One of the last hurdles in becoming a licensed pharmacist is the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX). NABP recently released information on what to expect for those taking the NAPLEX exam on or after May 1st, 2025. There are some significant changes to the content outline and I outline those changes in the Youtube video below but will also share some of those important factors in this blog post as well.

NABP Goals

NABP believes that the NAPLEX should reflect the evolving landscape of pharmacy practice and ensure that newly licensed pharmacists are equipped to perform pharmacist functions. The NAPLEX has been moving (and continues to move) toward a more competency-based model, focusing on practical skills and real-world decision-making to align with the shifting expectations of the healthcare system. I’m happy about this change in the content outline. Pharmacists should be tested on things that they will actually encounter in practice. Understanding these content outline changes will be helpful for pharmacy students preparing to take the NAPLEX exam.

Reduced Calculations

I believe calculations will be emphasized to a lower degree on the NAPLEX exam in 2025. This is one of the more significant NAPLEX changes in 2025. Please don’t take this to mean that you don’t need to be prepared for calculation questions because you do.

Prior to 2025, 14% of the exam was to be made up of calculation-type questions. In the new content outline, calculations have been relocated underneath the “Foundational Knowledge for Pharmacy Practice” heading with numerous other topics. This section makes up 25% of the exam but also includes pharmacology, dynamics, pharmacogenomics, drug development, research, compounding, and drug information resources. Even though the percentage is larger for this topic, I am anticipating that calculations specifically will be reduced given all the other topics that should be tested in this section.

Increased Clinical Questions

One of the most significant changes to the NAPLEX in 2025 is an increase in the number of clinical questions. The 2025 version will likely feature more patient-care scenarios that mirror real-life situations pharmacists encounter daily. What does that mean for actual numbers? There is a 5% increase in the “Patient Assessment and Treatment Planning domain. This increase will equate to an additional 10 questions beyond previous versions of the NAPLEX. The Real Life Pharmacology Podcast was designed to help pharmacy students and pharmacists enhance their clinical knowledge and reasoning. Be sure to take advantage of this free resource.

If you are interested in learning more about the next content outline, check out the YouTube video below.

If you are looking for study materials to help you pass the exam in 2025, you can find all of our resources right here (NAPLEX Study Materials).