Hi guys! Im back with another post! *Yeheeeey!! Im so proud of myself! I hope this will not be the last hahaha*
So for todays post, Im gonna share to you my experiences before, during and after the board exam and some (helpful) tips *wink*
 Review session will be over and youâll have 2-3 weeks of self-study. By that time, you shouldâve already found your own style to an effective study habit. ( my style was, After reading the notes given by the review center ,for the nth time, I jut down important infos to my small notebook so that i can bring it with me whereever I go and that notebook will be my new study material, then after that I reread the (manor) sidebyside not just once but thrice (but it only depends on you if kaya mo then go for it! esp. SOME questions are taken from the pacop questionnaire). If you still have time, reread the drills, compre and preboards given by the review center (It will be really helpful!) One lecturer told us that; the more information or books you read the better.
Go and visit 6 churches ( thats what we did hahaha hindi nga lang 6 kundi 12, wala namang mawawala diba and relaxing din at the same time imagine you get to visit daddy God sa ibat ibang bahay niya and masaya siya.)
If youâre in manila reviewing, go visit St.jude shrine and also bring your clear plastic envelope, pencils and sci cal (you can also bring your uniform) and have it blessed. They have blessings every thursday after the novena.
The key to understanding the infos better is to reread it a couple of times, kahit minsan sukang suka ka na sa binabasa mo, isipin mo nalang na konti nalang RPh ka na!! Laban lang mamsh!!
Give enough time to the module you find hard to understand (for me it was module 1, 2 and 5 hahaha).
1 week before the exam, adjust your body clock. We dont want you to be late to the testing center (I woke up around 4am! excited lang ang ate niyo hahaha).
You have to condition your mind,since the board exam is getting nearer, that you can do this! that youâll ace this board exam! ( in short you need to give yourself a peptalk kasi mappressure ka na and youâll have alot of what ifs~ what if di ako maka answer, what if mahirap yung question, etc. You need to believe in yourself! you gotta stay positive! put your head in the game go wildcats! hahahahaha ).
3 days before the board exam you gotta stop studying. You have to relax, take your mind of things, go see a movie or go to the malls. This is to avoid cramming information bcos in this case you might have mental block and we dont want that to happen. (For me this is optional,i mean kung kaya mo lang kasi some of the higher batch and even the review center recommended this na 3 or 2 days before you have to stop everything na but in my case I didnt stop until the last day, kasi Iâm a bit paranoid and I keep on forgetting alot of important infos and Iâm also used to cramming na hahaha certified professional crammer since higschool!) If you can relax your mind before the exam then thats good but if you cant, like me, go lang nang go as long as you can do it!
Buy your own snacks in advance like biscuits, cookies, ensaymada and candies plus dont forget to bring your water. Put it in a clear plastic (para hindi magkalat yung food mo sa floor) so that you can place it in front of you bcos your bags will be placed beside the proctors.
Arrange the things youâll be needing during the exam ESPECIALLY THE IMPORTANT ONES LIKE THE CLEAR PLASTIC ENVELOPE, LONG BROWN ENVELOPE, NOA, MAILING ENVELOPE,PENCIL, BLACKBALLPEN, SHARPENER AND SCI CAL. You can also bring your reviewer and jacket(just in case)
Go to the testing center earlier than the scheduled time. To avoid being lost inside the school and also for you to prepare yourself.
Listen carefully to the instructions!!
Dont forget to write your seat number on the test paper and shade what set of questionnaires youâre using on the scantron.
Dont waste too much time on 1 item you can go back if you still have enough time coz gurl you still got 99 items left to answer and its really time pressured so you better check your watch.
You can write anything on your questionnaire for computation and stuff but not on your answer sheet/scantron. Find your own style in shading your answer kasi time pressured so dapat mabilis, its either you answer all the items and then shade na after or answer then shade simultaneously, kasi time consuming yung pagshade( what I did was nag answer muna ako sa questionnaire, like first page answer then shade the next page answer and shade, and if my hindi ako alam I move on to the next question tapos babalikan ko nalang)
GUYS WAG NA KAYO MAG ERASURE KASI SENSITIVE YUNG SCANTRON SO MAS BETTER NA KUNG ANO YUNG FIRST ANSWER NIYO YUN NALANG
Regarding sa pamahiin, well wala namang mawawala diba kung susundin mo; I wore a red undies for the two day board exam shhhh hahahahaha, Red handkerchief, red ribbon for snacks hahaha (some students wore red socks, red bra, red lippies) kung anong trip niyo ok lang din hahaha. Also I have my pocket rosary with me.
Every after module youâre given a break time and other students used the time to reread their notes( well sa akin I tried reading but pagod na kasi ako and Im distracted so hindi ko nalang tinuloy magbasa).
Relax and focus! You can do this!
What I did after day 1 was, I went to the church and literally cry there ( hahaha nakakahiya pero wala na akong pakialam kasi ang hirap besh day 1 palang how much more if day 2 na huhuhu.)
After the day 2 exam; according sa pamahiin, kick your chair ( pero hindi ko nagawa kasi nakakahiya and yung chair namin is dikit dikit, so ang ginawa ko nlang is finold ko yung desk nung chair para naman kahit papano eh ânasipaâ ko yung chair hahaha) and do not look back ( besh di ko din nagawa kasi I was waiting for my classmates eh ang tagal nila so I keep on stealing glances kung andyan na ba sila or wala pa) Pero guys hindi ko sinsabi na maniwala kayo diyan, kasi for me in the end si God pa din yung nakakaalam kung papasa ba tayo or not. Kaya wag kayo matakot if di niyo nagawa yung mga pamahiin.
Im so drained mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. And I tell you its okay to cry! Let go of all the frustrations you encountered during the exam. Let it all out!
The most stressful DAYS ever!!
ENJOY! DO A MOVIE MARATHON, GO TO AN EAT ALL YOU CAN, GO TO THE MALL. ITS TIME FOR YOU TO RELAX AFTER A 2 DAY STRESSFUL BOARD EXAM! YOU DESERVE THIS!!
Find something to do para ma distract ka kasi waiting for the result is really nerve-racking (realtalk lang hindi ko nagawang mag enjoy kasi paranoid ako and sabi ko nga sa earlier post ko na Im too hard on myself kasi nga feel ko I dont deserve to enjoy unless lumabas na yung result pero guys wag niyo ko gayahin kasi nga iba iba naman tayo diba hehehe)
For additional infos, I recommend you to read appleton and shargel. I only read this once. ( you can message me if you want a pdf version hihi)
Read (Manor) side by side, Review Center Notes, UP notes (you can message me if you want this notes, tbh it was really helpful)
Module 1: (2hrs)
(Org chem, Gen chem, Inorg chem)
Some questions came from the side by side manor (rephrased questions siya so dont expect na copy paste talaga) also dont depend on the side by side questionnaire bcos 80% of the questions asked still came from the notes. Familiarize the diff. structure of the benzene, may computation and memorize the other names ng mga elements and compounds.
Module 2: (1hr)
(Biochem and Pharmacognosy)
This is year the exam is more on Pharmacognosy rather than biochem. Last board exam, from what Iâve heard mas marami yung biochem and more on pathways siya unlike ngayon more on pcog and walang pathways jusq nakakaloka pinaasa kami hahaha pero anyway thankful pa din ako, pero merong structures nang mga nucleic acid base. Sa pcog mga principal constituents ng mga plants and matching type siya.
Module 3: (2hrs)
(Hospi, Clinpharm, PharmCal, ADR)
Tbh hindi ko alam kung saan nila to nakuha haha ang hirap pero sa review center ang dali lang ng mod 3 whut happened huhuhu. Dont forget the equations used in solving for the pedia dose like youngs rule, clarks rule and the cockroft and gault eq. Sutuational type of questions. Ang masasabi ko lang stock knowledge + basic things youâve learned during undergrad, iapply nalang po during the exam haha. I keep on praying to God na kayo na ang bahala kasi di ko po talaga alam.
Module 4: (1hr)
(Toxi, Pharmacology, Biopharm)
This time its more on biopharm, example: what will be the action of the this drug if the bioavailability (F) is High, will it be excreted or absorbed. MOA of drugs, ANS, LUNA AND HIPE.
Module 5: (2hrs)
(Juris, Phypharm, Dosage Form, Manuf)
Ang dami pong computation~ N, M, m, v/v, porosity. Sorry I forgot the others and If I remember some of it, Iâll edit this right away or if you have some questions you can message me instead. Konti lang yung juris na lumabas thank God!
Module 6: (2hrs)
(QC/QA, Micro, Public Health)
More on QC/QA, read the (manor) side by side and notes (same with micro and pubhealth).Im happy with the questions here bcos answerable naman siya kahit papano unlike sa ibang modules hahaha
Iâve just given you an insight regarding the March 2018 boards and Iâm pretty sure you will not be given the same set of questionnaires for the upcoming Aug 2018 board exam but who knows they might include some questions that were already given last board exam, so take note of the drills, compre or preboard exams given to you by your review center bcos they include BEQ or board exam question.
 I still recommend you to read all your reviewers, notes or whatever study materials you have. One lecturer told us na âwag niyo pahirapan sarili niyo kasi basic lang yung exam, iapply mo lang kung ano yung mga natutunan niyo during the undergrad yearsâ and its true kasi sa boards its all application of what youâve been studying for the past 4 years and as for the review center theyâre just helping us to remember or recall about the things we learned in school and for new information as well.
This will be the end of my post and Thank you for reading it until the very last, I hope this will help you in your journey to get that RPh title. You can shoot me message if you have some questions.
Give all your best and God will do the rest! And always pray to Him coz He will not let you down!
Goodluck and Godbless Future Pharmacists!!
