What is Pharm. like?

birthrevolution · Sep 8, 2010

I actually really enjoyed pharm! I could see how class could be pretty boring unless you had a really dynamic instructor (or slightly crazy like ours was). Powerpoints of all the side effects and pharmacokinetics can be a little dry. There is a lot of memorization (hard), but what's nice is that once you memorize the classes you already know a lot about a specific drug, even if it's the first time you've heard of it (easy). Then it's a matter of knowing the exceptions to the rules. I do think it helps to have a good understanding of patho and that also helps you understand how the drug works. There wasn't a lot of math in our Pharm classes, we did drug calculations in med surg. I studied by making lots of charts/spreadsheets separated by class of drug and system with the drug, action, side effects, etc. People also like to do acronyms and sayings, but for me memorizing that is harder than just memorizing the actually information! That said, I know Pharm was the one few classes that a few people fail each semester in our program, so I think it's worth really staying on top of your work so that if you aren't getting it you can get help sooner rather than later.

CoffeemateCNA · Sep 8, 2010

The math isn't difficult at all. There are just a few formulas to memorize. Using those, you can solve almost any drug calculation problem. The kicker is learning all of the volume and weight conversions (1 oz = 30 mL; 0.1 mg = 100 mcg, etc.).

itsmejuli · Sep 8, 2010

I have no problem with the math and I'm not even a math person.

My problem is retaining all the information on the drugs, classes, etc etc. Its like I have a mental block that refuses to memorize the data. Afterall, I can look up everything in my drug book so why should I memorize it all. That's what my brain thinks and I have to fight it.