Help for Struggling Second Year Pharmacy Student

[HandThatFeeds90]

So I am currently a 2nd year pharmacy student almost finished with my second year. My school has a Pharmacotherapy course that is offered throughout the curriculum. I know it is a little late for seeking assistance but I have struggled with Pharmacotherapy since year 1. I study hard and consistently however, I only seem to make barely passing grades in these courses. I am doing fine in my other classes, but for whatever reason I cannot score well on these tests.

Hopefully you guys can offer some suggestions in terms of study habits, test-taking methods, or why I seem to really struggle with this subject.

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[RXthrowaway3]

Ask the students who are 1 year above you about the class. They'll be able to give you good info on how to study.

As a retail pharmacist, I don't really use much from my pharmacotherapy courses. I'd focus on knowing Pharmacology, as that is the most important course when it comes to actual everyday use.

 

[struong0512]

Hi HandThatFeeds90,

PM for details about what you've been struggling with and may be I can give you some tips. I know it can be overwhelmed with all the materials but don't let it get to you. Take a deep breath and tackle one topic at a time.

 

[DrVader]

So I am currently a 2nd year pharmacy student almost finished with my second year. My school has a Pharmacotherapy course that is offered throughout the curriculum. I know it is a little late for seeking assistance but I have struggled with Pharmacotherapy since year 1. I study hard and consistently however, I only seem to make barely passing grades in these courses. I am doing fine in my other classes, but for whatever reason I cannot score well on these tests.

Hopefully you guys can offer some suggestions in terms of study habits, test-taking methods, or why I seem to really struggle with this subject.

Once I starting using the program Anki, my grades what up by a letter grade. I am a big proponent of active learning. You should constantly test yourself. I would pull out my notes and create hundreds of flashcards for a course.

 

[BidMyLife01]

Pharmacotherapy is tough. I'm a first-year student, and half of my professors can't teach. I seriously don't understand why I even go to class when I can teach myself at home. It's such bs. Anyways, I happen to be doing well in my classes so I will give some advice. You can't just read your lecture. If you like to write, write out your notes. If you like to type it up, type it up like a story; And let it make sense. Since there's a lot of drugs I usually memorize them and try to make mnemonic for them or group them into one category and memorize them by their MOA. There's a class, Cardiology. It's such a hard class and honestly memorizing isn't good enough. You have to understand the material and find practice questions to help you prep. I think I waste my time listening to the lecture but you aren't supposed to do that. You need to look at your lecture and get a gist of everything, ingest it and then take a piece of paper and write what you learn. And test yourself over and over. I like the KissMethod. Youtube "KissPharm" -- he posts videos about pharmacology. I like the way he teaches his students. Just check it out. Perhaps studying like that will help in your studying. Don't study to memorize, study to understand. I have a gastro exam this Monday and I know it will be OD hard cause one of my professors is completely clinical. So I'm going to understand each disease and relate each drug and section them off by what they target and the contraindications. And repeat this material to myself and ingest it the way I didn't in class, by taking each part of the lecture and understanding it. PM me i'll give you advice on what I do. It's so much to write on this post. I do want you to excel in school.

 

[Son_Goku]

Pharmacotherapy is a redundant course imo. It's basically Pharmacology but instead of MoA, it's guidelines.

 

[Trishna28]

Write/type your notes down twice. The second time you write it, it should be really concise. I got Bs the first time in Therapy but this semester I’m making As. So I’m guessing the improvement I see is because of this.

San Goku is right. Know your pharmacology like the back of your hand, after that, just follow what guidelines, professors tell you to focus on and go from there.

And attend therapy classes because this course is more about what the professor likes to test you on. If you’re there, you’ll know what they really stressed upon and more often than not, that’s what shows up on the test.


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[headortail]

Pharmacotherapy is a redundant course imo. It's basically Pharmacology but instead of MoA, it's guidelines.

I would agree with this. Therapeutics (same as "pharmacotherapy") was the class I struggled with the most - the materials presented seem to be so scattered, so many adverse reactions, so many uses, so confusing... I loved pharmacology & kinetics, but thought therapeutics was such snooze. Don't even get me started on the dosing lol. ID was the worst because there was so much materials.

If I could do it all over again, I would read guidelines instead of textbook; guidelines highlight what's really important in practice (and as a result, will show up on your patient cases / case based questions). Read the bolded summary first, then if you have time, read why the recommendations are the way they are. In real life, even when you're working, you'll have to constantly refresh yourself because guidelines will change, and textbooks cite guidelines anyways, so go this route.

 

[BidingMyTime]

Many colleges have bad professors. There is a difference (or should be), in therapeutics and pharmacology. The 2 classes complement each other, but should have different focuses. At least when I went to school, pharmacology just focused solely on the drugs and mechanisms and actions, but therapeutics focused on the actual use of drugs in real-life humans. I found therapeutics to be the most helpful class, because it pulled together everything I learned in the previous years.

 

[Son_Goku]

Many colleges have bad professors. There is a difference (or should be), in therapeutics and pharmacology. The 2 classes complement each other, but should have different focuses. At least when I went to school, pharmacology just focused solely on the drugs and mechanisms and actions, but therapeutics focused on the actual use of drugs in real-life humans. I found therapeutics to be the most helpful class, because it pulled together everything I learned in the previous years.

That's called guidelines.

 

[owlegrad]

That's called guidelines.

If your therapeutics class was just reading guidelines it was poorly taught. Of course you do learn guidelines in therapeutics but at least in my school's curriculum it was where you brought everything together. I am sure it varies widely between schools and even between students (perception being what it is).

Would it have been possible for me to pass just by memorizing guidelines? Probably, but that would have been missing the point entirely, IMO. Therapeutics should be a high level conceptual class where you draw from your understanding of other classes to know why the guidelines are what they are. Anyone can read a flow chart, the point is to know why the guidelines are what they are. Plus you should know the limitations of guidelines, e.g., when to use a new therapy that hasn't been incorporated into guidelines yet. Not to mention you need to know which guidelines to use for what condition. And to know when to use what type of source to research a drug issue.

Of course it is all but irrelevant once you graduate anyway.

 

[HandThatFeeds90]

Once I starting using the program Anki, my grades what up by a letter grade. I am a big proponent of active learning. You should constantly test yourself. I would pull out my notes and create hundreds of flashcards for a course.

What is Anki?

 

[DrVader]

What is Anki?

Anki is a space repetition program. You create interactive flashcards and then test your knowledge. The program then asks you how well you think you did and sort the cards on difficulty.

 

[Sabril]

Pharmacotherapy? I wonder if it is the same class as what we called pharmacotherapeutics in my school. You know, the professors fly through slides as if they are auctioneers on steroid, and on the test give you cases the size of phone books (and far less interesting to read).

If it is the same kind of class, then I had major nightmares with it. I survived by brute memorization. I know it is not the right approach, but knowing the contraindications, the serious drug interactions, the right routes, the ballpark dosing etc... helped me eliminate the wrong choices quickly (luckily the test was multiple-choice for us). So I first ask myself, when you should NOT use this drug or this class of drugs? patient with fluid retention? don't start beta blockers. Angioedema? don't mess with ACEI, ARB and that weirdo Entresto.

I believe the same thing applies for the NAPLEX also. Lots of time traps if you sit there and try to work the case "the honest way."

That is just for passing tests, not getting the high grades. I am not discounting the value of the therapeutic courses. I think they are important but are often not being taught well.

And I agree with RXthrowaway3, the upperclassmen are your best bet. I believe many things that are being taught in these classes are more like individual opinions of the professors, not hard and fast rules to live by, so the students before you would know best what to focus on.

Hopefully your upperclassmen will not try to psych you out like they did to me. Probably why I didn't do as well as I should because I kept on second guessing myself.

 

[PharmDBro2017]

Pharmacotherapy? I wonder if it is the same class as what we called pharmacotherapeutics in my school. You know, the professors fly through slides as if they are auctioneers on steroid, and on the test give you cases the size of phone books (and far less interesting to read).

If it is the same kind of class, then I had major nightmares with it. I survived by brute memorization. I know it is not the right approach, but knowing the contraindications, the serious drug interactions, the right routes, the ballpark dosing etc... helped me eliminate the wrong choices quickly (luckily the test was multiple-choice for us). So I first ask myself, when you should NOT use this drug or this class of drugs? patient with fluid retention? don't start beta blockers. Angioedema? don't mess with ACEI, ARB and that weirdo Entresto.

I believe the same thing applies for the NAPLEX also. Lots of time traps if you sit there and try to work the case "the honest way."

That is just for passing tests, not getting the high grades. I am not discounting the value of the therapeutic courses. I think they are important but are often not being taught well.

And I agree with RXthrowaway3, the upperclassmen are your best bet. I believe many things that are being taught in these classes are more like individual opinions of the professors, not hard and fast rules to live by, so the students before you would know best what to focus on.

Hopefully your upperclassmen will not try to psych you out like they did to me. Probably why I didn't do as well as I should because I kept on second guessing myself.

Yes, Pharmacotherapy = pharmacotherapeutics.

 

[Son_Goku]

Yes, Pharmacotherapy = pharmacotherapeutics.

And he wonders why he struggled

 

[Sabril]

And he wonders why he struggled

lol, got to make sure. My school tends to give weird names to things. Like how many of you hear the term "Chem 7"? sound like a cheesy boy band.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

lol, got to make sure. My school tends to give weird names to things. Like how many of you hear the term "Chem 7"? sound like a cheesy boy band.

Literally everyone knows what chem 7 means

 

[Sabril]

Literally everyone knows what chem 7 means

fair point. but who uses that term?