Jump start on pharmacology

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I was wondering if there are any books that are good to start to read before I start pharm in the Fall. I also heard that you should focus on certain things when it comes to testing...does anybody know? I heard horror stories of A students failing their first pharm test because they didn't zone in on what they should have been studying. Thanks in advance!

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

check out this thread....https://allnurses.com/nursing-student-assistance/pharmacology-flashcards-595483.html

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Thank you for the link!

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I talked to my professor about it when I was going through pharm and again now that I'm in prep for NCLEX. The number one thing she stressed was safety. If a drug has a side effect of hypotension alone or with other drugs that cause hypotension it can be a safety risk. Trying to memorize every single side effect/adverse effect of every single drug is impossible, but know the most common ones, the ones that pose a risk to patient safety, as well as the the deadliest ones (I'm talking to you Steven-Johnson Syndrome). Study by category, learn the suffixes to the drugs. That will make it easier to say oh that's an ACE inhibitor when you see the pril ending and thus what you should expect knowing that.

Some drugs like lithium and digitalis have serum levels we should know and know when to draw. Other drugs can lower electrolytes, cause granulopenia, or luekopenia. Knowing how drugs affect lab values is important as they like to throw lab values in and ask what you should do; hold the dose, administer it, call the physician etc

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