Med/Surg 1 and Pharm

[Bugsmomma]

When I enrolled in nursing school I was told countless times that this semester was the weed out and after yesterday I think it will be me. I failed our pass fail med math test by 1. I did horrible on the med/Surg quiz and to top it off I now have a test average of 64 in pharm it was our first test but, I need a 75 test average to pass. I'm just not sure I can pull it up. Any tips on how to be successful in pharm as well as med/surg.

[KrCmommy522, BSN, RN]

In pharm, my suggestion is to learn the drug classes (e.g., antihypertensives, diuretics, etc.). Learn the actions, side effects, nursing considerations, etc. from each class. You cannot possibly learn each and every drug. There are waaaaay too many! Focus on learning the classes. If you know the class, then you can figure out what drugs fall into each, and will know what action, side effects, etc. for each one. I would also suggest learning common prefixes and suffixes, like -caine for anesthetics, ceph- or cef- for cephalosporin antibiotics, etc. If you learn the common prefixes and suffixes and you learn the information for different classes, then when you recognize a common prefix or suffix, you will know what class it falls into, and knowing the info for each class you will be able to answer any questions.

Drug Names – Stems, Prefixes, Roots and Suffixes - NCLEX Mastery

Memorizing Pharmacology Audiobook Free Supporting Materials