I'll Give It a Shot

I have been a busy bee lately! I can't believe that tomorrow is already Thursday... I haven't gotten enough done, yet! Today I went with Deb to teach an immunization class- a little scary, isn't it?! I do like to teach, but I definitely need some practice with the material and just to become more comfortable speaking in front of groups. If all works out, I'll be able to give a couple of lectures at the University of Rhode Island's Pharmacy School this upcoming school year.

I actually *LOVE* that pharmacists now have the opportunity in all fifty states to immunize patients. Just like anything else, certain restrictions do vary based on the state in which you practice. For example, pharmacists in Rhode Island can administer any type of vaccine but only to patients at least 19 years of age. I'll be helping at flu clinics in our stores in the fall, along with a few other opportunities around vaccines. I'm going to participate in a few activities with our company's wellness department to educate employees on site, one of which will be education around the importance of vaccines. In a couple of weeks, I'll actually be traveling to California to help Mike (who runs the company's immunization program) train more pharmacists- the more experience, the better!

Tomorrow I'm taking the NAPLEX exam, which is the national licensing exam for pharmacists, followed by the Rhode Island law exam (MPJE) next Tuesday. I will be so relieved when they are done! I did go through the APhA review book (almost 900 pages!) over the past 4 weeks, but what I didn't realize is that the cd they provided had questions on it. If only I had realized it before tonight! I took a few quizzes on chapters where I'm a little less comfortable, but I decided that it would be a bad idea for me to try to finish all of the questions on the cd (900 questions!). The last thing I need to do is be more nervous, even though it's probably the most important test I'll ever take (no pressure). As Deb says, it is a minimum competency exam... how well you do doesn't determine how good of a pharmacist you are, you just need to pass!

No one actually gets the same test, so it will be interesting to see what I get! I'm taking it at 2 PM tomorrow in Warwick. Deb was nice enough to let me have the morning off (you're the best, Deb!), so I won't be rushed (you all know I'm always late, but I am working on this) or stressed out about things going on at work before I leave (not that work stresses me out that much, but there is always lots to do!). Wish me luck! I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow....