It’s a MOCkery

August 29, 2008 at 12:17 pm | Posted in pharmacy | Leave a comment

Last night was my one and only training day for night shift. It wasn’t busy at all, but since it was the first of the string, my sleep schedule is now totally whacked. I came home and crashed, but now I’m up again.

Tonight I fly solo. I’m sure there will be at least one or two things that stump me, and that I’ll have to figure out on my own. But that’s how it is when the buck stops with you, and it’s a constant, regardless of how long you spend training.

Luckily, this pharmacist stint has given me an unexpected opportunity to study for and take my Pharmacotherapy Board recertification exam. My certification period was up last year, and there was no way I could have recertified at that time. So I thought it was a lost cause. But apparently, if you have a good reason, you can petition for an extension. And med school/internship is pretty bulletproof in that respect.

The thing is, it’s a hard exam with a 50% failure rate, and that’s within a group representing some of the most knowledgeable practitioners in the field. Not the kind of test you can take cold and expect to pass if you’re not working as a clinical pharmacist. And there aren’t many jobs even in clinical pharmacy that obviate the need to study for it. So most people choose to recertify via continuing education rather than risk failing the examination. But that requires 150 hours of specially designated CE. I had about 30 before I started medical school, and hadn’t done any since. So that method wasn’t feasible, and the exam was my only option. Consequently, it’s nice to have the time to study. And the resources to purchase some study aids.

So the test is about a month away, which means I have my work cut out for me.