Pharmacy Practice and Dispensing
Pharmacy Practice and Dispensing tests prescription handling, legal and safe dispensing, labelling, patient counselling and community/hospital pharmacy operations. The exam rewards systematic checking and clear communication.
Core rules
- A prescription must identify the patient, prescriber, drug, strength, dose, frequency, route, quantity and date, with legal signature where required.
- Dispensing follows: receive and validate, interpret, check dose and interactions, prepare, label, counsel, record.
- Labels should include patient name, drug and strength, directions, quantity, date, storage and pharmacy details; avoid unsafe abbreviations.
- Use FEFO/FIFO stock rotation and segregate expired or damaged stock.
Worked example
An 18 kg child is prescribed amoxicillin 25 mg/kg/day divided every 8 hours. Daily dose = 18 × 25 = 450 mg; each dose = 150 mg. With 250 mg/5 mL suspension, each dose = 150/250 × 5 = 3 mL. Dispense enough for the full course, label “3 mL every 8 hours”, and counsel on shaking and refrigeration if required.
Traps
- Accepting “U” for units or unclear decimal points.
- Confusing teaspoon with mL; counsel in mL.
- Dispensing a calculated dose without checking the maximum or renal function.
- Labelling the drug but omitting the indication or storage requirement when needed.