Summer Pharmacology Class

[TmC1999]

Long story short, my nursing program is 2 years including a summer pharm class in which I am in now, it is 11 weeks and we have 4 tests and a final. I just failed my first pharm test with a 71 I am needing some study tips on what to do to help learn this material in such a short amount of time, we already have a second test this tuesday and I can't seem to retain the information in a week. I succeeded in med/surge with study groups but I can't seem to find any for pharm not sure if its because its summer or what. This is all frustrating especially when a class mate admitted to only studying 3 hours before test and passed it! When I put 2 weeks into that last one. Not sure where to go from here if I don't pass this class I dont go forward in the program. I would have to wait a year to continue and I can't afford the wait!

[Savvy20RN, BSN, RN]

I struggled in pharm too. What helped me was flash cards and repetition. Also relating the medication to an actual patient helps. I learned that I remembered medications in clinical and exams more easily when I had a patient to associate the drug with. For instance I had a patient with Myasthenia Gravis. She was really exhausted most of my shift, was out of breath a lot, was on oxygen and had a difficult time changing positions in bed. She also told me that her doctor told her to take frequent rest breaks. She was on Mestinon and I remember giving her that medication to improve her muscle strength and prevent her from having another crisis, which is why she was there.

Pharm is one of those classes where you either know it or you don't. Some times you can just learn the class of the drug such as beta blockers, ace inhibitors, anticholinergics and remember the drugs and s/s that fall under each class without remembering each individual medication. There's just too many to learn. Some medications have things common for that class. For instance a side effect of an ace inhibitor is a dry cough.

It may seem difficult now, but it's doable. Like I said, I struggled in pharm too. I think my lowest score was a 60 or something. After I changed my study method I got a high B in the class. :)

P.S. Don't worry about how much people are studying. Your classmate probably lied anyway. -sigh-

[closetoyou21, CNA]

First, don't doubt yourself.You can do this and you will pass the class!! Allow yourself at least 1 exam to do poorly on and make changes where need be. What was your focus when you were studying the chapters? I took pharm this summer as well and my class was only 6 weeks . Pharm is not easy but utilizing note cards a repeating the drugs over and over should help you. What strategies did you use for the exam? Oh yea, do not over study, your brain needs time to process information. On the other hand, don't under study either, so just try to find that middle ground.

I am taking Med Surg this Fall, what advice can you give me as far as studying for that course?

[suern2b]

You can do it!!! flash cards.. drill drill drill.. learn the classes and the suffixes common to each class like -olol for beta blockers etc. then you can usually (not always) figure out what the drug is for or what it does by knowing the class. Once you have the meds over and over in clinical they sink in. Our professor gave us just 2-3 meds per class to remember. That helped a lot. Mnemonics help too.