memorizing drugs

[haokiet]

hi, i'm a p1 trying to see what i should study
during these two half weeks winter break..
i figure i should memorize the drugs.. but i like
to clarify on something..

from what i gather students are required to
memorize what each drugs look like with each
dosage form, n they will lay out the drugs on
the table for exams.. isnt that a little too difficult?
how do you go about preparing for it? and we only
need to memorize what brand name drugs look like, right?
we dont need to memorize generic shapes n size?

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[Aznfarmerboi]

hi, i'm a p1 trying to see what i should study
during these two half weeks winter break..
i figure i should memorize the drugs.. but i like
to clarify on something..

from what i gather students are required to
memorize what each drugs look like with each
dosage form, n they will lay out the drugs on
the table for exams.. isnt that a little too difficult?
how do you go about preparing for it? and we only
need to memorize what brand name drugs look like, right?
we dont need to memorize generic shapes n size?

I dont know if you are being serious, or being a troll. . .

If you are being serious, i'll clear up some misconceptions for you. Pharmacy school is no where about that. For a drug, you will have to learn the pharmacology of it (how is the drug metabolized, what is its half life, where is the drug metabolized, how do you take it, what affect its absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination), the medicinal chemistry of it (you have to know the drug structure, what part is responsible for what as in this part of the drug is responsible for its side effects or that part is responsible for binding to X receptor), and clinical (when to use the drug, when NOT to use the drug). In addition, you have to know how a disease state affects the drug, the dosing for each disease state, how each drug applies to different populations (for example, asians are slow N-acetylators, pregnant women has increased 1a2, 2c19, kids have a larger volume of distribution than adults), etc. You also have to competant enough to compare each drugs so that you can make recommendation based on clinical evidence and your professional judgement.

 

[Haldol]

We never had any identification exams. It was mainly the top 200 drugs... brand to generic, uses, side effects, contrindications, and whatever other info the professor stressed on.

 

[haokiet]

thanks all for the info..

i do realize theres more to learning drugs than
just identify the drug shape and size.. but i thought
pharmacist do that everyday so they are required
to know what the drugs look like? i vaguely remember
my pharmacist from Mercer told me she was tested
that way.. which makes sense because you cannot
become a pharmacist without knowing what drugs look like..
how can you check the technicians packaging right?

 

[Pharmcdc]

thanks all for the info..

i do realize theres more to learning drugs than
just identify the drug shape and size.. but i thought
pharmacist do that everyday so they are required
to know what the drugs look like? i vaguely remember
my pharmacist from Mercer told me she was tested
that way.. which makes sense because you cannot
become a pharmacist without knowing what drugs look like..
how can you check the technicians packaging right?[/QUOTE

uhhhh, yeah, sure, study that over your christmas break. Thats going to help you with pharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics.

Seriously, it seems that your mind is made up that this is what you think need to study so why are you even asking for advice as to WHAT TO STUDY. The previous posts only answered your question. You can recognize every drug in the pharmacy, but that wont help you get through pharmacy school. Learning brand, generic, side effects and MOA is what you need to know. But hey, if your school tests you on drug ID the way you stated, then you should talk to students at your school.

 

[Old Timer]

hi, i'm a p1 trying to see what i should study
during these two half weeks winter break..
i figure i should memorize the drugs.. but i like
to clarify on something..

from what i gather students are required to
memorize what each drugs look like with each
dosage form, n they will lay out the drugs on
the table for exams.. isnt that a little too difficult?
how do you go about preparing for it? and we only
need to memorize what brand name drugs look like, right?
we dont need to memorize generic shapes n size?

My personal advice, is take a break. That's why it's called break. If you want to study, got the nearest pharmacy (if you are not working) and ask them for the package insert from some popular drugs. While not nearly complete, it gives you an overview of what you will learning over the next 3+ years.

 

[kbv]

thanks all for the info..

i do realize theres more to learning drugs than
just identify the drug shape and size.. but i thought
pharmacist do that everyday so they are required
to know what the drugs look like? i vaguely remember
my pharmacist from Mercer told me she was tested
that way.. which makes sense because you cannot
become a pharmacist without knowing what drugs look like..
how can you check the technicians packaging right?

I'm glad my P1 professors did not say anything about studying & recognizing the drug identity. If they had asked that, I'd have been dying out of shame--not out of tiredness, as it's a stupid request.

"pharmacist do that everyday so they are required to know what the drugs look like" "which makes sense because you cannot become a pharmacist without knowing what drugs look like..how can you check the technicians packaging right"

Ans: so to be a pharmacist, liquid meds don't have shape and size, which leaving her/him the option of smelling and tasting them. good luck about that.

 

[Ethyl Methyl]

how can you check the technicians packaging right?

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't there a software for that? At my previous workplace, the pharmacist would compare the markings on the pill against the info on the computer. Also, in cases of loose meds, the pharmacist could go to sites such as Micromedex where they typed in the markings, shape, form and color of the pill to ID the medication.

 

[haokiet]

yea i should really ask my upperclassmen if my school
has a drug identification exam or not, before i jump into
learning something so difficult...

by the way, the pharmacist where i worked months ago
didnt use computer to check technicians packaging..
the technicians pile them up on a table and they screen
through it.. then they double check the bottle if they
forgot what the drugs look like..

 

[doctorpharm2010]

I have heard that some schools (forgot which) teach a class called Dispensing, where you have to memorize the images of drugs. However, at my school and most schools, there is no such class. This is a great class though, at least IMHO, esp for future retail career.
Also, for package inserts, you do not need to go to a pharmacy to get them. Simply log into the manufacture websites.

 

[SpirivaSunrise]

I have heard that some schools (forgot which) teach a class called Dispensing, where you have to memorize the images of drugs. However, at my school and most schools, there is no such class. This is a great class though, at least IMHO, esp for future retail career.
Also, for package inserts, you do not need to go to a pharmacy to get them. Simply log into the manufacture websites.

Really? Hmmmm...that's just a lot of (in my opinion) useless info to study. Take a look at Atenolol 100 mg vs. 25 mg tabs.

There's plenty of material to focus on in pharmacy school, most importantly how to apply everything they dish out to you clinically. Memorizing drug images would by far be my lowest priority. Sure, there're a few (i.e. Coumadin, Dig caps) where it's important for you/the patient to keep track of color...but an elective like that seems absurd to me.

Atenolol 25 mg

Atenolol 100 mg