So I'm gonna be a P1 soon and i just have some questions on the classes and what you are taught.
So what are you taught and suppose to learn in (if you could be a bit specific would be nice)
Pharmaceutics
Pharmacy Calculations
Pharmacodynamics
Pharmacokinetics
Drug Information Resources
Pharmacoepidemiology & Pharmacoeconomics
I'm just interested in what i'll be learning the next few years. Thanks guys and gals
and would most of you say that first year is the easiest, second year is really hard, third is like ok?
Hey, I just finished my first year at Nova and can provide you with insight into each of those courses with the exception of pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacoeconomics (those are P3 courses). Anyway, here's my description of each course:
Pharmaceutics: In simplest terms, pharmaceutics is the study of
dosage forms. Physical chemistry, rheology, polymer science, biochemistry, and even some chemical engineering are all implemented in one way or another in this course. The first semester of pharmaceutics didn't seem particularly relevant to the study of the various dosage forms used in pharmacy because it centered around rudimentary knowledge you've learned in college...principles from general chemistry, some polymer science, etc. In essence, you're paying for a refresher of preliminary knowledge you've been exposed to in the past so that you're ready to understand and be able to apply this stuff in second semester ceutics. I truly wasn't all that interested the first semester because it was a joke to me to be going over pH and intermolecular forces once again. However, second semester was vastly different. We studied the manufacturing processes, uses, and properties of tablets, capsules, emulsions, liposomes, creams, lotions (both of which fall under emulsions), ointments, otic, ocular, nasal, buccal, sublingual, and other forms of drug delivery. Further, we studied how controlled-release, extended release, and immediate release formulations work as well. We also studied rheology, which is the study of the resistance of liquids to flow such as Newtonian fluids, Non-Newtonian fluids, etc... During the second semester, we also studied how to make some of these compounds in compounding lab and prepared these dosage forms. Overall, I really enjoyed second semester ceutics though there was an overwhelming amount of material to cover. I think you'll enjoy it.
Pharmacy Calculations: This course covered very basic calculations used often in pharmacy practice. Get ready to apply your dimensional analysis skills/conversion. Very simple course, I'd say about 90% of my class achieved an "A" in this course. You will learn how to convert from mg to g, creatinine clearance calculations, how to make isotonic solutions using "E" values, mEQ calculations, dilution, etc. We had this course once a week, it was easy as pie. This course is a no brainer.
Pharmacodynamics: Ahhh, this course is the very jewel of your experience as a pharmacy student. This, in itself, is pharmacology. If you're planning to attend NSU, the first semester is really concerned with receptor theory intermingled with some very basic medicinal chemistry. You will very quickly go over basic functional groups as well as other functional groups you may have never heard of. Please know your acid-base chemistry very well...and I do mean VERY WELL. Remember pH, basicity, acidity, protonation, the henderson-hasselbach equation, etc.. Failure to master this topic will not only hinder your progress and understanding in the first semester of pharmacodynamics, but you will surely be harmed in subsequent courses in which understanding drug dissolution, solubility, pka is necessary. By second semester, we learned all about cardiovascular drugs and autonomic nervous system drugs as well as those used to treat blood disorders and iron deficiency. You will learn about beta-blockers, organic nitrates, calcium channel blockers, muscarinic antagonists, agonists, etc.. Be ready to really dig deep into the underlying physiology and pathophysiology of the human body before you even start learning about these drugs.
Know physiology very well.
Pharmacokinetics: Oh God, don't even remind me. The professor we had for this course SUCKED. I've never had a more horrible professor than this guy. But that's for another discussion. I don't want to scare you. Simply put, I didn't learn s*** in this course. All I did was plug and chug equations and crank out answers. Absolutely everyone in my class hated this guy to the point that people were reporting this guy's incompetence to administration. Don't expect to know much. I got an 85 in the class, a solid B, but that's simply because I'm good with numbers. The idiot just focused on meaningless calculation problems without really teaching the concepts. The book was as useless as he was. And for what? I don't know...I would think that in the real world, if anything, I will not be computing using all those equations...what will really matter is understanding the concepts. I can't really help you much with this course because like I said, I got nothing out of it. All I did was use equations and draw graphs of lines and talk about k of this and k of that and k of something else. BS. Fortunately, I hear that the professor we will have for Clinical PK is excellent and that we will learn everything we need to know as pharmacists in this course. I made an "A" in everything else but this course.
Drug Information Resources: The professor for this course was decent, likeable guy. However, I wasn't too fond of it. Bunch of memorization of databases and facts/statistics about the overall usefulness of Clinical Pharmacology or Micromedex. Kind of like a "research" type of course. Not difficult, but wasn't that exciting. The databases I really got out of this course were clinical pharmacology, micromedex, medlineplus, and perhaps lexicomp. That's about it...but at least I got something out of it. There were too many databases to recall. Some are designed to provide information about herbal/natural compounds, others about injectables (Trissels) and others about pediatrics. I never like to memorize anything, I'm conceptually minded, but in this particular course, I memorized my way through.
Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics: These are upcoming attractions. I'll be seeing them in 3rd year.
Overall, I would say if you really apply yourself, you will learn more than you can imagine. I sure did. When I finished my first year, I was amazed at how much I learned and was proud of how I tackled nearly 20 credits each term with a 95% average. You will be really satisfied. Sure, there are some courses that are a drag, but you just have to deal with it. P1 wasn't bad- I'd say I had a good experience. The biggest challenge in professional education is not the difficulty of coursework...it's the volume. Finals week is insane. There were days my peers and I would stay in the library for about 12 hours per day for several days in preparation for everything; however, that kind of studying is not really necessary if you just care about passing with a C. I'm a perfectionist, so I not only wanted to master the material, I wanted the "A". But remember, you don't have to do this. "You got a C? See? You got a PharmD!" I've heard second year is the hardest too and I'm ready for the tsunami. The good news is that I've heard once you're finished with second year, you are practically almost done and you can be almost certain you will graduate because third year is your last year of classes and the fourth year, you don't have to worry about classes. Anyway, I hope this all helped.
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