I'm in my first semester of nursing school and we were given a total of about 30 meds to know (indication, action, dosage/route, side effects, contraindications, nursing considerations, and the brand names of them)
I've only been able to memorize 2 so far and this class is 8 week course. I've memorized aspirin and enalapril.
How were you all able to remember all of the info on each meds?
Also how do you calculate dosages for meds? What are the main formulas to remember throughout nursing school and nursing career for the dosages?
How many meds do I know by heart? That is a very interesting question. I would have to sit and thumb through a drug guide, but I would guess >1000. I even have a few stuck that aren't even used anymore.
Seriously, it took a lot of time and study for me. And it didn't seem real until I actually administered them and saw their effect. We had to do like 100 drug cards over a break. Some of it stuck, and some not so much.
Memorize what you need to for school as others have suggested.
But do know that in practice you don't HAVE to memorize every detail of a med. You probably will just from repetition. Honestly, when first encountering a med, don't try to think back to what you memorized in nursing school. Look it up again. You can ask fellow nurses or pharmacist for info too.
Come up with a system that works for you. Many of us in my program used a chart-method, putting "like" drugs on one sheet (e.g., the anti-hypertensives). Drug name at the top of one of each of the columns. Indication, action, dosage/route, etc. along the left-hand column. Fill in the box with the info for each. Some of us typed out the info; some of us hand-wrote it. (Studies show writing it can actually help memorization.)
Can you show me an example of 2 meds? I don't understand what you mean, but it sounds like a way better method than what I am doing now.
Come up with a system that works for you. Many of us in my program used a chart-method, putting "like" drugs on one sheet (e.g., the anti-hypertensives). Drug name at the top of one of each of the columns. Indication, action, dosage/route, etc. along the left-hand column. Fill in the box with the info for each. Some of us typed out the info; some of us hand-wrote it. (Studies show writing it can actually help memorization.)
Can you show me an example of 2 meds? This sounds like a better method for me. I'm more a visual and kinsethetic learner and I had testing done to see my methods of learning. I'm hearing impaired, so hands on and visual learning helps me a lot rather than reading and what not
Hi xmilkcookiesx you have great information here. I think what will help the most is connecting the dots pharm with physiology in a nursing process format. My professor gave the class a sheet with "needed to know" (side effects, etc) and below was the nursing process and we had to fill that out to with that drug classification. Making flashcards is one step, applying it is another step. :)
nursej22, MSN, RN
4,922 Posts
How many meds do I know by heart? That is a very interesting question. I would have to sit and thumb through a drug guide, but I would guess >1000. I even have a few stuck that aren't even used anymore.
Seriously, it took a lot of time and study for me. And it didn't seem real until I actually administered them and saw their effect. We had to do like 100 drug cards over a break. Some of it stuck, and some not so much.
Lets see: asa, aldactone, allopurinol, actos, acyclovir...