A pharmacy colleague has failed the NAPLEX two times.
The rate at which pharmacy school graduates fail the State Board exam is unprecedented.All graduates of a college of pharmacy need to pass the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination in order to be licensed and practice in the United States.Since 2012 when the pass rate was at a peak high of ninety-seven percent (97%), there has been a steady decrease in the rate, leading to an all-time national low of 85%.
The NAPLEX pass rates have just been released.The results are slightly up compared to the previous year, but many are hoping that the trend will continue into the future.In the three year period from 2015 to 2017, 14,448 graduates took the exam and passed, with 85% of them passing.
There was a correlation between the exam pass rates for graduates who were taking the NAPLEX for the first time and previous attempts to take it.The number of graduates who took the exam for the first time in the three year period is shown.
The percentage of graduates who passed or failed the NAPLEX on their first attempt is what determines the ranking of a college of pharmacy.If one only looks at the total number of passing and failing graduates, then the size of the school and the amount of graduates presents a misleading result.
A total of one hundred and twenty-nine pharmacy schools are accredited by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.The graduation class is greater than thirty-five students.The rankings do not include the Lebanon American University.It would be unfair to rank the school number one on our list, since only two graduates took the exam in 2015, and only one graduate in 2016 did so.To keep the pass/fail rankings in perspective, let's take a quick look at the ten largest and ten smallest pharmacy schools.327 graduates from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy Boston.St. John's University is located at 307 3.The Lake Erie School of Pharmacy.The Massachusetts College of Pharmacy is in Worcester.The University of Florida.The Roseman University of Health Sciences has a degree in health sciences.The university is called Nova Southeastern University.Midwestern University Chicago is located in Chicago.The St. Louis College of Pharmacy has a pharmacy.The Albany College of Pharmacy has the smallest number of graduating students.The University of Wyoming has 39 graduates.The University of Puerto Rico.There is a university in Oklahoma State.The university is called Cedarville University.Thomas Jefferson University had a score of 48.The University of Maryland Eastern Shore.Husson University had a score of 52 8.The University of South Florida.The University of Utah.The university is called Howard University.
Many employers in both retail and hospital pharmacy settings hire a recently graduating student from a College of Pharmacy prior to their taking the NAPLEX State Board Exam.Everyone does it to attract the top talent and compete for the new graduates versus the competition.Before taking the state board exam, many graduates will accept a job offer if they pass the NAPLEX.When a pharmacy graduate fails the exam, what happens?Over a hundred (100) pharmacy graduates taking the exam for the first time are failing, as one looks closely at the trends discussed.Many pharmacy owners and hospital pharmacy managers are left in a desperate situation and must spend their time and valuable resources searching for a qualified pharmacist.