Is Pharm really that bad?

anonymousstudent · Sep 2, 2010

NO.

I really think nursing students do a great disservice to thier fellow students by creating all of this drama about certain classes, teachers, clinical sites, etc. I heard the same thing about my pharm class and about the teacher. But the class hasn't really been more work than any other nursing class, and my teacher is excellent. :)

Pharm is a lot to remember. But if you took anatomy it's not even close to that! I was told horror stories and I have been completely fine with this class.

Read to learn, don't just memorize. Make sure you understand nursing implications with the various drug classes and KNOW the major adverse effects. Learn by prototype, and group under that way instead of learning each drug as an independent unit.

Breathe. And igonore those people from now on.

OneDayAttaTime, BSN, RN · Sep 2, 2010

You get out of it what you put into it. Pharm is definitely no cakewalk. You have to read and you have to work hard--but it's doable. We did lose about 7 students after pharm this summer...

LauRN · Sep 2, 2010

No! I LOVED pharm...maybe I'm just crazy. I think a lot has to do with your instructor as well. I had two very good instructors that made learning easy & fun. Good luck!

Despareux · Sep 2, 2010

I loved Pharm because it puts all the other classes into perspective. Not hard at all, just a lot of studying. I agree with PP's, ignore all the negativity and go in there with an I-know-I'm-gonna-ace-this attitude.

tokyoROSE, BSN, RN · Sep 2, 2010

I took pharm along with two other challenging classes in the same semester, so the compounded load work was really tough. Each test had about 50 medications, and after the first 10, every side effect was nausea & vomiting lol. It is different memorization than A&P. I remember knowing what exactly the notes said, but had trouble answering the question. I had a tough teacher too, so that did not help.

CrunchyMama, ASN, RN · Sep 2, 2010

I HATE math and I was terrified to take these classes...it's split up at my school into pharm 1 and 2. Anyway, it definitely wasn't close to being as bad as I thought. I had a great teacher who explained everything very well. Good luck!

sneakymom2011 · Sep 2, 2010

At my school ( and this is just for my program- final diploma RN class) pharm is mixed in with regular lecture. For example- right now we're studying endocrine/ musculoskelatal . I have osteoperosis drugs, RA and OA drugs, and gout drugs on my next test.

I don't really like drugs. But I have to admit- the way we're being taught them is helping me learn them. Though I feel like it's a whole lot of memorization, and that's not really my strength. But I do the best that I can.

Learning the classes and side effects is a whole lot easier than memorizing them one by one.

Cheryl

sarahjuly · Sep 3, 2010

At my school it wasn't too bad. It was alot of work, but easier then nursing and A+P. Just relax and don't let everyone stress you out. I know that easier said then done : )

ggabri07, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2010

i agree with anonymousstudents post.

i was sick to my stomach when i took med-surg because "everyone" said it was a very hard class. this is the reality: another person’s reality does not have to be yours.

all you need to do is sit down, open up your book and try to understand the important concepts.

do no listen to anything negative. as a matter of a fact reject all negative statments! it will only hurt you :).

and finally: i am sure that you will do fine. you are a smart person.

wetzoo · Sep 3, 2010

I thought that it was my hardest class, to be perfectly honest.

The book was over 1000 pages, and we tested on 30 chapters at a time. The questions for the pharm tests in my school were focused more on adverse reactions, so one could imagine how screwed up one could get when you're trying to memorize the AEs of over 30 chapters worth of drugs.

I don't think a lot of people are creating drama, I think that they're just sharing their own experience. I think it definitely depends on the program and the person.

kgh31386, BSN, MSN, RN · Sep 3, 2010

Pharms as hard as you let it be. It really wasn't bad. My first semester of school we had..."Pharm, Foundations, Patho, Health Assessment, Skills lab, Clinical, and a dosage class." And really it's not bad.