Memorizing Pharmacology Video 2 of 7

Pharmacology is necessary for all nurses. However, it can be difficult for the novice to decipher the often complicated names and actions. Here's some help....

Updated:  

This article was reviewed and fact-checked by our Editorial Team.
Memorizing Pharmacology Video 2 of 7

We gradually increase the difficulty by moving from 13 gastrointestinal to 25 musculoskeletal medicines. To handle this many, we'll divide the drugs into various sub-classes. It's useful to create an outline, not by alphabetical order, but by drug class. It takes a little bit of pharmacologic knowledge to do this, so I recommend starting with the groupings I give you, then branch out after you feel more comfortable with the physiologic system.

To start you off, I've typed out the outline making sure to 1) underline/note prefixes and suffixes 2) put the rationale for the drug sub-class order in brackets. Creating these orders is an active learning process and makes it easier to remember not only what the drug is for, but also what makes it different from others for clinical challenges.

OTC NSAIDS - [in order of half-life and alphabetically]

  • Aspirin (Ecotrin) (ASA), shorter half-life
  • Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), shorter half-life
    • -profen is a recognized NSAID stem
  • Naproxen (Aleve), longer half-life

OTC Non-narcotic analgesic

  • Acetaminophen (Tylenol, APAP)

OTC NSAID / Non-narcotic analgesic / caffeine combination

  • ASA/APAP/Caffeine (Excedrin)
    • ASA for inflammation and pain
    • APAP for migraine pain
    • Caffeine used as vasoconstrictor

RX NSAID - [in order from COX-2 non-specific to COX-2 specific]

  • Meloxicam (Mobic)
    • -icam stem
  • Celecoxib (Celebrex) COX-2 specific
    • -coxib stem

Opioids - controlled medications - [in order of DEA schedule]

CII - most addicting class

  • Morphine (MS Contin)
    • Is at the top because it's the prototypical opioid medication
  • Fentanyl (Duragesic, Sublimaze)
  • Hydrocodone / APAP (Vicodin)
  • Oxycodone / APAP (Percocet)

CIII - less addicting than CII and so forth . . .

  • APAP / codeine (Tylenol #3)

CIV - Mixed opioid

  • Tramadol (Ultram)

Narcotic antagonist

  • Naloxone (Narcan)

Triptans [in alphabetical order]

  • Eletriptan (Relpax)
  • Sumatriptan (Imitrex)

DMARDS (Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatoid drugs) [From non-biologic to biologic]

  • Methotrexate (Rheumatrex) - a non-biologic
  • Abatacept (Orencia) - a biologic
  • Etanercept (Enbrel) - a biologic
    • -cept is a common stem
    • -tacept is a stem with a sub-stem "ta"
    • -nercept is a stem with a sub-stem "ner"

Osteoporosis agents Bisphosophonates [alphabetically]

  • Alendronate (Fosamax)
  • Ibandronate (Boniva)
    • -dronate is a stem

Muscle relaxers [alphabetically]

  • Cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril)
  • Diazepam (Valium)
    • -azepam is a stem (not -pam)

Anti-gout [uric acid reducers in alphabetical order]

  • Allopurinol (Zyloprim)
  • Febuxostat (Uloric)
    • -xostat is a stem

Try to take notes from the video with this short outline. Is it easier when you have a head start like a short outline? The same is true with pharmacology lectures. If you start with a lattice or framework, you'll catch a lot more. If you prefer to use notecards, try to group those notecards in this similar order and see if you remember them more easily.

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×
TonyPharmD

About TonyPharmD

Pharmacology / Chemistry / Educator

Tony Guerra, Pharm.D. / DesMoines Area Community College Pharmacology Professor

5 Articles   20 Posts

Share this post

Share on other sites
Specializes in Pharmacology.

Yes, you have some very good mnemonics in there, thanks for the link.

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment