1test determines it all/so unfair!

[futurepsychrn, ADN]

Feeling so discouraged right now. I've worked my butt off for a little over a year to keep my GPA at a good level. I've jumped through all the hoops the school has required. It comes down to standardized testing to determine whether or not I can continue in the program. I have 1 more try to pass the ATI Pharm exam and if I fail, I'm done in the program.

I've passed every class, every clinical and none of that matters. I wouldn't even mind if we had been taught the material we are being tested on, but we weren't. I've studied the entire book over and over and practically written the whole thing out taking notes(almost a 600 page book), I've watched all the videos over and over and taken all the practice tests time after time(the practice tests are ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like the proctored test). I think it's impossible to memorize every drug and every side effect, interaction, contraindication/precaution!!!! Furthermore, it's unnecessary. No nurse knows every med and all the info about it off the top of their head!

I think it's truly a shame that all my life I've wanted to be a nurse and within a year this school has taken that completely out of me. There's no need for them to make this education experience so 'nail biting" "on the edge".

Educational institutions should provide an atmosphere that induces learning, not one that makes students absolutely abhor going to school every day.

I'm tired of having to say "if I graduate from nursing school" not "when I graduate from nursing school!

[pmabraham, BSN, RN]

Learn pharm by classes. Whenever possible group drugs by like areas of the name. I.e. second generation sulfonylureas typically start with "gl" and end with "ide"; ACE Inhibitors typically end in "pril." While there are exceptions to any rule, a class generally shares the same method of action, contraindications, side effects, and patient teaching. For side effects, focus on the common and the adverse. An app that marks common one's (italics, started, etc.) and adverse ones (all uppercase for example) helps. If you are using ATI pharmacology 3.0, they note the prototype drug; so use those drugs as a foundation.

[mrsboots87]

Agreed with the above poster. Obviously enough people pass this exam for the program to have decided it was a method for matriculation. You don't have to memorize each and every drug, and if you are trying to then that is you problem. You need to know the prototype drug for all the classes and the other common drugs given and you should have enough base knowledge to pass. College level courses are not made to hold your hand all the way through. Especially nursing programs and other medical professional programs.

It is a major part of the job for a nurse to be familiar with ALL drugs they give before they give them. Of course nurses come across drugs they don't know and have to look them up. But I can guarantee that most nurses know at least the prototype for each class of drug and the common ones given on their unit. They don't have time to just be looking up meds all day or they would never get their work done.

As the previous poster said, learn how to group your drugs. ACE Inhibitors usually end in 'pril' (lisinopril, captopril), they are antihypertensives, they drop blood pressure but not usually pulse, and they work in the kidneys, can cause an "ACE cough. Beta blockers end in 'olol'. Similar to ACE inhibitors except they work on beta cells to reduce blood pressure, they also reduce HR. H2 agonists usually end in "tidine" with a few exceptions (famotidine). ARBs usually end in 'sartan" and are like ACE inhibitors without the ACE cough and a slightly different mechanism of action. Antihyperlipidemics usually end in 'statin'.

See where this is going. Learn the prototype drug and what the drugs in that class usually sound like. Don't try to learn each individual drug. That would be near impossible. GL

[futurepsychrn, ADN]

I'm studying my brains out. I appreciate the advice. Just one thing, they don't know this works, we are the test class. It's to boost their NCLEX pass rates. And I passed pharmacology with a strong B. I know I need to know the meds and I do but that test has meds I've never heard of. One of my remediation assignments was to look up drugs contraindicated for asthma in the "Drugs for Asthma" chapter. The only thing I could come up with from that chapter was acetylcistine. Sigh....

[ThymeRN]

NCLEX will also have meds you've never heard of. If it helps, view this as enhancing your test taking skills as well as your pharmacology knowledge. NCLEX is also a "one test that determines it all." Your school may be trying to help people overcome test anxiety, through practice.

Listen to the advice, learn your classes and prototype drugs.

[mrsboots87]

I'm studying my brains out. I appreciate the advice. Just one thing, they don't know this works, we are the test class. It's to boost their NCLEX pass rates. And I passed pharmacology with a strong B. I know I need to know the meds and I do but that test has meds I've never heard of. One of my remediation assignments was to look up drugs contraindicated for asthma in the "Drugs for Asthma" chapter. The only thing I could come up with from that chapter was acetylcistine. Sigh....

Look into drugs that affect beta cells. There are certain ones that can exasperate asthma, particularly cardiac drugs. If I give you the answer, then it won't be learned, but that should send you in the right direction.

And I do get the frustration. I was fortunate enough to get a program that incorporated pharm into the theory classes. So we learned all drugs and classes alongside the diseases and such they are used for. This made it much easier to learn. I don't know all drugs, but I know at least a bit about each of the classes and most common medications. Usually with that, if I don't know a drug that pops up in a test not made by my program instructors, I can usually find the answer by process of elimination. Knock out the answers that I know have to do with different drugs. Its not fullproof because the drug in question could come from a class that I knocked out the answer for, but its better then blindly guessing and hoping. When all else fails, use your NCLEX skills in breaking down the questions and eliminating answers.

It sounds like you truly are studying, but not in a way that is sticking. Try to change things up a bit. Pharm can be so dry and hard to learn.

[canigraduate]

The ATI pharm book is not the greatest, but it is a good blue print.

Utilize other resources. I use a Lippincott drug book, myself.

You can also go on iTunes U and listen to pharmacology lectures from different schools.

I second what the PP said about breaking drugs down into classes and memorizing the prototype. Then you only have to memorize what stands out about the similar drugs.

Pharm was the only subject where flash cards actually helped me, so perhaps you could try that. I also didn't have a separate class, my program had the pharm incorporated.

It's a lot easier to learn by problem, also, if you can do it that way.

I taught myself pharm by "fixing" problems.

Ex: My patient has high BP.

How can I fix that? Do I give a beta blocker? Nope, my patient has asthma. Do I give an ACE inhibitor? Yes! My patient can take an ACE.

What problems can happen? Blood pressure too low, face can swell up from kinin interactions, can develop a cough, can have kidney problems.

What do I need to monitor to see if these problems are happening? BP/HR, assess for angioedema/cough, monitor creatinine and BUN

What do I teach my patient? Monitor your blood pressure and urine, and call the doc if problems arise. Stop taking immediately and call the doctor if you feel short of breath, your face/throat swell, you stop peeing or develop swelling, etc.

I'm not going to list it all out, but you get the drift.

Relating the drugs to the problems you are fixing helps a lot, at least in my case.

A lot of learning these days is left up to the learner. You are given the blueprint and expected to learn on your own.

Good luck.

[bunnysanford]

One resource that really helped me was a podcast at nrsng.com The guy does a whole series of med of the day podcasts that are like 5-10 minutes each, just all the important info. I was able to download the ones I wanted onto my phone and listen to them on headphones as I was doing stuff around the house. I agree with you that ATI proctored tests are very different from the practice ones in terms of content, but the question structure is close enough (though sometimes there are some totally out-there questions). Good luck!

[futurepsychrn, ADN]

Just an update. I passed! I swear the walk down that hall to the testing room was the longest "Green Mile" I've ever walked!

[PeanutButterToast]

Congratulations!!!

[canigraduate]

Congratulations!!

[futurepsychrn, ADN]

Thank you. Onward I go lol.