The PEBC MCQ: Part I of the Pharmacist Qualifying Examination

How the PEBC MCQ is built

PEBC uses linear-on-the-fly testing, or LOFT. Software assembles a different exam for each candidate from a large pool of questions, to the blueprint, with set mixes of themes such as disease states and calculations, of stand-alone and case-based questions, and of difficulty. Because versions differ slightly in difficulty, a harder one needs a slightly lower score to pass.

A case gives you a scenario with two to four questions on it, numbered like 85.1, 85.2 and 85.3. That’s why the last button on the screen isn’t number 200.

• There’s no interim break and no scheduled break. You can take an unscheduled one, but the clock keeps running.
• Warnings show 2 hours, 1 hour and 15 minutes before the end.
• When time runs out, the exam ends and unanswered questions get no credit.

Test centre or remote proctoring?

When your invitation to schedule arrives, you book with Prometric: either a test centre or a remotely proctored exam at home. PEBC says there aren’t enough centre seats for everyone, and it expects you to be ready to test remotely if you can’t get one. If you can’t get a centre seat and won’t test remotely, your application and fee don’t move to a later sitting. You’d have to withdraw and apply again.

Your start time has to fall inside the Eastern Time window in your invitation. Prometric also shows times outside it, and PEBC cancels any booking made for one of those.

• Reschedule, or change your centre or method, on prometric.com. Choose Reschedule, not Cancel. PEBC’s application page says you can do it up to 3 days before your appointment, and its FAQ says up to 48 hours before the first day of the exam window. Go by whichever date comes first for you.
• Prometric charges a rescheduling fee within 29 days of the appointment.
• For remote testing you need a desktop or laptop on a desk, with a webcam and microphone, the Chrome browser, one monitor of at least 14 inches at 1920 x 1080, and a steady connection. Touch screens aren’t supported.
• You also need a mirror for the room scan, and nobody else at home should stream video during the exam.
• French-speaking proctors work Tuesday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time. A French exam booked outside those hours gets an English-speaking proctor.

Run Prometric’s system check as early as you can. PEBC lists the exact Windows and macOS versions it supports on its remote proctoring page.

On exam day

• Arrive 30 minutes early. More than 30 minutes late and you can’t write, or rebook within that sitting.
• Expect a metal detector, fingerprints and a photo at check-in.
• Keep your ID on the desk. Everything else goes in Prometric’s locker.
• Don’t talk to other candidates or read aloud. Breaking that rule forfeits the exam, and it counts as an attempt.
• When you finish, click Finish and check out. You get a notice of completion, not your result.

What to bring is on the overview page, and the full rules are in PEBC’s candidate information document.