RN program missing pharmacology!!!!!

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Hello,

I guess this is, in some way, a cry out for help! I joined a nursing program that was spoken SO highly of when I was a pre-nursing student. Since I have been accepted, the program has undergone a transition because they are trying to become accredited. One of the requirements is that the instructors have a master's degree or higher, so we lost a good handful of wonderful teachers whom I was looking forward to working with. One of these teachers had a passion for pharmacology and it seems now that she is gone, no one has picked up the slack. I am finishing my second semester and I have only been exposed to a little pharmacology info that was covered in my med surge book. This is by no means good enough in my opinion, and I am scared for my future career because we do not have any pharmacology scheduled for our remaining 2 semesters. I have spoken with RN's about this and they are concerned for my success with NCLEX because there is so much med information involved. Not to mention my future patients who will be depending on me!!

Does anyone know of good resources online that you could point me towards that may help me do some self studying? I have a set of Mosby pharmacology flashcards and I have the NCLEX study book w/CD. I just feel like I need more than just memorization. If there is some way to apply or practice the information maybe? I might be reaching pretty far here, but there are no stupid questions in nursing, right? :o Any advice is welcome!!

p.s. Unfortunately, switching programs is not an option as my other option is an expensive private school and I would lose 25% of my credits by transferring. My family has already invested so much in my schooling already!

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I don't know what to tell you to study I can only tell you that I'm in a ADN program and we do not have a pharmacology course either. Most pass the NCLEX at my university. All we do is make drug cards with what meds our patients are on. We also have read about 2 chapters out of a pharmacology book.

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i'm wondering how a program gets such a great reputation if it's not accredited. you shouldn't have gone to an unaccredited program, and if you lose some of your credits in a transfer to one that is accredited, it's better than not being licensed (by reciprocity if necessary) because you went to an unaccredited school-- and you'll get a better education to boot. to clarify that, some states will let you sit the nclex without attending an accredited school, but others won't, and if you move to one of those others some day, they will not license you even if you passed nclex.

or am i missing something?

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I find it surprising that any RN program would not have a pharmacology course. Although our pharm class was very difficult, I'm glad we have one (actually 2: pharm 1 and 2) in our program. If a program doesn't have one, pharm should be heavily woven into the program. That said I wish we had more of our pharm woven into the second half of our program... I'm afraid I might be forgetting a lot that I learned a couple quarters ago.

Anyway, you might want to purchase a pharm text and self study. I'm sure you already have a lot on your plate, but it might be worth it in the end.

Here's the text we used.

http://www.amazon.com/Clinical-Drug-Therapy-Rationales-Practice/dp/0781777690/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322617912&sr=1-1

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kaydensmom01, thank you for your reply. Yes, I am familiar with the med cards :) I was just hoping for more explanation than just copying out of the book, but I know repetition is very helpful too.

GrnTea, I hear what you are saying about the school not being accredited. It is actually Minnesota's mission to get all of their nursing schools accredited so there are many in the process right now. None of them are currently accredited in my area, but my school is actually going to be the first of the 3, and when I graduate in Dec. 2012, I will be grandfathered in with the status of being from an accredited school. I was lucky with the timing because the semester ahead of me will not. All of these changes have kind of screwed with us though. Bittersweet I guess.

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PaperPencil, Thank you, I might check that out and see if that will help. That would be a good idea for some guided study.

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Specializes in LTC, Psych, Hospice.

I can't imagine nursing school w/o pharm! :confused: My LPN program had a full semester of pharm. I'm now in a BSN program & we have 2 semesters of patho/pharm.

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Specializes in Operating Room.

They could incorporate it into med/surg perhaps? And I'll second the notion that going to an unaccredited school is...questionable. How can you put your future on "we are in the process of getting accreditation." Uh, what if they don't? I've heard too many stories of students, that upon graduation, realized they could not sit for boards because the school did not get accreditation.

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i find it surprising that any rn program would not have a pharmacology course. although our pharm class was very difficult, i'm glad we have one (actually 2: pharm 1 and 2) in our program. if a program doesn't have one, pharm should be heavily woven into the program. that said i wish we had more of our pharm woven into the second half of our program... i'm afraid i might be forgetting a lot that i learned a couple quarters ago.

anyway, you might want to purchase a pharm text and self study. i'm sure you already have a lot on your plate, but it might be worth it in the end.

here's the text we used.

http://www.amazon.com/clinical-drug-therapy-rationales-practice/dp/0781777690/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=utf8&qid=1322617912&sr=1-1

i attended csu los angeles in their generic bsn program. their program is accredited and they incorporated their pharmacology into the general didactic classes. (i have no idea what they have been doing since i graduated). i was not that comfortable without pharm and the info i retained. i took a separate pharm class at a local community college--it also counted for continuing education credits.

i can recommend

adams, m. p., holland, l. n. & urban, c. q. (2011). pharmacology for nurses: a pathophysiologic approach (3rd ed.). upper saddle river, nj: pearson education, inc.

isbn-13 978-0-13-508981-1

isbn-10 0-12-508981-6

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Many schools do not have a separate pharmacology course, they state that pharmacology is 'integrated' throughout the program. My program was like this. I recognized that I was not learning any pharmacology. When they changed the program while I was there, a separate pharmacology course was added (!). I tried to sign up for it. The instructor would not sign my add form and was nasty about it. Just one of the bad tastes in my mouth about that particular program. I still managed to pass NCLEX but not because of the great instruction I received. The advice I can offer is that you need to spend time studying from a pharmacology text, that is what I did.

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Hey all!

I'm jumping on with an addition to the original question that sarawin posed. I hope to start Nursing School in the fall and my program will have a pharm class. i want to self study but don't specifically know what to memorize. When I look at drug books there are lots of categories under each drug name. I'm guessing we have to know Trade Names, Generic Names, uses, interactions, for example, but what else should we focus on?

I have a pharm book but looking at it makes my eyes cross. I found this video that seemed to help but I'm not sure if she includes all categories to study for each drug or class. Thoughts?

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We study classes in the Davis Drug Guide. We look at the class, trade and generic, mechanism of action, side effects/adverse, nursing implications and patient education

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