P1 Biochem killing me - recommended materials?

[pacethis]

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Hi all,
I'm a first year PharmD student at Mercer, and have never had BioChem. I'm also an older student (34), so my undergrad years are a little more distant than some of my peers. Add to that the fact that Mercer uses block scheduling, so my 5hr BioChem is squeezed into a 2 month period.

Needless to say, I'm starting to fall behind...I pulled a B on the first test (barely), but unless I make major changes, I'm headed downhill fast.

So I'm looking for some materials to supplement my studying and reinforce the materials. I'm a visual learner, so thinking of software study guides. The other thing I can utilize would be audio files as I have a 2-3 hour commute each day in Atlanta traffic.

There are numerous options out there, but I thought I might ask if anyone has had success with a particular product. I'm married with 2 kids as well, so time is a premium - I need to maximize my study time.

Thanks!
Josh

 

[jrlbc06]

There are alot of good videos on youtube that helped me visualize some of the trickier concepts, especially the actions of the various polymerases in replication. I have found that if I'm having trouble visualizing something, searching for a video on youtube can help me 'see' what I'm missing.

 

[TemSirolimus]

There are alot of good videos on youtube that helped me visualize some of the trickier concepts, especially the actions of the various polymerases in replication. I have found that if I'm having trouble visualizing something, searching for a video on youtube can help me 'see' what I'm missing.

seconded...there are numerous animations online to visualize almost all pathways in biochem. They helped me a great deal. Good luck.

 

[nnguyenc]

if biochem is hard....therapeutics will murder you

you really just have to devote a lot of time to it

 

[All4MyDaughter]

if biochem is hard....therapeutics will murder you

you really just have to devote a lot of time to it

I'm not sure about this. I had a hard time with biochem (and hated it), but I found therapeutics a lot more interesting and relevant and easier to study. JMO.

 

[diplomat]

I'm not sure about this. I had a hard time with biochem (and hated it), but I found therapeutics a lot more interesting and relevant and easier to study. JMO.

I have to agree with A4MD, biochem was the hardest for me, just because I found the material deathly boring. I failed all the tests during the year but passed with an 80 because on the final you had the option to either take your overall average for a final grade or your Final exam could be your final grade. I ended up with an 80 on the final. Thank God. But no doubt P1 was the hardest year for me.

If you got an B on the first exam I wouldnt worry about it too much, sounds like you are studying right. Now you know how they test so you can adjust.

 

[farmd2010]

Biochem was the second most useless class (number 1 is Med Chem) in my opinion in pharmacy school. I have never needed to know the steps to the citric acid cycle or gluconeogenesis after that class. I honestly think these classes are just there to cut down the graduating class.

That being said, the best thing for these type of classes would be to make flashcards or buy them online if you don't have the time. Amazon.com has them for $40 so it's not that bad. Just don't study them while you are driving your 2-3 hour commute.

 

[Tinkerbell22]

Hi all,
I'm a first year PharmD student at Mercer, and have never had BioChem. I'm also an older student (34), so my undergrad years are a little more distant than some of my peers. Add to that the fact that Mercer uses block scheduling, so my 5hr BioChem is squeezed into a 2 month period.

Needless to say, I'm starting to fall behind...I pulled a B on the first test (barely), but unless I make major changes, I'm headed downhill fast.

So I'm looking for some materials to supplement my studying and reinforce the materials. I'm a visual learner, so thinking of software study guides. The other thing I can utilize would be audio files as I have a 2-3 hour commute each day in Atlanta traffic.

There are numerous options out there, but I thought I might ask if anyone has had success with a particular product. I'm married with 2 kids as well, so time is a premium - I need to maximize my study time.

Thanks!
Josh

Not sure if this would help, and it sounds kind of horrible, but I google a bunch of stuff from the powerpoints that I don't understand right away. I tend to stick to the reviews posted on .edu sites of other colleges, but you can find pretty reputable information out there if you know where to look.

This helps me cut down on the concepts that span over numerous different slides because it usually explains it in a shorter, more concise way. I'm just the kind of person who gets more confused with the lengthy explanations I guess. When I go back and read the notes all of the equations and diagrams make more sense after that though.

Sorry not much help... I think I'm a black sheep because I'm actually enjoying this class the most. lol

 

[apteryx]

So far, I feel like it's a review of Bio101 and 102, albeit with more details (IF1, IF3 attaching to smaller part of ribosome, etc.). Which is fine by me.

I know some kids who were having trouble in class just looked up things online like the above poster said, even looking to youtube for video depictions of DNA synthesis and such.

 

[desmoulins45179]

I have Lippincott's Illustrated Reviews: Biochemistry. that book is really concise and too the point - it does help clear things up. I took biochem before so I don't want lengthy explanations, I just want to review. That is good for review and it is fairly cheap.My undergrad biochem course used Mathew's Biochemistry. That book is longer and has more detailed explanations if you like that kind of thing. Unfortunately, it is expensive so I would see if the library has one on reserve or something. You could check out the library and look at the biochemistry books there. I heard some schools use Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry. This one is also expensive.

Add me to the people who hate biochemistry. I took biochem before so this should be a breeze but I'm not doing as well as I should be because it's so incredibly boring to me so I don't study as much as I should be. I like biochemistry when it's part of something else (like when it's referenced in pathology class) but I can't stand it in a class by itself.

 

[Sparda29]

Actually Biochem is much harder than Therapeutics.

 

[Its Z]

biochem was one of the easiest classes in rx school.

Oh.. degree in biochem also helps.

 

[PharMed2016]

Hi all,
I'm a first year PharmD student at Mercer, and have never had BioChem. I'm also an older student (34), so my undergrad years are a little more distant than some of my peers. Add to that the fact that Mercer uses block scheduling, so my 5hr BioChem is squeezed into a 2 month period.

Needless to say, I'm starting to fall behind...I pulled a B on the first test (barely), but unless I make major changes, I'm headed downhill fast.

So I'm looking for some materials to supplement my studying and reinforce the materials. I'm a visual learner, so thinking of software study guides. The other thing I can utilize would be audio files as I have a 2-3 hour commute each day in Atlanta traffic.

There are numerous options out there, but I thought I might ask if anyone has had success with a particular product. I'm married with 2 kids as well, so time is a premium - I need to maximize my study time.

Thanks!
Josh

I would recommend getting a peer tutor or a tutor from the year above. They say that an hour of tutoring is worth two hours of studying by yourself if the tutor is good.

 

[SHC1984]

Hi all,
I'm a first year PharmD student at Mercer, and have never had BioChem. I'm also an older student (34), so my undergrad years are a little more distant than some of my peers. Add to that the fact that Mercer uses block scheduling, so my 5hr BioChem is squeezed into a 2 month period.

Needless to say, I'm starting to fall behind...I pulled a B on the first test (barely), but unless I make major changes, I'm headed downhill fast.

So I'm looking for some materials to supplement my studying and reinforce the materials. I'm a visual learner, so thinking of software study guides. The other thing I can utilize would be audio files as I have a 2-3 hour commute each day in Atlanta traffic.

There are numerous options out there, but I thought I might ask if anyone has had success with a particular product. I'm married with 2 kids as well, so time is a premium - I need to maximize my study time.

Thanks!
Josh

I would strongly recommend you move on campus. If your wife is supportive of you she should understand that doing well in class is most important. Pharmacy school is like a full time job itself so you really don't have time for family life when you are in pharmacy school.

Like others have mention Biochemistry is one of the easier classes in pharmacy school. It's nothing more then a basic review of the human body function and processes. I can tell you now that the classes you will be taking at Mercer next year is much more diffcult than Biochem. You don't get out of class until 4pm or 5pm...so you will have to move on campus next year anyways...so might as well do it now. It can save your grade.

 

[apteryx]

If you have such a long commute (and if your prof. allows it), why not record the lectures and then listen to them while driving? Seems like a good use of the time driving.

 

[lorain]

if biochem is hard....therapeutics will murder you

you really just have to devote a lot of time to it

Im sorry i just dont think this is true

in my class the amount of people who failed biochem to those who struggled in therapeutics had a light and day difference

in biochem 1 and 2, i failed the first 2 tests, but passed cuz I did just well enough on the finals....i never got lower than a B on any therapeutics exam

 

[daabc]

Hi all,
I'm a first year PharmD student at Mercer, and have never had BioChem. I'm also an older student (34), so my undergrad years are a little more distant than some of my peers. Add to that the fact that Mercer uses block scheduling, so my 5hr BioChem is squeezed into a 2 month period.

Needless to say, I'm starting to fall behind...I pulled a B on the first test (barely), but unless I make major changes, I'm headed downhill fast.

So I'm looking for some materials to supplement my studying and reinforce the materials. I'm a visual learner, so thinking of software study guides. The other thing I can utilize would be audio files as I have a 2-3 hour commute each day in Atlanta traffic.

There are numerous options out there, but I thought I might ask if anyone has had success with a particular product. I'm married with 2 kids as well, so time is a premium - I need to maximize my study time.

Thanks!
Josh

I am not in pharmacy school yet, but I did major in Biochemistry and I am assuming that your class is similar to my old undergrad class. For my school, biochemistry is half memorizing and half applications, so if you can't do both, you are not going to pass.

http://themedicalbiochemistrypage.org/

I use to compare my biochem lecture notes with the above site to see the information from a different perspective.

The applications is very interesting, but its kinda hard because you need to imagine how your body's metabolism will respond under certain situations.