At NABP, one of the ways in which we support patient safety is by offering examinations that assess a pharmacist’s competency to practice. The Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination® (MPJE®) is specifically designed to evaluate candidates’ understanding and application of federal and state-specific laws and regulations. The exam measures both candidates’ knowledge of these laws and their ability to apply that knowledge to their pharmacy practice. The MPJE is taken by recent pharmacy school graduates and licensed pharmacists seeking licensure in other jurisdictions, and it is currently utilized by 46 member boards of pharmacy.
Recently, we have worked alongside our member boards to make improvements to the MPJE development process to ensure that it continues to be a valid and psychometrically sound high-stakes exam. After these improvements were implemented, the MPJE pass rates saw a 4.5% average increase compared to 2023.
Development of the MPJE
When creating new content for the MPJE, every exam question, or “item,” goes through an ongoing development and review process. Practicing pharmacists and board of pharmacy members travel to NABP Headquarters to prepare content for the MPJE during our Item Development Workshop. Remote workshops are also offered for participants who cannot attend in person. NABP staff support is available to remote writers throughout the entire process. Detailed item development training is provided during both Item Development Workshops, closely following NABP item writing guidelines and editorial standards. The MPJE Review Committee, which includes pharmacy professionals from a variety of practice settings, meets yearly to review and approve the exam items created during the workshops.
Existing content is also regularly reviewed by state subject matter experts. Any changes to laws and regulations in each jurisdiction are carefully evaluated before being implemented on an exam. All MPJE content is based on the exam blueprint, or Competency Statements, which are updated regularly to reflect current practice and the application of laws and regulations in each jurisdiction. During the workshops, item writers are provided with state-specific analyses that highlight areas with a need for additional items. This targeted approach helps to focus writing efforts and yields increased productivity.
Learn more about how the MPJE is developed in this video.
Recent Improvements to the MPJE
In 2024, we modified the Item Development Workshops to bring in members of the MPJE Review Committee to guide the representatives from each state. The experienced review committee members help item writers create, edit, and submit new exam questions. This support has helped item writers ensure their questions are ready for review and approval at the yearly MPJE Review Committee meeting. Because of these improvements in the exam content, the MPJE is now better able to evaluate candidates’ knowledge, which has led to a positive impact on pass rates.
NABP’s Competency Assessment staff has also built new training tools to make sure that the exam questions cover all necessary topics and are worded in the best way possible, providing enhanced clarity and readability for exam candidates. All item writers are trained by NABP editorial staff on best practices to make sure each item is written in clear, concise, and accurate language. This ensures that each MPJE item provides all the information necessary to answer the question, tests a single concept, and reflects real-life scenarios for entry-level pharmacists.
MPJE candidates have benefited from this collaboration of volunteers, board members, NABP staff, and other stakeholders participating in the on-site and remote exam development workshops.
This emphasis on item clarity has helped test takers better understand the questions, further contributing to higher pass rates.
How the MPJE Protects Public Health
A thorough understanding of the laws and regulations in the jurisdiction where a pharmacist practices is vital to patient safety. Because the MPJE needs to be highly adaptable to serve many different states and jurisdictions, we have taken steps to ensure exam items that are no longer relevant can be quickly removed at any time to always keep the MPJE up to date in every jurisdiction.
NABP continues to support and maintain the MPJE as an important resource in evaluating a pharmacist’s comprehension of pharmacy law and their ability to apply this knowledge to real-world situations. Learn more about our exams on the examinations section of the NABP website.
Continue learning about the MPJE and the uniform MPJE in Part 2 of this blog.
