HELP!!!! Cannot understand Pharmacology

bunnyhopp · Jul 28, 2017

I read saunders nurse drug book.it gives all info on medications etc.and the epocrates app is helpful.i wish i could be more helpful.i start lvn classes in Feb so im studying till then.

Manigriffin786 · Jul 31, 2017

Pharm is going to be your hardest class! I placed 2nd in my class. I would get 100%'s on a lot of test but pharm is a completely different monster. Listen pharm isn't a class about comprehending a concept/disease/pathophysology. It's all about remembering, not about understanding how something works or progresses.

There isn't a magic book or pill you can read or take for pharm. I could give you my study tips but that wouldn't help you because i customized it for me.

The best advice I can give you is to figure out what study habits/methods work best for you (are you a-kinsenthetic/auditory/verbal learner?)

Once you go from there you have to put in the effort, time and consistency. Those are the three things that I promise that'll get you through nursing school.(With minimal stress).

side note-I only had approx 10 pharm questions on my nclex ðŸ˜¬.

imhorsemackerel, LPN · Aug 2, 2017

I've worked in a doctor's office for several years, so a lot of the medications were already familiar. It was just a matter of connecting the name with all of the other information. What really helped me was to type a list of all of the medications we went over. I printed several copies of this list. I then filled in a list to the best of my ability. I wrote the action of drug, any considerations like labs, any client teaching, contraindications, etc. In another color I filled in the missing blanks. I repeated this when I wasn't lazy . My school required us to use ATI. Any questions that had pharm rationales, I would include it in the list. Check on youtube and type "pharmacology made easy."

You can do the same by making a list of the prefixes and suffixes, fill what you remember, then in another color fill what you forgot. Sometimes it helps to make a story. My friend mentioned something like "Lam and Pam drove off in their Benz" -lam and -pam are suffixes for BENZodiazepines. Examples are Alprazolam and Diazepam.

Have you asked your classmates how they study for the class? There are also websites that have online flashcards like Quizlet, Cram...and apparently here as well. I did a quick search and there's someone who made some you can print out if you like https://allnurses.com/nursing-student-assistance/pharmacology-flashcards-595483.html