Patho/Pharm question...opinions greatly valued!

Imafloat, BSN, RN · Jul 21, 2005

We took both classes together and what was horrible was the amount of material you had to memorize. Our professors weren't on the same page and there were a few times that we had tests in both classes on the same day. Just don't get behind and you should be fine. Patho gets hard because you will have to differentiate between various similar diseases. Best of luck to you, you can do it!

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Jul 21, 2005

I am taking the same thing in the fall:crying2: and I am interested in the responses you get . I am way past scared of this class. Have you seen the set of books that go with this class.. I have something like 6 books for this class and they are not small..... AND I am taking this with 2 other classes...uggggggg:barf01:

veggiegarden · Jul 21, 2005

can someone please tell me what makes patho/pharm so awful? the amount of material covered?

i don't think they are awful, myself. there is quite a bit of material to cover, esp. in patho. pharm--it may depend on how many drugs and accompanying information you must memorize. a good grasp on physiology really helps in understanding many pharm concepts.

difficulty level? compared to a&p or chemistry??

i don't think pharm was very difficult. i'd say patho is somewhat on par with physiology, or a&pii. it is interesting.

what sort of math should i freshen up on?

the math is very basic, mainly dimensional analysis. gotta watch those decimal points, though.

i thought there was definitely a lot of info to learn for a&p but it was certainly do-able if you put the time into it. any suggestions on things to brush up over my 5 weeks off after summer term is over before we plunge into fall term?

if you understand and do well with anatomy and physiology, it will really help you understand the concepts. a lot of the learning has to do with logically thinking things through, starting with the a&p previously learned.

happy learning! :)

RNin2007 · Jul 21, 2005

i don't think they are awful, myself. there is quite a bit of material to cover, esp. in patho. pharm--it may depend on how many drugs and accompanying information you must memorize. a good grasp on physiology really helps in understanding many pharm concepts.
i don't think pharm was very difficult. i'd say patho is somewhat on par with physiology, or a&pii. it is interesting.
the math is very basic, mainly dimensional analysis. gotta watch those decimal points, though.
if you understand and do well with anatomy and physiology, it will really help you understand the concepts. a lot of the learning has to do with logically thinking things through, starting with the a&p previously learned.
happy learning! :)

i loved, loved, loved a&p...and the math portion doesn't sound intimidating from that point of view...my a&p instructor was big on putting "case studies" on our tests, and we had to answer them in a paragraph or two. these really helped me through the critical thinking process...even though some students really hated them. i liked that part of the test the most.

these are all great...thanks everyone, and keep the posts comin'!

~j

ginger79 · Jul 21, 2005

I'm taking Patho in a 12 week course, so I don' have to take it with my other nursing classes in the fall. Each exam covers tremendous amount of material, it just goes so much more into depth, than I was used to from A&PI&II. Tomorrow I will have my midterm, which will cover 11 chapters...

But it's fun, you will learn a lot, and I agree with the other posters before, you have to refresh on your A&P for Pathophysiology!!!

Good luck to you,

southerngirl · Jul 21, 2005

I know this happens a lot when other students talk about difficulty level. Before you know it you're stressed out! Pharm isn't bad at all brush up on basic math skills, ratios, decimal points etc. I've really enjoyed the Incredibly Easy book for Patho. Once I started reading my med surg for this fall, I decided to use this book to go into each system and it's disorders. I don't think it would be tough. If you loved A&P I think you won't have problems with patho! Good luck to you.

GrnHonu99, RN · Jul 22, 2005

I am in my first term (our school starts summer term) and today we had a discussion about how very, very hard Pathophysiology and Pharmacology are going to be. We are taking both this fall. I was told for Pharm, if you were good at math, then you'd be fine. I would love it if all you seasoned students could give me a little bit more advice/personal input. I really appreciate advice from students who have been there...and I LOVE details. All the little things I have learned from this board have been so awesome! Ok, so here it goes! =)
Can someone please tell me what makes Patho/Pharm so awful? The amount of material covered?
Difficulty level? Compared to A&P or Chemistry??
What sort of math should I freshen up on?
I thought there was definitely a LOT of info to learn for A&P but it was certainly do-able if you put the time into it. Any suggestions on things to brush up over my 5 weeks off after summer term is over before we plunge into fall term?
Thanks so much everyone. I will read every single response...and thank you!
~J

I am taking patho and pharm together right now!:) Patho isnt bad but its on a whole other level than AP...you really need to know your AP or you will be basically just trying to memorize things. Patho assumes that you know the ins and outs of AP and Micro. Pharm isnt too bad either...get your basics down first..like absorption, theraputic level etc...or you will be lost the rest of the class..also try to memorize the prototype drug for each class...those will be what you see the most in the field. Its helpful to know those..get a drug book...and just start looking some drugs up...know how you would give them and their mechanism of action...know contraindicators and side effects...good luck:)