I took the MCQ in May. How's everyone feeling about the results dropping tomorrow? I'm honestly so nervous! Haha I really don't want to have to pay 14k for that bridging course if I don't pass the MCQ or OSCE first time around.
I am a recent pharmacy technician graduate.
How should I prepare for the exams and the PACE assessment? I am planning to write the PEBC next year and the Jurisprudence this year. When is a good time to do the PACE assessment and register as an intern tech?
My pre application is still in the process. I am currently trying to find a job in order to gain experience and help me with the exams..but no luck yet.
Any tips on how to succeed as a recent graduate with minimal experience?
Thank you!!
I am a 4th-year Pharm. D. student from India. I am planning to write my PEBC after passing. I heard it's too difficult for international graduates. Is it true? Can anyone share their experience? Also, is it possible to clear it in the first attempt?
The results are coming out for osce and im freaking out.. i missed up 3 stations and the other stations were not even fully done.. i dont want to fail and redo the osce :( can someone who already passed give me their insights?
#pebc #osce
Not a pharmacist — I'm building software in the minor ailments space and want the real picture before I build more of it.
Two things I'm trying to get straight:
Blunt answers welcome, including "not worth it, here's why." Happy to keep it in the comments, or grab 15 min if you'd rather talk.
Not gonna lie, when I started prepping I had this dread that I was going to be at a permanent disadvantage vs people who could study full time. No shade to them but like… some of us have rent and bills and can’t just quit and grind Pharmachieve 8 hours a day.
I work full time (not even in a pharmacy, retail management) and still managed to build a study system that got me through. Writing this for anyone doom-scrolling this sub on their lunch break wondering how they’re supposed to fit this exam into an already full life.
The biggest mindset shift: stop trying to find “more time.” You don’t have more time. You have the same 2-3 hours a day everyone else with a job has. The difference is what you do with them.
What actually worked for me:
I stopped doing marathon weekend study sessions and switched to short, focused daily blocks. Consistency beat volume every time — my scores moved more from doing 45 focused mins daily than from a single 6 hour Saturday cram.
Built a tracker so every session had ONE job (fix weakest topic) instead of vague “review everything” sessions that go nowhere after a 10 hour shift.
Some weeks were brutal, I got sick for over a week during prep and watched my scores crater from 60% down to 40%
Learned to study “tired but functional” instead of waiting for the mythical perfect focused mental state that never comes when you also have a job.
I also summarized all high yield topics into a congested pdf so I can read it during work and on my break times, I focused on first line tx, s/e, special populations, c/i.
The stuff that’s specific to working + studying:
Commute time, breaks, even the walk to your car, all usable in small doses if you have the right format of material (I’ll explain what worked in comments if useful)
You will NOT have time to reread everything twice. You have to be ruthless about identifying weak topics early and living there instead of “being thorough.”
If anyone’s in the same boat, working full time, trying to find hours that don’t exist, drop your schedule in the comments and I’ll tell you honestly what I’d cut or change. Been exactly where you are.
Why is it so hard for IPGs to get internship placement, we go through a lot to pass the exams and getting a preceptor for internship feels more harder than the exams itself. It can be really frustrating
I am working in community pharmacy for 6 years now. I really think it is becoming very stressful. It is affecting my mental health and unfortunately affecting my family and my kids. ☹️
I am at a point where I think to quit everyday, but not sure what else to do !!!
I am venting here , so thank you for reading this.
Also I wonder if anyone was like me and was successful finding an alternative ( something that doesn’t have to deal with customers ) . Some of them can be really rude and ruin your whole day, even if you are trying to help.
Thanks a lot for taking the time to read and comment.
Much appreciated..
I'm a Canadian Citizen who became a pharmacist in the US in 2018 and have worked there ever since as a clinical specialist in the emergency department. I'm thinking of moving back to Canada and have signed up to sit for the Pharmacist Qualifying Examination - Part I (MCQ).
I know nothing of management in Canada and will have to become acquainted with differences in units (ie. mmol/L vs mg/dL).
What is the general consensus for best study materials?
Hello everyone,
I am a Canadian citizen who went to pharmacy school in the US and unfortunately was unsuccessful at passing the PEBC exams to practice as a licensed pharmacist in Canada. Long story short, I took the MCQ exam 4 times (this includes the remediation requirements) and was still unsuccessful. It was the hardest exam I've ever taken in my life and felt it was not an accurate representation of my knowledge and capabilities as a pharmacist. I've spent a lot of time grieving and I'm not sure if anyone else has experienced this type of failure but if you or anyone you know has gone through this please let me know how you navigated this.
Before anyone suggests this, working as a pharmacist in the US is NOT an option for me and so I would really appreciate if someone could let me know what other career paths there are with a PharmD in Canada. It is my dream to live and work in Canada so I'm open to pivoting career paths if need be. I do not want to work as a pharmacy technician and it is also not feasible. I have over $200k of student loans as I went to school in the states and had to take out a student LOC. I'm trying my best to stay positive but it's been really hard not to feel like I've ruined my life by going into pharmacy. Had I known it would have been this hard to become a licensed pharmacist in Canada, I never would have chosen this profession.
I'm really hoping someone in the reddit world can give me some hope and let me know what my options are given my current situation. I am definitely open to going back to school, although not sure how I will afford it as I do not want to take out anymore loans.
If you have a PharmD and pivoted into another industry or role, what was the role and how did you do it? I am open to working in the pharmaceutical industry but don't have any connections which I've heard is the only way to get your foot in the door. I am also interested in teaching at a university and women's health research. Any and all advice is welcome!
Thank you!
Retail is killing me. I cant stand for 8 hours being disrespected by seniors. I need to find something else for the sake of my mental health. I am an IPG and I do not have any industrial experience. Can somebody pls pls pls help me out!!!! I am helpless and I want to escape this hell. I have applied to so many positions since February and I’ve only been getting rejections.
Any guidance would be appreciated😭😭😭
Hi everyone, I see a lot of posts here about exams, licensing, job hunting, stress, career moves and all that. Makes sense, pharmacy can be pretty heavy sometimes. But I was wondering about the other side too. For those of you still working in pharmacy, what actually keep you in it? Is it the patients? The team? The routine? The pay? Job stability? Those few moments where you feel like you really helped someone? Or maybe just because after all the bad days, there’s still something about it that still feel worth it. Not looking for perfect answers. Just curious what people honestly thinks, good or bad. For me it's probably, honestly, the knowledge you get about all the medications out there, and also the access it give you to pharmacists, and sometimes even doctors when you really need it.
It took me 6 years to finish my undergrad, and because of a couple of years of fuck ups and crippling anxiety you can imagine my grades not being the most competitive. Once upon a time, I had a dream of going into health care or dental care, and as a Canadian, it's highly competitive here. Even though I worked my ass off this past year and ended the year on the dean's list, my last mistakes will haunt me. My cGPA is meets the minimum, but it's not competitive anymore. So I have been getting rejected from pharmD schools that I applied to this year.
On top of that I have no idea what to do next, get a job? masters?
I have a biology/chem degree, and my options feel slim for a job.
Any advice on career paths with this degree? where can I get an entry level research position?
I am also stupid and wasn't able to make meaningful connections with professors, so I am not sure how to approach someone now about a master's supervisor.
Is a masters even worth it, to boost my application if I want to apply to different types of grad schools?
Any type of advice would be so helpful or what path you ended up in if you were ever in the same position as me once.
I am pharm d graduate, got licensed in 2024.
I am planning to move canada, before considering moving willing to take EE exam. If anyone is interested do let me know. We will share notes and stuff and plan a roadmap.
#pbec2026