First off I would like to say that I did not come up with this idea on my own. I followed the instructions shared by Dr. Erin Mays. She is @erinmays_pharmd on IG and has a blog as well, check her out!
I get asked a LOT how I got my RxPrep book spiral bound so I figured it would be easiest to have a permanent blog post about this.
What is the RxPrep Book?
For those that are not familiar, RxPrep Book is a comprehensive study guide book for the NAPLEX, The North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination, which is required by all pharmacists in the US to practice pharmacy (along with the MPJE law exam).
This book is probably the most widely suggested study tool for the NAPLEX. You can purchase it on Amazon or at RxPrep.com for about $188.
I purchased the most up-to-date version, but if you want to use an older version be sure to check RxPrep for any updates to clinical information for the year you are taking the NAPLEX.
PS. You don’t need to buy the RxPrep book until the start of APPE rotations. I would not recommend getting it earlier because guidelines change and you really would be better off studying your course materials for P1-P3 exams.
Why bother getting it spiral-bound?
This book is massive, I’m talking almost 1,000 pages. I didn’t want to be studying off of this curved mountain of pages or have to carry the heavy thing around everywhere.
Getting it spiral bound also allows you to split it up into smaller books if you want to, which is what I did.
I honestly wish I would have done this sooner, like at the beginning of 4th year APPE rotations. It makes it a lot easier to carry to rotation if needed. I also used the book to review clinical topics for residency interview preparation, and studying from the massive original book was not fun, lol.
How to get your RxPrep Book spiral bound:
Where to go: FedEx (where I went), Staples, anywhere that does printing services pretty much
Cost: will vary but mine cost $23
What to ask for: just walk in and ask if you can have your book spiral bound. If you want it split into separate books, be sure to ask for this. The FedEx worker told me he prefers when people separate sections by post-it notes. I did this and wrote on a post-it note what page numbers should be in each separate spiral-bound book.
Time: 1-day turnaround for mine, but I have heard it being faster for others
Optional: ask them to make copies of the RxPrep front page so all the covers are the same.
How I divided my RxPrep book:
I split mine into 3, with Book 1 containing all the calculations and Book 2 and 3 containing the clinical chapters.
Book 1: Table of Contents, Chapters 1-17, Chapters 76-82, Index/formula page.
Book 2: Chapters 18-46
Book 3: Chapters 47-75
I hope this helped! Comment and let me know if you end up getting yours spiral bound too and how it turns out. Good luck with studying! ☺️
