Brand spankin' new nursing student! Pharmacology advice, please!

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:nailbiting: Hello! I am starting nursing school in 3 weeks (August 26th). I have heard HORROR STORIES about pharmacology! I am on the campus so the classes are not online. I hear this class is one of the hardest to take! I would love to hear from former nursing students/nurses who found ways to be successful in this particular course. It would be much appreciated! Thank you :yes:

It is a tough class! We had a full year of it and it was the only B I got. Study smart, group your drugs together where they make sense for you. Hope you get a great teacher who knows their stuff, that makes a world of difference!

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Specializes in Emergency Room.
It is a tough class! We had a full year of it and it was the only B I got. Study smart group your drugs together where they make sense for you. Hope you get a great teacher who knows their stuff, that makes a world of difference![/quote']

Thank you for your input! My biggest fear is not finding a good way to study right away you know?

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

Thank you for your input! My biggest fear is not finding a good way to study right away you know?

I think you have gotten pretty good resources :yes:

I would like to add getting a (pre owned perhaps) pharmacology review book with NCLEX-style questions as well. You have the content-especially using flash cards; LOVE them (I used PharmPhlash-STILL useful!!!); then you will need the "application" part in the classroom-the tests...

I used the review books because I had terrible test anxiety, and the best way for me to apply the knowledge without the anxiety was to do review of NCLEX style questions after review to help me and confirm I grasped the concept.

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its not so bad, but get you a voice recorder to record the lectures so you can listen to them on way home/to school, or even while laying in bed or fishing...... also, get you a book called clinical pharmacology made incredibly easy, it clears up the classes of drugs well....its not as bad as they say, but read your notes daily. i'd have a voice recorder for each class to keep them organized better.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.
its not so bad but get you a voice recorder to record the lectures so you can listen to them on way home/to school, or even while laying in bed or fishing...... also, get you a book called clinical pharmacology made incredibly easy, it clears up the classes of drugs well....its not as bad as they say, but read your notes daily. i'd have a voice recorder for each class to keep them organized better.[/quote']

Just bought the book! And I will buy voice recorders for each class! Thank you for your advice I appreciate it:)

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Specializes in Hospice.

I got the Incredibly Easy book too, both for funds and pharm. And I also have those flashcards Esme posted from another member saved on my computer from a month ago! I save alot of AN tips on my computer for future reference! Copy paste copy paste........

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From another member of AN!

Thanks Esme and especially ♪♫ in my ♥ for those! Very nice!

I've reviewed a lot of material for my LPN course (which starts next month), and this is the first information I've seen which made me nervous. Actually made me sweat a little, LOL...

I'm hoping I'll need to learn less since I'll be "just an LPN"! :confused:

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Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.

First: breathe! It's not as hard as you think it's going to be. A lot of your success depends on your mental outlook. If you think it's going to be hard and you dread it, it's going to feel even more difficult.

Second: The flash cards that Esme linked on the previous page are great study tools. I made my own flash cards because I felt it helped me learn the huge volume of material better. I made a template in Word and then printed a bunch of copies. Every time I learned a new drug, I filled out the template. You can make your template the way you want it, in the order that helps you remember (e.g. Trade/prototype name, Indications, Contraindications, Side Effects, Route of Administration, Nursing Implications, etc.)

Third: This will be the most time-consuming class out of all your pre-reqs. Try not to feel overwhelmed by scheduling your studying in small chunks each day. This will help you retain the information better. Stay on top of your work and don't wait until the last minute to do your work or you will fall behind and feel overwhelmed.

Fourth: If your school offers Supplemental Instruction: GO!!! For me, this made the difference between getting an A and getting a B. My first exam, I only got a B, so I decided to go to an SI session. It was amazing. Our instructor for the SI sessions was also a 2nd year nursing student. He not only gave us ways to help us learn the material easier, he also gave us great advice on what nursing school is like and what are the most important things you'll need to know for the first year. He gave great study charts that compared and contrasted similar groups of meds that made studying for the tests easier. If I had not attended those sessions, I wouldn't have had the extra tools. I ended up with an A in the course and I know it was due to the extra reinforcement from SI.

Best of luck to you!!! You CAN do this!!! :D

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Following as we'll...OP, I'm in the same boat as you! I also start NS on the 26th, & I've heard HORROR stories about this class! In fact, the woman whom I purchased my books actually had As & Bs in her classes, but failed out of the nursing program because of the pharmacology class.

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