Best Way to Learn Pharm?

[Gifted Hands]

So I go to one of those med schools that doesn't have a formal course in pharm (for better or worse).

What would you suggest the best way to learn pharm? I'm not sure if I should try to incorporate it next year as I learn pathology or just devote a few weeks over the summer to getting familiar with it? I've talked to upperclassmen but there is no clear consensus on the best way to do it. I was hoping for some SDN wisdom.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

(Also, what materials did you use?)

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[Disinence2]

If I recall there's not a ton of pharmokinetics on step 1 so you probably don't need to stress too much learning all of those equations and such.

I used flashcards, and just sitting down and memorizing.

Its best to use a framework such as system based or by mechanism of action.

Is your pharm class just integrated with your others? Seems odd that you wouldn't be given any formal lectures about this sorta thing.

 

[Gifted Hands]

We will have a week of pharm lecture here and there, scattered throughout certain courses in the 2 years. It's just not integrated very well.

So far (as a M1) I haven't really had anything. Some of my friends at other schools have, some haven't. That's why I'm curious as to how I should approach it.

 

[thesauce]

So I go to one of those med schools that doesn't have a formal course in pharm (for better or worse).

What would you suggest the best way to learn pharm? I'm not sure if I should try to incorporate it next year as I learn pathology or just devote a few weeks over the summer to getting familiar with it? I've talked to upperclassmen but there is no clear consensus on the best way to do it. I was hoping for some SDN wisdom.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

(Also, what materials did you use?)

Wow. No pharm? I've never heard of that.

The only drugs that showed up on my step 1 were from First Aid. The first thing I did was look on medicalmneumonics.com and excavated the "good" mneumonics (there's a lot of garbage in there). The "good" mneumonics are the ones that have the clues embedded in the drug name (i.e. amiNOglycosides are nephrotoxic and ototoxic). Then I wrote them into first aid and got to memorizing. It's annoying, but drug actions and side effects were all over my exam.

 

[Raryn]

Wow. No pharm? I've never heard of that.

The only drugs that showed up on my step 1 were from First Aid. The first thing I did was look on medicalpneumonics.com and excavated the "good" pneumonics (there's a lot of garbage in there). The "good" pneumonics are the ones that have the clues embedded in the drug name (i.e. amiNOglycosides are nephrotoxic and ototoxic). Then I wrote them into first aid and got to memorizing. It's annoying, but drug actions and side effects were all over my exam.

Pet peeve: its spelled mnemonics. Unless you mean the plague.

 

[MossPoh]

Pet peeve: The term "pet peeve". God I hate it.

Not your fault. Just saying.

 

[thesauce]

Pet peeve: its spelled mnemonics. Unless you mean the plague.

So it is. Before I posted it, I put it into my address bar like that and it took me to the website (I didn't notice that it automatically corrected it to mneumonics). Apparently its a common mistake.

 

[MilkmanAl]

How to learn pharm? Work in a pharmacy. Seriously, though, FA is probably about as good as you're going to get. Lots of people say good things about the Katzung book, but I've never read it, myself. If you're looking for a more detailed approach, I guess that'd be a good option.

 

[drizzt3117]

The katzung and Trevor book is pretty good, brs also has a pharm book that I like.

 

[engineeredout]

Pharm at my school is an absolute ****show, which is surprising considering there is a pharmacy school here...

I wish there was some kind of reference we could use like BRS or flash card or whatever to study for class. the problem is that the professors will emphasize random drugs/facts that may not be included in a standardized review so studying the extra stuff won't help you pass the exam questions.

Can only hope that the druggies in first aid are all we need to know.

 

[Jay Leno]

Wow. No pharm? I've never heard of that.

QUOTE]

Not at all, lots of school use a block curriculum where all the classes are integrated into blocks and there are no definable differences between the different subjects - so a cell block may incorporate biochemistry and histology (what goes on inside a cell) and an organ block will incorporate all of the physiology and pharmacology associated with that organ.

Besides that, the OP says that he's still an MS1, so it's possible that they'll go into it in more depth next year. But yeah, I agree that it's a little screwy - in undergrad we couldn't take pharma until after we've taken a prerequisite biochem and physiology class.

 

[Premed Worrier]

Personally, I like having pharm in our block curriculum. I think it is easier to learn the MOA's, SE's, and uses of drugs during the time that you are learning the physiology of the organs they act on.

 

[thesauce]

Wow. No pharm? I've never heard of that.

QUOTE]

Not at all, lots of school use a block curriculum where all the classes are integrated into blocks and there are no definable differences between the different subjects - so a cell block may incorporate biochemistry and histology (what goes on inside a cell) and an organ block will incorporate all of the physiology and pharmacology associated with that organ.

Besides that, the OP says that he's still an MS1, so it's possible that they'll go into it in more depth next year. But yeah, I agree that it's a little screwy - in undergrad we couldn't take pharma until after we've taken a prerequisite biochem and physiology class.

I'm fully aware of the systems-based approach-we have one of sorts. The OP made it sound like he isn't covering pharm at all (ex: "what would you suggest the best way to learn pharm?"). You don't hear people saying they haven't had pharm just because it's integrated into other courses. If he had it through other courses, he still had it. If he's an MSI and he hasn't had pharm yet, why's he worried about it (unless he knows they aren't going to cover it next year)?

 

[Gifted Hands]

I'm fully aware of the systems-based approach-we have one of sorts. The OP made it sound like he isn't covering pharm at all (ex: "what would you suggest the best way to learn pharm?"). You don't hear people saying they haven't had pharm just because it's integrated into other courses. If he had it through other courses, he still had it. If he's an MSI and he hasn't had pharm yet, why's he worried about it (unless he knows they aren't going to cover it next year)?

sorry, didn't mean to make it sound like that.

We DO have pharm, it's just integrated into our course work so it feels like we are never really taught it since it's not really a focused course like Histo or Physio. We haven't really done any pharm yet in MS1 but I hear we will do more next year. I've just been told by upperclassmen that they really "don't teach pharm well" so find a good way to learn it as you go.

 

[kryptik]

i used the pharmnemonics flashcards, if you like CMMRS chances are you will like them too, every card comes with a cartoon to help you remember pertinent information about each drug, check out the sample cards they have on amazon http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-P...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272223836&sr=8-1

 

[MilkmanAl]

I just started UWorld questions this weekend, and I can tell you fo sho that UWorld/FA is a pretty powerful combo.

 

[Guile]

For Step 1, all you will need is the pharm in First Aid. Since you won't have a formal pharm course (kind of crazy, IMHO) I would recommend making flashcards and burning through them (based on the info in FA). MOA and side effects are your biggest bets for high-yield info.

 

[fiorio]

marry a pharmacist

 

[MossPoh]

marry a pharmacist

That'd be some really bad pillow talk.

 

[deleted103644]

So I go to one of those med schools that doesn't have a formal course in pharm (for better or worse).

What would you suggest the best way to learn pharm? I'm not sure if I should try to incorporate it next year as I learn pathology or just devote a few weeks over the summer to getting familiar with it? I've talked to upperclassmen but there is no clear consensus on the best way to do it. I was hoping for some SDN wisdom.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

(Also, what materials did you use?)

Take each pill at least once, and then you'll have no problems remembering the side effects.

(Disclaimer: Don't do that.)

 

[Pharmacy Kid]

I use flashcards to study for all my pharmacology & therapy courses. I use a program called Anki which is a free flashcard program that uses the theory of spaced repetition. Since you don't have a structured pharm course, I would probably write down the name of each drug you encounter during med school. Write down the brand/generic, mechanism of action, dose, side effects, CI's. Then make flashcards.

 

[BanBidil]

Google top 200 drugs. Get list of drugs used not by sales.
Study name: Brand, generic, indication,doses, adv effects. Use Epocrates lexicomp or micromedics to clarify.
You actually have to do Vanco/Aminoglycoside kinetics??

 

[Perrotfish]

Pharm Recall. It's a great book.

 

[shreypete]

I'm using Lippincotts and I love it. But it's quite detailed and might be over-kill.

 

[Guile]

Pharm Recall. It's a great book.

I'm using Lippincotts and I love it. But it's quite detailed and might be over-kill.

Another vote for both of these. Lippincotts is a little over-kill but it's great to use as a reference to fill in the blanks and also for when you are tired of flashcards or bulleted lists and want some prose.

 

[TheLoneWolf]

Lippincotts Pharmacology is highly recommended by First Aid.

The problem in pharm is finding a balance between what is good to know and what must be known. I think lippincotts is a happy medium between the info in first aid and a larger book like Katzung.