Pharmcards or BRS Pharm flashcards??

blackberry13 said:

What should a beginner use for a solid score on the pharm section of step 1? What do you people prefer more?

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I very much preferred pharmcards during 2nd year, but for board study I generally used what was in FA along with notes I added throughout the year. I felt good about the pharm on step 1, but my scores aren't back yet...

Has anybody used these BRS Pharmacology Flashcards? I heard that they are pretty good. I am just concerned that the Pharmacology in First Aid is too much detail/information. Thanks for your advice.

AK_MD2BE said:

Has anybody used these BRS Pharmacology Flashcards? I heard that they are pretty good. I am just concerned that the Pharmacology in First Aid is too much detail/information. Thanks for your advice.

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I'm using both the BRS pharm flashcards and FA. Pharm is overwhelming for me, and if I'm too intimidated by a resource I don't use it, so the BRS cards are a nice low-stress way to get something rather than nothing. They're very doable. I don't think they're enough on their own, though, so I'm adding on the FA stuff one section at a time when I'm feeling really brave and can find a friend to drill through it with me.

I am curious to know if the BRS PharmCards are a good resource b/c they seem to be extremely high yield and quick to get through. Also, I seem to be getting bogged down with all of the drug side effects listed in First Aid. Any advice on whether or not the BRS PharmCards are sufficient? I spoke to a girl at my school who studied with the BRS Cards and she said that there were only two drugs on her exam that were not on the cards (granted, all tests are different and she may have gotten a test that was "light" on Pharm). Any advice is appreciated.

I have the 4th edition of the pharmcards. Though they are as thick as a phone book (not kidding), they have everything you need with an emphasis on MOA. I like that they bold the important material on each card, similar to how many review books do to emphasize important points.

Use Katzung's Pharmacology Review. It is a great resource and breaks down the drugs and mechanism making them much easier to learn. Has practice questions and a practice exam in it. I love it. Helps me do better on pharm sections in classes.