Pharmacology Study Tips

Study medications by classifications or body system use methods.

And be sure to not study medications at random!!!!!this is how a Pharmacy student would and YOU are a NURSING student.

hello everyone;

i am taking my nclex in two weeks and having a hard time remembering the medications keeping them straight..does any one have any tips and suggestions on what worked, i am being to freak out:bugeyes:. please let me know thanks!

try to work on the suffixes or key words in the medications... for example...

endings in:

-one : is usually a cortisol/corticosteroid, the action of which is mainly antiinflamatory

-cep- : those containing 'cep' (rocephin, cephalexin, etc) are cephalosporins which are antibiotics...

-pril : this are ace inhibitors which are antihypertensives...

etc, etc....

most drugs that are of great significance in any nursing exams (based on my experience so far.. ) focus on disorders that are prevalent in our society (cardiac probs, htn, dm, copd, immunocompromised pts...) take time in understanding drugs that relate to those diseases...

Also, remember to think a little outside the box when answering questions. We all know that Viagra and nitro don't mix, but as a nurse we also need to teach that one can get various diseases with a new-found sex life that Viagra won't protect against. Or, remember that something with a suffix of "ER" or "CR" should not be split or crushed - even if you aren't sure what the drug is, look for clues within the answers. Am I making any sense? Good luck!

More tips! More tips! More tips!!

These are great!! :yelclap:

Also, remember with allergies to question Rx for penicillin when a person is allergic to cephalosporins and question Toradol when they are allergic to ASA. Other than allergies, many times side effects are too much therapeutic effect. Watch for safety (Maslow!). Just remember that you can't possibly know every little thing about every little drug. Look at the broad classifications. Everyone will tell you to thoroughly read the questions, I'm telling you to also thoroughly read the answers. Think about what makes each answer true or false - or, more true or more false. I found it helpful to make notes regarding each answer on my little wipe-off board during the test. good luck!!

Can anyone recommend a really good Pharmacology study guide?

If you have the saunders book it has good sections for medications that are linked to the different body systems.