United States
Hong KongCan you use a calculator?
You do not bring your own calculator. Where one is available it is provided by the test center or built into the exam software, and the current candidate rules govern.
A short answer with a consequence worth acting on months in advance.
The rule
Personal items go into a locker, and that includes your calculator. Where a calculator is available it is provided by the center or built into the exam software.
Check the current Pearson VUE and PTCB candidate rules close to your date, because they govern and they change.
Why it matters more here than on most exams
Order Entry and Processing is 18 of the 80 scored questions and its largest knowledge area is pharmacy calculations. Roughly a fifth of the scored paper involves working something out, at about 73 seconds a question.
Practice without your own device from the first week. Do the arithmetic on paper where you can, and where you need a calculator use a plain one you have no muscle memory for. Then whatever you are given on the day costs you nothing, which is not true for a candidate who drilled everything on their own phone.
What should never need one
The conversions. Five mL to a teaspoon, 15 to a tablespoon, 30 to a fluid ounce, 2.2 pounds to a kilogram, a percentage times ten for mg per mL.
These should be recall. Reaching for a calculator to do one costs seconds you need elsewhere.
And no formula sheet
It is a closed-book exam. No conversion table, no formulas, nothing of your own.
Common questions
Can I use a calculator on the PTCB exam?
Not your own. Any calculator is provided by the center or built into the exam software.
Why does it matter?
Roughly a fifth of the scored paper is arithmetic, at about 73 seconds a question.
How should I prepare?
Practice without your own device from week one.
Do I get a formula sheet?
No. It is a closed-book exam.
What should not need a calculator?
The conversions. They should be recall.