How did you study drugs cards

[lvp0021]

Helloo... please share tips on how to memorize the drug cards (top 200 po and inj . Names and indication are no problems to most people (to me it's pure memorization). But how would you commit discrete/random infos like counseling (avoid sunlight) or doses to memory? I know that working and having prior experiences will help (so many people have advised that). Any other tips/strategies would be truely appreciated

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[Farmercyst]

Helloo... please share tips on how to memorize the drug cards (top 200 po and inj . Names and indication are no problems to most people (to me it's pure memorization). But how would you commit discrete/random infos like counseling (avoid sunlight) or doses to memory? I know that working and having prior experiences will help (so many people have advised that). Any other tips/strategies would be truely appreciated

Many of these could be organized by class. For instance your osteoporosis meds, the bisphosphonates should be taken with plenty of water and avoid laying down for 30 minutes after taking. Loop diuretics avoid potassium. Then you can do it class by class instead of drug by drug. Some drugs in a class won't fit this method, but many do. Anything to lighten the load is better than nothing I figure.

 

[twester]

I spend little time with outright memorization (unless brute force is required). I try to group things together according to specific criteria. The most basic is drug class, if I understand the MOA of one drug, I understand the MOA of the entire class of drugs. Side effects will sometimes be the same for all members of a drug class, so learn those (and the reasoning behind them) and then memorize the exceptions. We have these odd quizzes where we have to regurgitate dosage forms for a wide variety of medications, so I do another grouping based on commonalities (all capsules, all tablets, these have injectable forms, these are sustained release, etc). The more ways you organize the data, the easier it is to learn it (I think).

I assume you're talking about the drug cards? The information contained on them is often flat-out wrong. The only things they're useful for are shuffling them around according the grouping I'm working on. For real information, I use another source like Clinicalpharmacology.com or the DI Handbook. In that case, Excel or Word are your friend.

Top 200 - real thorn in my side, that. LOL

 

[haokiet]

for the top 300 drug cards..
are the drug classes label correct?
do u guys learn the drug classes from the cards?

 

[SpirivaSunrise]

Hmmm...schools don't actually make you memorize those top 200/300 drug cards do they?

 

[KUMoose]

Some I believe make you memorize top 200 brand/generics.

I chunk the information as much as possible, into major class (antiarrhythmics) and minor class (say, calcium channel blockers). Where applicable. From there it depends on whether I'm studying for pharmacology (which one is the shortest duration, which one has the oddball route of metabolism) or dispensing lab (general counseling points, specific counseling points). The dispensing lab stuff I try to remember, I make a cheat sheet for the oddball stuff for pharmacology.

 

[lvp0021]

Yes, my school makes people memorize everything on the drug cards except structures (which are saved for med chem). And of course there will be questions asking those ridiculously picky dosing amounts and other random/in-the-middle-of-the-air things. That's why I'm trying to learn from people going before me now on how to study those cards.
I've heard most schools ask P1 to know only name (brand/generic), indication, and MOA. Mine asks us to know all
So more tips coming from upperclass men, pharmacists,... will be truely appreciated. (SDN1977, zpak, epic, ...,all the senior professionals, how did you handle this youself?) Thanks in advance

 

[TCB]

My school offer a class Top 200 Drug as an elective... but I didn't take it; instead I took toxicology.
I am just going to buy the cards from ASHP and learn all those drugs.

 

[rxlynn]

Yes, my school makes people memorize everything on the drug cards except structures (which are saved for med chem). And of course there will be questions asking those ridiculously picky dosing amounts and other random/in-the-middle-of-the-air things. That's why I'm trying to learn from people going before me now on how to study those cards.
I've heard most schools ask P1 to know only name (brand/generic), indication, and MOA. Mine asks us to know all
So more tips coming from upperclass men, pharmacists,... will be truely appreciated. (SDN1977, zpak, epic, ...,all the senior professionals, how did you handle this youself?) Thanks in advance

You have my sympathy - I think it is really ridiculous to make a P1 memorize all that information when a lot of it means nothing to you at this point. At my school, we have to do brand, generic, and basic class for P1 year. Then, for the other 2 years we are responsible for the entire card pretty much. I have found that I am completely lousy at remembering side effects, unless they are something really unusual like agranulocytosis for Clozaril. Hopefully I'll get a bit better at matching SE to MOA as I go along. For you, I would agree with the earlier poster - group the drugs as much as you can, and you will see that a lot of the SE are similar within the class. Then, you should be able to pick out the more unusual things as an exception.

 

[Aggie07]

Actually, we don't have to know drug interactions or the pharmacology/pharmacokinetics so it's not everything on the card. I think that helps a lot.

 

[kbv]

You have my sympathy - I think it is really ridiculous to make a P1 memorize all that information when a lot of it means nothing to you at this point. At my school, we have to do brand, generic, and basic class for P1 year. Then, for the other 2 years we are responsible for the entire card pretty much. I have found that I am completely lousy at remembering side effects, unless they are something really unusual like agranulocytosis for Clozaril. Hopefully I'll get a bit better at matching SE to MOA as I go along. For you, I would agree with the earlier poster - group the drugs as much as you can, and you will see that a lot of the SE are similar within the class. Then, you should be able to pick out the more unusual things as an exception.

No, at this point you think it's ridiculous, but you'll see how it gonna help you back starting from your P2. you can't thank your Professors enough making you guys study them.

Study them with your studying partners, not just any friends. It's the most effective method of studying. Study with them until graduation.

 

[PharmDstudent]

I hate drug cards and charts. Believe it or not, I read the material thoroughly so that I don't have to blindly memorize. I like the big picture!

 

[drugdoc]

I'm finishing my P1 first semester, and we had the Top 25 brand/generic/class/side effects for one of our fall classes. 2nd semester we have Top 100. I think P2 year we will do Top 200, and broaden to the rest of the information on the card. I like it this way....bit by bit...

 

[Caverject]

I ate all my cards for dinner one night...

 

[KUMoose]

I ate all my cards for dinner one night...

Ahhh the new osmosis.