Pharmacology Exam/Final Study Tips & Supplemental Material Suggestions

[akgreenberg92]

Hello all!

I am in a second degree accelerated BSN program in Illinois.

I need advice for studying pharmacology, I study for hours and feel like I always do poorly on exams. Any general advice or supplemental materials you would suggest?

Right now I have Scrubcheats, NRSNG membership, and LevelUpRN flashcards.

ANYTHING will be helpful! Thanks!

[Rionoir, ADN, RN]

Picmonic

[nursingstudentwannabe, BSN, RN]

I understand how you feel. At the beginning of the semester, I wasn't doing too hot in pharm, but I figured out the studying methods that worked best for both the class and myself. I just took my cumulative final, and I got an A, with a final grade of B+ in the class overall.

What really helped for me was taking blank sheets of paper, breaking drugs into categories,and writing down major pointers of each drug/category. For example: prazosin: alpha blocker; causes vasodilation and is used to treat hypertension; side effects; orthostatic hypotension, dizziness, palpitations; nursing interventions: monitor BP and HR, etc.

It's amazing how much you retain merely by rewriting notes. Discussing the material with fellow students or even with family/friends also helped me a lot! I've also used Quizlet, which was also helpful.

These methods might not work for you, because everyone is different, but I hope these help! Good luck and hang in there!

[Thoenix]

Coloured pens are your best friend.

Write out the name of the drug three times in one colour. Write out the category three times in another colour. (Best if you write name category name category name category rather than three then three). Write the effects just once in a third colour.

It is *much* easier to picture the colours in an exam, in my experience. I can picture the colours which helps me remember what's a name, what's a category and what's an effect. And writing the name and category three times helps me connect them. Switching pens in between writing each thing (to get my alternate colour) forces me to slow down and consider what I'm writing. I came out of my pharm prerequisite having only missed about 8 points out of a possible 500.

[LubbDubb77, BSN, RN]

Everyone learns differently but for pharm I write out the classification and the meds underneath. Then I write out the things they all have in common. Under that I write out what the outliers are or if there is anything specifically different for a particular med. It's tough to remember each one bc a lot of them do the same thing. But some have different side effects, BBW's, and contraindictations. I like the idea of colored pencils. I tried doing something similar with highlighting and it didn't work for me. Maybe writing in different colors will help. I hope my post helps you! Best of luck!

[madeline_, BSN, RN]

For me, the easiest way to learn drugs is to study them by class (ex: beta blockers) and to know the general information that would apply to that class. I love the CJ Miller cartoons! If you're a visual learner, these will really help with learning common side effects and nursing implications. Someone above me mentioned that writing the information in different colors helps you remember on the test and I agree with this! Best of luck ?