What are some tricks to mastering pharmacology

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I'm in an accelerated program at school and I am taking pharmacology. I've never been a great math students so I am worried. Are there any tricks that i can use to help me?

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Sorry I have nothing to contribute but I am no math whiz either. I'm piggy backing for advice. ;)

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Specializes in Hospice.

Oh no... please tell me pharmacology is not a math course.

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Pharm is BARELY a math course. There will be some calulcations that you need to master, IV drip rates, mg per kg, etc, but nothing extremely hard.

Most of Pharm is learning about classes of drugs, how they work, what are their contraindications, what are their side effects etc. It is A LOT of studying and memorizing. My advice, DO NOT GET BEHIND! Make sure you understand how the drug works and that will help you learn the side effects. I used note cards in the class more than any other class I ever took in college.

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Specializes in Hospice.
Pharm is BARELY a math course. There will be some calulcations that you need to master, IV drip rates, mg per kg, etc, but nothing extremely hard.

Most of Pharm is learning about classes of drugs, how they work, what are their contraindications, what are their side effects etc. It is A LOT of studying and memorizing. My advice, DO NOT GET BEHIND! Make sure you understand how the drug works and that will help you learn the side effects. I used note cards in the class more than any other class I ever took in college.

Phew!! Thank goodness, I have enough trouble w/ math. Dosage and calculations I can handle. Thanks for clarifying!

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Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.

If the math portion worries you, consider purchasing the book "Math Attack: Winning the Pharmacology Math Battle" by Karen Champion. It is an EXCELLENT book! She gives you several different ways to tackle dosaging math problems and you pick the method that "clicks" with you the most. Do you prefer dimensional analysis? Ratio equations? Dosage formula method? etc. You simply follow along and determine what works for you best. It's written in plain English and she's SO encouraging. I highly recommend it! :)

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Pharmacology isn't a math course as much as med surg isn't a math class. For us at least, every test in nursing school includes some math. Med math isn't difficult, it is mostly conversions, IV drip rates,and I/Os. As already mentioned, pharm is mostly memorizing drugs, their side-effects, contraindications, use, and patient teaching.

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Specializes in Hospice.
If the math portion worries you, consider purchasing the book "Math Attack: Winning the Pharmacology Math Battle" by Karen Champion. It is an EXCELLENT book! She gives you several different ways to tackle dosaging math problems and you pick the method that "clicks" with you the most. Do you prefer dimensional analysis? Ratio equations? Dosage formula method? etc. You simply follow along and determine what works for you best. It's written in plain English and she's SO encouraging. I highly recommend it! :)

I prefer the ratio:proportion method for dosage calculations but I have heard that dimensional analysis is the preferred method and I had a hard time picking that up. Should I be studying over the summer? I am getting that book for sure!

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Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.
I prefer the ratio:proportion method for dosage calculations but I have heard that dimensional analysis is the preferred method and I had a hard time picking that up. Should I be studying over the summer? I am getting that book for sure!

Our program didn't care what method you used...as long as you arrived at the correct answer :) I, too, prefer the ratio proportion method because I can "see" the problem easier. However, after taking a higher level Chemistry class, I'm getting much more comfortable with dimensional analysis.

Definitely get the book, it's very helpful!

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I agree..this is the best advice ever ebailey!!!!

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