Pharmacy Oral Exam
Oral Exam Marking Criteria:
Prior to commencing your oral exam preparation make sure to have a read through the marking guide to know how you should be preparing for the oral exam. The guide will provide information on the time limit, if references can be used and the content you will be tested on in each section.A PDF copy of the guide is provided below:
The structure of the oral exam consists of 3 sections:
- Primary Healthcare: In this section you are presented with a primary health care scenario where you are expected to provide the appropriate otc treatment and counselling.
To prepare for this section I did the following:
- Created a structure sheet for the Primary Healthcare Section: I used this structure sheet when practicing counselling for the primary healthcare section, tailor to your approach. This structure included things such as:
Ø Taking a Medication history
Ø Taking a Medical history
Ø Asking about Symptoms
Ø Asking Referral questions
Structure sheet for the Primary Healthcare Section of the exam:
- Prepared a practice OTC product treatment sheet: This sheet provided information on products to treat the common conditions presented in community pharmacy. By highlighting 2/3 products for each condition, I was able to memorise information about the products such as dose, drug name, age limits, and pregnancy use to treat the common OTC conditions presented in community pharmacy.
Ø I made sure to have 1 product to use specifically for pregnancy in each condition
Ø And, 1 product that can be used in the younger age group
Practice sheet (resource) used for the Primary Healthcare Section of the exam:
Please find below a link to my google drive for the Primary healthcare sheet I used to prepare for the Primary Healthcare:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1glz5gYG1okOZAIuZOabbw4uIghkXB2jQ
- Used the UniSA OTC Formulary for visual representation of the different products available in community pharmacy. This helped to have a visual understanding of the products that I was recommending and also to know what products are available.
Below is a UniSA OTC formulary which may be of benefit to you for your reference when practicing for your OTC preparation:
4. Structure for the Legal and Ethical Practice section of the exam:
Below is a structure which I used to practice for the legal and ethical practice section of the exam. Specifically words which I used at the start of each section to highlight that I am aware of the specific documents relevant to the legal and ethical aspects of pharmacy.
5. Resources used to prepare for the legal and ethical section of the exam
6. Cheat sheet (problem solving sheet) for the prescription problem solving section of the oral exam (which you can take into the exam)
In this section, I believe the most important thing to be aware of are any recent changes that may be causing issues with patients medication management/ health.
Please find attached an updated version of the Prescription Problem Solving Structure to support you in gaining a comprehensive medication history.
7. Resources used during the oral exam day
- MIMSONLINE - Ipad
- Prescription problem solving cheat sheet
- AMH & APF flagged (NO CONTENTS PAGE)
**Disclaimer: This is my personal experience and in no way shape or form am I liable for your performance in the pharmacy exams you undertake. This information is only provided to give an insight into my personal experience which may benefit you in your intern year and should not form the complete basis for your study.