Rating:  - Decent overall prep for PTCE
I purchased this book a couple of months ago to prepare for the certification exam--which I took today. A couple of thoughts now that I've been through the experience:
1. The organization and general information provided in the book was FAIR-to-GOOD. There were some questions that came out of left field not covered in this text, but for the most part it was sufficient in the procedures, practice, and regulatory material. A couple of practice tests, but they seemed to use the end-of-chapter questions a bit much.
2. The math preparation is VERY GOOD. Lots of math chapters and questions. I didn't see a single Q not covered in the text. Of course, practice helps.
3. Pharmacology coverage and organziation is POOR. There texts assumes complete knowledge of physiology in the discussion of the various drugs and mechanisms of action. The chapters in drugs are incomplete, confusion, and occaisionally tough to follow.
Overall, a very good prep guide. But you better get flash cards and/or a primer on the pharmacology with this one!
Rating: - Delmar's Pharmacy Technician Certfication Review
I HAD ANOTHER CERTIFICATION BOOK WHICH HAD A LOT OF WRONG ANSWERS & TYPO'S. THIS BOOK EXPLAINS EVERYTHING VERY SIMPLY & IN A LANGUAGE THAT IS EASLILY UNDERSTOOD. IT FOCUSES ON WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW IN ALL AREAS & NOT A BUNCH OF INFORMATION THAT IS TRULY UNNECESSARY. ALSO IT COVER ENOUGH MATH HOPEFULLY TO GET YOU TO PAST THE TEST. I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANYONE STUDYING FOR THE PTCB EXAM.
Rating: - Just finished exam
My wife just took her exam this morning. She thinks she did good, but can't really predict whether it was enough to pass.
She took a class which provided two texts and drug cards:
1. Pharmacy Practice for Technicians, 3rd ed - Durgin
2. Complete Math Review for the Pharmacy Technician, 2nd ed - Hopkins
3. Pharmacy Drug Cards, SFI Medical Publishing
Based on reviews here, I purchased two more books:
4. Comprehensive Exam Review for the Pharmacy Technician - Moini
5. this one
If we had to do it all over, we would not even read 1-3 and go with 4 and 5. 5 covered the math more thoroughly than 2. My wife ran out of time on some more difficult math questions, but handled most with no problem. 4 helped by categorizing the drugs and reinforced her general knowledge.
These two helped her get through some 85% of the questions. There were some (eg. pharmacy law) that were not covered, so we might seek out even some more books.
Rating:  - Has potential... needs editing
I'm presently going through a certification program and my class uses this book. There are so many errors and typos. My teacher had to correct many of them for us just so we can make sense of the information. This book needs a new editor. Do not waste your money.
Rating: - Don't Buy This Book
One of my pharmacy technicians purchased this book to prepare for the exam. However, very quickly she realized that the book was full of errors.
The law section is written from the perspective of the author's state of practice (we assume as none of it has any bearing on Massachusetts law). Each state has its own set of rules and regulations pertaining to the practice of pharmacy.
Secondly, the calculation shown to determine if a prescriber's DEA number is valid is just wrong. It seems no one validated the information within.
She found more errors in calculations. Ultimately, this individual ended up having to spend additional funds to acquire another book.
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