advice for therapeutics courses and how to juggle classwork and a job

[SeekerofTruth]

Hello everyone,

I started therapeutics last semester. The class is quite difficult..I am wondering if anyone has any tips for doing well in the course and learning all the different topics. My next semester will contain dyslipidemia, asthma type topics, hypertension, and diabetes and I'm not sure how to tackle this course. I don't think my study habits from other courses is useful for this one...

also, in the years past, I was adamant about not working during school and I have very little experience in a pharmacy as a result. Lately, I've decided I probably should find an internship somewhere. I've applied around and am waiting to hear back. I'm not sure how I'll be able to juggle it all though

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[confettiflyer]

Small/effective study group (7-8 people), divide lectures up and assign each person to create one page "need to know" study guides. Enabled me to not attend lectures to free up time to pursue other activities (work 30+ hours a week, travel), and made my studying a lot more efficient.

 

[SeekerofTruth]

How do you know what there is that is "need to know?" My therapeutics courses are required so I need to go. The exam questions last semester included pregnancy category for one drug out of like 10 for a one hour lecture, which med caused constipation out of like 15, etc...I feel like I need to memorize every last detail to do well in this course.

 

[confettiflyer]

How do you know what there is that is "need to know?" My therapeutics courses are required so I need to go. The exam questions last semester included pregnancy category for one drug out of like 10 for a one hour lecture, which med caused constipation out of like 15, etc...I feel like I need to memorize every last detail to do well in this course.

Your school sounds anal and stupid, so sorry for that.

 

[PharmDCandidate2014]

Like 99% of pharmacy courses out there, you can do well in pharmacotherapeutics through rote repetition and memorization. Index cards, re-writing things constantly, quizzing your classmates . . . it's all the same study habits from your upper division biology in undergrad. PT is supposedly one of the more "difficult" courses, (I don't buy that crap) but having a firm grasp on your courses from P1 year (physiology, pharmacology) will be extremely valuable for your potential success in this course. If you want a source of questions, get a NAPLEX book or pre-written flash cards from Amazon and start working those.

 

[SeekerofTruth]

I think my school breaks down exams very poorly. There are like 80-90 pages of notes per exam because some lecturers are terrible and think they can just cram info down our throats and it'll be okay.

I fail to see how I am supposed to memorize all these little details to be able to do well.

Oh, I'm supposed to memorize the textbook as well for one or two questions - thus I take a hit on it. So far, I've seen that if I were to memorize the notes, I should be able to get the textbook based questions correct as well.

 

[cj98]

Make drug charts for every topic!!!

Also, if you work, take that time to memorize brand/generic, what dose/dosage forms it comes in, and common sigs.

 

[UofK]

That's just pharmacy school. I've been taking 23-25 credit hours for the past 4 semesters, dual degree, multiple intern jobs, 2 weekends per month during the semester plus weekday shifts after class. You have to put in the work.

I find it helpful to type out my notes in outline format, print them off (typically a therapeutics exam block exam will be approximately 120 pages or so), and the read through it like a book. You can get through it once in about 2-3 hours. If you forget something...start from the very beginning and read it all over again. If you get half way through it the second time and you start forgetting things, again, start over. This repetition really seems to help.

 

[PharmDCandidate2014]

Don't know what else to say. Don't mean to be harsh, but each student is already have supposed to have found something that efficiently works after the P1 year, or even preferably during undergraduate studies. To be honest, without a strong foundation from your P1 year, your P2 - P4 courses will be absolutely awful unless you have access to old exams and cheat.

You need to find a way to simultaneously work/intern and successfully perform in your classes. I don't know why so many of today's pharmacy students replace the textbook with PowerPoints that honestly have worse organization than the book - you can thank your PGY-1 clinical professors that couldn't make it out as actual pharmacists for that. The book's details tell you a "story" which makes the major points flow a great deal better than PPT notes alone. It might be time consuming at first - but with time and practice - a lot of things will definitely stick and make sense.

Working in a pharmacy setting while taking classes is also a good way to apply facts from school and keep your mind sharp. Don't skimp out on working in a real setting, as this will help you network with preceptors and supervisors to obtain paid hours after you graduate. Go apply to CVS, Wag's as a tech. It's paid work and you'll get hired pretty quickly as you are a current pharmacy student and turnover rate is through the roof depending on location.

 

[Dred Pirate]

I attended class (Missed one class in 4 years) - read my notes over and over - never made a chart, never even cracked open my therapeutics book. My only group studying was over a beer at the bar. I worked 30+ hours a week - graduated in the top 5% of my class. Basically if a school is legit, if you attend class, and memorize what was on the notes, you should do fine.

 

[confettiflyer]

I attended class (Missed one class in 4 years) - read my notes over and over - never made a chart, never even cracked open my therapeutics book. My only group studying was over a beer at the bar. I worked 30+ hours a week - graduated in the top 5% of my class. Basically if a school is legit, if you attend class, and memorize what was on the notes, you should do fine.

Haha, you did the opposite of me. I never went to class unless it was my turn to make the charts, I converted the time I was going to spend in class to work 30+ hours a week. Dunno what percentile I graduated in since they never released the data, but my paycheck every 2 weeks leads me to believe I did fine. Hahah.

 

[Dred Pirate]

Haha, you did the opposite of me. I never went to class unless it was my turn to make the charts, I converted the time I was going to spend in class to work 30+ hours a week. Dunno what percentile I graduated in since they never released the data, but my paycheck every 2 weeks leads me to believe I did fine. Hahah.

whatever works and gets us through is what matters - I was the type that if I payed attention during class it would save me 3x that in study time. and I am the first to say it doesn't matter where you graduate, as long as you do (unless you are trying for a residency, etc)

 

[SpartanLaser]

I used the previous year's notes and compared it to my year's blank packet. Helped a ton and saved a bunch of headache