Becoming a Pharmacy Technician - Part 10 - PTCE Passed!

You can "click to enlarge", but pretty much is says - Result: Pass!  This is the sheet they gave me as I walked out of the testing room and back into the reception area.  That was nice since I couldn't take a picture or a screen capture of the results page on the testing computer.

As you can see, I passed! But that's the end of the story. Back to the beginning...

Prepping

I got plenty of sleep, printed out directions, and the ATT (Authorization To Test) and Registration emails to make sure I didn't miss anything. Made sure I had my Driver's License for ID, and made sure I didn't need to bring a calculator or pen.

Arrival

The directions were pretty simple, I only missed the very last turn. What was unexpected was that the door was locked! I pulled out the emails to see if there were any instructions for getting into the building, but as I was doing that, a girl (who I assume just finished taking whatever exam she was there for) showed up, trying to get out. She tried opening the door and saw that it was locked. I gave her a shrug, she read the sign on the door that was facing her, then found the "exit button". She opened the door, and we smiled at each other and went our separate ways.

Checking In

I was given the testing rules to read over concerning not revealing details of the exam (which I'm taking to mean specific details, not broad strokes) and all that. When I finished, the receptionist asked for two forms of ID! The email just said to bring one!  My eyes widened, but of course the second ID could just be my debit card, so no worries there.  She confirmed my identity, scanned my finger and took my picture.

Then it was off to the other staff member that sat right by the door and monitored all the test takers.  He gave me a calculator, some laminated graph paper, and two marker to write with. He told me some additional rules and procedures, including telling me that I could not erase anything I wrote down. If I need more space to write on, then I would just have to raise my hand, and he'd give me more.  (But there were five sheets, and you could write on both sides.  I ended only using just one side of the first page.)  Then he asked me if I wanted earplugs or tissue, which was a pleasant surprise. For some reason, sometimes when I take exams, my nose starts to act up, so I took some tissue just in case.

Exam

I did sign that non-disclosure agreement, so there won't be much detail.  But I can tell you how I felt about it all.  It took 5 minutes to finish the tutorial, leaving me 115 minutes to take the exam.  I finished my first run through with 45 minutes left on the clock, then took 20 more minutes to go over the questions I wanted a second look at.  I was trying to take my time and I still had 25 minutes left.  I'm sure if I wanted I could have finished in under and hour.

There was one question that I just felt like I was missing something incredibly obvious. I also started to feel a bit tired towards the end. It could have been the turkey I ate before I left.

Overall I knew what I was doing.  There were some questions that I expected to not know, and some others where I could make some educated guesses.  A couple made me want to slap myself for going blank on a simple piece of info.  Pretty much it was like a reaction to many other multiple choice exams.  I was sort of nervous when I finally clicked "End Exam", but the results popped up, and I passed!

Next Step

Next up is waiting for the official results to arrive in the mail and then complete the registration paperwork to work in California.

But as of tonight, I'm Gerry, CPhT!