Pharmacology - do flash cards help - best advice

sproeber89 · Jan 13, 2009

I'm taking Pharm this semester also and was wondering the same things, I checked the reviews on Amazon.com and from what i saw for the price you dont get too much for it, however I did find this book which seemed to have decent reviews and isn't too badly priced, I plan on purchasing it. Otherwise the advice I keep hearing is make your own notecards on information that is more important to you.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1427797471/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

Hope it helps! Good luck!

Dianacabana · Jan 13, 2009

I have taken Pharmacology and I made my own flash cards. I thought it was more helpful to me to do it that way. I am taking med-surg this semester and my prof recommended Pharm Phlash by FA Davis. I looked it over but still think making my own cards is better than using these. But look them over and see what works for you. Personally I learn by muscle memory and so writing the cards is an important learning process for me.

And, I did very well in the class by doing it myself.

ZanatuBelmont · Jan 13, 2009

Hi~
I am taking Pharmacology this sememester and have been told it is a tough class. Does anyone have any advice on how to make it any easier. I see there are several sets of flash cards and Pharmacology notecards that you can purchase. I was just wondering if anyone had used them and what they thought helped the most.
Thanks so much!

Hi,

I finished Pharmacology last year with an 88 after finals factored in (My exam grades were 92, 94, 92 and, the last two weeks of school when I pooped out, a 76 - only because I did not review that section [shame on me!]).

There were only four or six students I knew of that successfully used flashcards for Pharmacology out of 160 students. Personally, I hate flashcards. What I recommend is learning to truly understand the fight-flight & rest-digest responses (parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system). Drugs typically mimic those responses, so remembering the responses in the nervous system often gives you quick clues.

For instance, you automatically know that cholinergics close your airways (also think: chol, close) by remembering the basic function of the parasympathetic nervous system. Parasympathic nervous system responses include, just to name a few: narrowing of the bronchioles, relaxed bladder, decreased heart rate and constricted pupil. As I said, KNOWING the parasympathetic/sympathetic nervous system front and back, up and down, side to side will lead you to understanding how a drug works.

And when you figure that out, start grouping drugs together. I caution you, however, NOT to fall into the trap of associating the ends of drug names with the classification (such as: drugs ending with 'lol' (like Atenolol) are a beta blocker). While learning the ending of a drug name IS an indicator of what that drug attempts to do, it will NOT, I repeat, NOT help you pass Pharmacology if that's ALL you focus on, as was the case with 16 students who (from what I recall) flunked that class from in my program. Learning the endings of the drugs is simply a tool that you add when you understand the fight-flight/rest-digest responses.

I hope that makes sense. Keep in mind this is how *I* learned and excelled in Pharmacology, but that doesn't mean you share my learning style. If you (or someone else) has an easier way, go for it! This is what worked for me. :-)

LuvScrubs2, BSN, RN · Jan 13, 2009

Yes, absolutely, I took both Pharm 1 and Pharm2 at my school. I used a combination of both, meaning I purchased Mosby's pocket guide Pharm note codes which are colored coded with fun analogies of how to memorize certain drugs in their own categories, etc.... the Mosby's pharm flashcards are a pretty reasonable price as well.... when I took Pharm2 I made up my own cards esp. with the anibiotics which is a huge component of pharm... So I hope this helps and good luck!!!!!

fiveofpeep · Jan 15, 2009

I took Pharm and got an A by doing knitty gritty memorization of flash cards.

I also made my own practice tests (see my website link in my profile for examples) which helped me immensely. Free recall is so tough to learn, but if you make "test questions" for yourself, you get better at taking tests and can give yourself some confidence. I always make practice tests to study, but for pharm, this is where I made them the most.

What SDB said is good too.

Learn from the teacher and tests what is important to know and what isnt so important. For example, we had like 10+ interactions and side effects per drug, but you could pick up on what was more important to remember.

Fun analogies and acronyms are helpful too. I used http://medicalmnemonics.com quite a bit.

Good luck :)

Harparia · Jan 15, 2009

This isn't exactly what you are asking, but I found the Feuer Pharmacology review to be very helpful. It is a 6 hour audio lecture that you can buy for $99.00. It covers the classifications and about 100 of the most used drugs. I haven't taken a pharm class yet, but I feel that learning the drugs by classification is much more efficient. The course is expensive (for me anyway), but I am very glad I made the investment. Here is a link so you can check it out.

http://www.f-n-r.net/Pharm-home-page.html

Best of Luck,

Harparia

ghe677 · Sep 22, 2009

thanks for posting this, i will try your method and hopefully it will help me.

examinator · Sep 22, 2009

Depending on your book, i might be able to help with testbanks to get you through. check out examsplus.flyingcart.com

BigTuna · Oct 1, 2010

Parasympathic nervous system responses include, just to name a few: narrowing of the bronchioles, relaxed bladder, decreased heart rate and constricted pupil. As I said, KNOWING the parasympathetic/sympathetic nervous system front and back, up and down, side to side will lead you to understanding how a drug works.

I am pretty sure that parasympathetic nervous stimulation contracts the bladder (and relaxes the sphincter).

IaCountryGirl · Oct 1, 2010

I'm not one for flash cards unless it's very limited information.

What I do is use a sheet of paper that my nursing class provides. On the left hand side is "Drug' "Other Names' 'Dose' 'Action' 'Adverse effects' and 'Nursing actions'. Then you fill in the blanks. I remember more by the time I'm done writing.