How Many Questions Are on the PTCB Exam? And What Are They Like?
One career is quickly becoming more in demand: pharmacy technician. Not only can you make a good living as a pharmacy tech, but you can also find a sense of fulfillment by helping patients receive the right medications and assisting pharmacists in their daily tasks.
To become a pharmacy technician, you don’t have to have a specific degree. Instead, you must complete an accredited training program, get some experience, and most importantly, pass the exam administered by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), which is called the PTCE.
If you’re getting ready to take this next step, you should know as much as possible about the test. So how many questions are on the PTCB exam? And what can you expect from them?
How Many Questions Are on the PTCB Exam?
Get to know the basics first so that you’re not surprised when you start your test.
Total Questions
The PTCB exam is made up of 90 multiple-choice questions. Of these 90, however, only 80 count toward your score. How does that work?
10 questions are not scored, but they’re mixed in with the other questions. Importantly, you won’t know which are which. Although these 10 don’t affect your score, you need to answer every single question because it’s impossible to guess which ones matter and which don’t.
Exam Length
The exam lasts a total of two hours. You will have five minutes at the start to go through a short tutorial. Then, you will have an additional five minutes at the end of the exam to complete a survey.
What Are the Questions Like?
The best way to prepare for the PTCB exam is to know what type of questions you’ll have to answer.
Types of Questions
The questions in the PTCB exam are multiple-choice. Each question has four possible answers, but only one answer is correct.
Content Areas Covered
The exam will contain questions that pertain to four important knowledge categories.
Medications (40%)
Almost half of the test will cover medications. This section might include questions about the names of medications and therapeutic equivalence.
Other questions will test your knowledge about drug interactions and dosages, as well as routes of administration and usual durations of therapies. You will be tested on medication storage and side effects, too.
Federal Requirements (12.5%)
The federal requirements section will test you on U.S. laws regarding the handling and disposal of many different pharmaceutical substances, along with the laws about controlled substance prescriptions. You will also have to know about FDA recall requirements.
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance (26.25%)
The PTCB exam will test you on error prevention strategies and your knowledge of high-risk medications and their look-alikes. You will also need to know about event reporting procedures and various types of prescription errors.
Order Entry and Processing (21.25%)
You will answer questions about label and processing procedures, lot numbers and expiration dates, and medical terminology.
What Is the Difficulty Level?
You can expect the test to include basic knowledge questions as well as application-based ones that ensure you know not just the rote answer but also how to use the information in real-life scenarios.
Understanding the Scoring
As soon as you’re done with the exam, you’ll receive a preliminary test result. Here’s what to know about your score.
Scoring Methods
The PTCB is scored on a scale of 1,000 to 1,600. To pass, you need a minimum score of 1,400. Because of the way the PTCB scores the exam, you will not know how many questions you have to get right to earn this score. Remember that only 80 of the 90 questions will count toward your test result.
Unscored Questions
But what about those 10 unscored questions? The PTCB uses them to try out new questions for future exams. Keep in mind that you won’t be able to tell the types of questions apart.
How to Prepare for the PTCB Exam
Even if you’re certain you know all of the information that you will be tested on, you need to prepare for the PTCB exam. Questions may be worded in ways you don’t expect, and that could throw you off.
One of the best ways to study is to take practice exams. You can find some online that test you on the exact categories that appear on the PTCB in the same multiple-choice format.
When you’re deciding which section to focus on, remember that the medications section will make up 40% of the exam, with patient safety and quality assurance coming in next. Spend a lot of time on these topics so that you’ll be prepared for the majority of the test.
As you take practice exams, keep the two-hour window in mind. Learn how to pace yourself so that you don’t run out of time on the day of the actual test.
Finally, rote learning will only get you so far. The test will have questions worded in such a way that they’ll require more than memorization; instead, they’ll call on your critical thinking skills. Your PTCB exam preparation should be thorough enough that you won’t be surprised by how questions are stated.
How Can RxCe Help With Your Pharmacy Tech Journey?
If you’re getting ready to take the next step in your journey toward becoming a certified pharmacy technician, RxCe can help. RxCe provides a variety of accredited courses to fulfill your continuing education (CE) requirements as a pharmacy technician. We also offer certification programs, consisting of eight one-hour modules, each contributing to your CE credits. With RxCe, you can enhance your skills and career at an affordable price, ensuring professional growth without financial strain.
