purchase this as it was not a thorough presentation.

I bought 'Pharmacology and the Nursing Process' from Amazon. It was about 90 bucks, but there are earlier additions used available which I think would suffice.

The book comes with a CD which has minimal usefulness, but the book is thorough, and well presented. The book is well worth the money.

The book covers subject matter that was not covered in our brief pharmacology review. I never knew what 'first pass effect was' until I read about it.

My employer requires this certification and as the application for it is 100 and the test is 60 I felt the book was a good investment.

Stolen tag line: Lord keep one arm around me and one arm over my mouth.

:cool:

pagandeva2000, LPN

7,984 Posts

Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
I paid for the on line presentation. I think it was thirty dollars.

Do not purchase this as it was not a thorough presentation.

I bought 'Pharmacology and the Nursing Process' from Amazon. It was about 90 bucks, but there are earlier additions used available which I think would suffice.

The book comes with a CD which has minimal usefulness, but the book is thorough, and well presented. The book is well worth the money.

The book covers subject matter that was not covered in our brief pharmacology review. I never knew what 'first pass effect was' until I read about it.

My employer requires this certification and as the application for it is 100 and the test is 60 I felt the book was a good investment.

Stolen tag line: Lord keep one arm around me and one arm over my mouth.

:cool:

I also have this book, and checked it on line. Now, it is about $70 and maybe $10 more with the study guide. It was helpful through school. I was thinking about taking this exam myself just for the heck of it, because you never know what would be required later. What I did like best about the book was that it gave study suggestions that followed me through the nursing program. It was not the recommended text for pharmacology, but it helped me much better than the other that was mandatory. Another great thing is that they do have older editions for as cheap as $0.01.

Did you find that the NAPES cert exam was very hard, or was it okay (at least compared to NCLEX)?

OldMareLPN

166 Posts

Specializes in Hospice, ALF, Prison.

I haven't taken the test yet.

pagandeva2000, LPN

7,984 Posts

Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
I haven't taken the test yet.

Oh, okay. Do you plan to? Again, I think that the book you suggested is a great one. Basically, to sum up what a person should do to prepare, I think that a good pharm text that can summarize information is the best bet. I would certainly practice NCLEX-styled pharm questions off of a CD ROM to get started.

OldMareLPN

166 Posts

Specializes in Hospice, ALF, Prison.

I do plan to take the test. As I understand it, the test is 100 questions based on the text mentioned that can be taken on your home PC.

I am not so worried about the test as much as if I were to use the designation on a resume, people would assume I have a knowledge base on pharmacology. Thus I should be able to answer questions on the subject matter.

So yes I am studying for the test as well as trying to absorb and hold the information. I hope to take it the first week of September.

A bit more daunting for a old horse :coollook:.

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