Pharmacology

[Future_Nurse_Natalie]

I'm taking Pharm this semester and I thought I would start this thread for anyone else taking it so we can help each other or for anyone who has taken it and has advice.

[Future_Nurse_Natalie]

Something else that's helpful is Mosby's Pharmacology NoteCards, ISBN 0323031919. It can be ordered on-line through Books-A-Million. It has some pretty good ways (uses visual & mnemonics) to remember classifications, uses, S/E, etc. I found it way after my pharm was done, but it's pocket size and good for quick ref. in clinicals (but doesn't take the place of a good drug book).

D.W.

Oh I got these before class even started and I must say the cartoons are quite helpful! :chuckle

[Megsd, BSN, RN]

I think the key to learning this stuff is to try and write/say an answer WITHOUT looking at any notes. Reading your notes over and and over again doesn't mean that you know it. Am I making any sense?

I also find myself telling my friends stuff they could care less about. Such as "did you know that codine and morphine are naturally occuring opiates -not a synthetic". If you can teach someone else then you know it...

I totally agree with both these statements. My pharm professor has an unusual teaching method... like the socratic method, where he expects us to fully know our objectives well enough to be able to write down the answer from memory, and class time is used to ask him questions or have him ask us questions to test our knowledge. It requires a lot of time and preparation but I honestly feel I understand the concepts behind this stuff rather than just memorizing it, so hopefully it will stay with me longer.

Definitely write stuff down to see if you know it. As my prof told us "A lot of people can talk and talk and talk and nothing of substance comes out. Your pen is a lot less forgiving."

I also find myself enlightening people about pharmacological processes. My BF is a paramedic, so I often try to compare how I was taught things with what he learned to use in the field. We got into a heated discussion last week over the use of thrombolytics and anticoagulants. :chuckle

I got a 98 on our midterm this quarter and as such am the most hated person in the course, but I find it relevant and fascinating, so that motivates me to study. Good luck to all of you guys!

[grnapple]

I'm having problems retaining my pharmacology reading, any suggestions? i still havn't taken my first exam so I don't know what to expect or how to study for it, i'm really nervous.