NAPLEX Content Outline
Effective for all NAPLEX exams beginning May 1, 2025
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Overview safely and effectively perform those
tasks. The panel then organized the
The North American Pharmacist identified KSAs into content domains,
Licensure Examination® (NAPLEX ®) is subdomains, and in some instances,
administered by the National third-level sub-subdomains. Next, a
Association of Boards of Pharmacy ® random sample of practicing
(NABP®) and is designed to evaluate pharmacists were invited to complete an
general practice knowledge. The online survey designed to collect
NAPLEX is taken by graduates of the feedback on the content outline draft. A
schools and colleges of pharmacy after total of 1,999 pharmacists completed
they receive their degree. The exam is the survey by rating the relevance of
also taken by foreign-educated each content area and providing open-
pharmacists who have earned Foreign ended feedback on each content
Pharmacy Graduate Examination domain (missing content areas and/or
Committee™ certification. content areas that were listed but should
be considered for removal).
The NAPLEX Content Outline is used to
develop the NAPLEX by identifying all The panel used the survey results to
content areas that will be addressed on make final revisions to the content
the NAPLEX and the approximate outline and to establish content domain
number of questions on the NAPLEX weights (ie, the percentage of scored
that will be asked in each major content exam questions associated with each
area (content domain). Stakeholders content domain). In establishing the
(eg, prospective examinees, schools of content domain weights, the panel
pharmacy, state boards of pharmacy, considered both the relevance ratings
and the public) may use this outline to and survey responses for recommended
better understand how the NAPLEX is weights.
developed and the content areas that
the NAPLEX assesses.
Content Domains
The NAPLEX Content Outline will take The content areas on the NAPLEX
effect for all NAPLEX exams beginning Content Outline are organized into five
on May 1, 2025. major content domains. Within each
major content domain are content
Content Outline Development subdomains and third-level sub-sub
domains (where applicable). The full
The draft of the NAPLEX Content detailed content outline can be found
Outline was developed by a diverse beginning on page four.
panel of practicing pharmacists who
conducted a comprehensive analysis of Each exam question must be classified
entry-level pharmacy practice. The to a specific area on the content outline
panel identified the tasks that are to be included on the NAPLEX. The five
performed by an entry-level pharmacist content domains are listed in the table at
and the corresponding knowledge, the top of the following page.
skills, and abilities (KSAs) required to
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NAPLEX Content Domains Sample Questions
1. Foundational Knowledge for
The following sample questions
Pharmacy Practice
demonstrate how questions are
2. Medication Use Process
classified to the NAPLEX Content
(Prescribing, Transcribing and
Outline.
Documenting, Dispensing,
Administering, and Monitoring)
The efficacy of antimicrobials is
3. Person-Centered Assessment and
predicted by the time exceeding the:
Treatment Planning
A. area under the plasma
4. Professional Practice concentration versus time curve.
5. Pharmacy Management and B. minimum inhibitory concentration.
Leadership C. minimum serum concentration.
D. maximum serum concentration.
Exam Development
NABP conducts a rigorous process to Correct Answer: B
develop exam questions that are Classification: 1.A.2
classified to an area on the content
Domain (1): Foundational Knowledge for
outline. To begin, a group of question Pharmacy Practice
writers is recruited from diverse Subdomain (A): Pharmaceutical science
pharmacy practice settings and trained principles and concepts
on question writing best practices. Each Third-Level (2): Pharmacokinetics,
question writer is then assigned to write pharmacodynamics, or pharmacogenomics
questions for specific content areas.
Question writers must also provide a A 73-year-old male with a penicillin
reference that validates the correct allergy is admitted to the hospital with
answer choice for each question. Next, HR = 130; BP = 70/50 and altered
the NAPLEX Review Committee (NRC) mental status. Blood cultures are
reviews, makes revisions where positive for gram-positive cocci. Which
necessary, and approves each question of the following is the most appropriate
for pilot testing. Prior to pilot testing, an empiric therapy?
NABP staff review is conducted to A. Cefazolin
ensure adherence to NABP style. Each B. Levofloxacin
question that is pilot tested and meets C. Piperacillin/tazobactam
acceptable psychometric criteria is then D. Vancomycin
made eligible for selection on the
NAPLEX and inserted into the NAPLEX Correct Answer: D
question pool. Existing exam questions Classification: 3.C.2
in the NAPLEX question pool are
consistently monitored for accuracy. Domain (3): Person-Centered Assessment
and Treatment Planning
Subdomain (C): Patient health conditions,
including special populations and
medication-related factors
Third-Level (2): Appropriateness of therapy
(eg, medications, immunizations, non-drug
therapy, dosing, contraindications,
warnings, evidence-based decision making)
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Content Domain Weights
The table below provides the exam weights (percentage of scored exam questions
associated with each content domain) for the NAPLEX. These percentages represent
the approximate number of 200 scored questions associated with each content domain
that can be expected on the NAPLEX.
Exam Weight
Content Domain (Approximate Number of
Questions)
1. Foundational Knowledge for Pharmacy Practice 25% (50 questions)
2. Medication Use Process (Prescribing, Transcribing 25% (50 questions)
and Documenting, Dispensing, Administering, and
Monitoring)
3. Person-Centered Assessment and Treatment 40% (80 questions)
Planning
4. Professional Practice 5% (10 questions)
5. Pharmacy Management and Leadership 5% (10 questions)
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Detailed NAPLEX Content Outline
Domain 1. Foundational Knowledge for Pharmacy Practice
A. Pharmaceutical science principles and concepts
1. Pharmacology
2. Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, or pharmacogenomics
3. Pharmaceutics
B. Pharmaceutical compounding
1. Nonsterile preparations
2. Sterile preparations
C. Pharmaceutical calculations
1. Patient parameters or laboratory measures
2. Quantities of drugs to be dispensed or administered
3. Rates of administration
4. Dose conversions
5. Drug concentrations, ratio strengths, osmolarity, or osmolality
6. Quantities of drugs or ingredients to be compounded
7. Nutritional needs and the content of nutrient sources
8. Biostatistical, epidemiological, or pharmacoeconomic measures
9. Pharmacokinetic parameters
D. Drug development processes (eg, clinical trial phases, emergency use
authorizations)
E. Research design principles and biostatistics (eg, blinding, randomization,
biases, statistical tests and outcomes, ethics)
F. Retrieval, assessment, and interpretation of primary, secondary, and
tertiary resources
Domain 2. Medication Use Process (Prescribing, Transcribing and Documenting,
Dispensing, Administering, and Monitoring)
A. Prescriptions and medication order interpretation
1. Drug names and therapeutic classes
2. Indications, usage, and dosing regimens
3. Available dosage forms
4. Prescription regulations (eg, boxed warnings, risk evaluation and
mitigation strategies)
5. Safety and effectiveness (eg, laboratory parameters, vital signs)
B. Therapeutic substitutions (eg, formulary restrictions, therapeutic
alternatives, shortages, biosimilars)
C. Immunization services and documentation
1. Indications and scheduling
2. Contraindications and precautions
3. Storage and handling
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4. Administration (eg, techniques, preparation, routes)
5. Adverse reactions
D. Medication handling, storage, stability, and disposal (eg, hazardous and
nonhazardous drugs, controlled substances, parenteral medications,
sharps handling, temperature control)
Domain 3. Person-Centered Assessment and Treatment Planning
A. Medication history, allergy history, and reconciliation
B. Health histories, screenings, and assessments
C. Patient health conditions, including special populations and medication-
related factors
1. Signs, symptoms, and findings of medical conditions, etiology of
diseases, or pathophysiology
2. Appropriateness of therapy (eg, medications, immunizations, non-
drug therapy, dosing, contraindications, warnings, evidence-
based decision making)
3. Interactions (eg, drug-drug, drug-condition, drug-food, drug-
allergy, drug-laboratory)
4. Errors and omissions (eg, dosing, duplication, additional therapy
needed, unnecessary therapy)
5. Adverse drug reactions
6. Toxicologic exposures and overdoses
7. Adherence
D. Therapeutic monitoring, plan development, evaluation, and modifications
1. Therapeutic goals, clinical endpoints, and follow-up
2. Safety
3. Effectiveness
E. Patient education
1. Lifestyle modifications and health maintenance
2. Medication use, storage, and disposal
3. Disease state management
F. Over-the-counter medications and dietary supplements
G. Devices to administer medications and self-monitoring tests
Domain 4. Professional Practice
A. Adverse drug event reporting and medication error reporting (eg,
MedWatch, VAERS)
B. Public health initiatives and risk-prevention programs (eg, tobacco and
nicotine cessation, antimicrobial stewardship, health screenings, opioid
stewardship)
C. Social determinants and drivers of health
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D. Ethical considerations (eg, informed consent, ethical principles,
professional conduct and responsibility, patient confidentiality)
Domain 5. Pharmacy Management and Leadership
A. Pharmacy operations (eg, operational planning, risk management,
regulations and regulatory bodies, technology applications and
informatics, error-prevention strategies, medication safety)
B. Inventory and supply management (eg, drug recalls, drug shortages)
C. Quality improvement activities (eg, medication use evaluation, root-cause
analysis, continuous quality improvement)
D. Mentorship and preceptorship (eg, providing and receiving feedback,
delegation of work activities, preceptor roles)
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