Tell me about your most difficult class

[NormalSaline]

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I'm a P1 and my most difficult class is my integrated health sciences class. Its basically modular A&P with a few drugs and disease states tossed in.

There are 2 x 50 question multiple choice tests per module.They cover 120-160 .ppt slides per test.

I study less than an hour per day on average, and got A's in all 3 modules last semester. I am not bragging, but I am concerned that I am not being challenged (taught) enough.


So tell me about your toughest class!😀

 

[DreamSeller]

120-160 slides per test?? Are you serious?? At my school...we cover about 200 slides a day for 1 topic!!! I'm not even kidding. I have an ID test tomorrow and is covered roughly 1000 slides worth of material.

 

[NormalSaline]

😡 I think you just confirmed my suspicions.

Our pharmacy program is only about 13 years old. Sometimes it doesnt seem like they fully have their act together yet. The facilities and technology are all very good, and it is built right next to a very respected hospital. However, they neglected to mention in the brochure that classes are easy and they hold your hand through them to avoid missing out on your tuition if you flunk out🙁 It sucks that I didnt know this until I became a student here. Maybe I didnt ask the right questions before i committed to coming here.😕

 

[nerv12345]

so what school is this

 

[NormalSaline]

so what school is this

im not going to say 😱

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

120-160 slides per test?? Are you serious?? At my school...we cover about 200 slides a day for 1 topic!!! I'm not even kidding. I have an ID test tomorrow and is covered roughly 1000 slides worth of material.

Make that 1000 slides, with pdfs journals, comittee reports like JNC that you have to memorize, etc etc etc. . .

 

[DreamSeller]

Oh yeah...I forgot to mention the pdf journals, but no time for that now 🙁

To answer to the OP, I think the level of difficulty of the class has a lot to do with the professors, but for me...so far, it's pharmaceutics. I don't think the class was hard in terms of concepts, but I don't think the professor was good. He made it harder than it had to be.

 

[NormalSaline]

Oh yeah...I forgot to mention the pdf journals, but no time for that now 🙁

To answer to the OP, I think the level of difficulty of the class has a lot to do with the professors, but for me...so far, it's pharmaceutics. I don't think the class was hard in terms of concepts, but I don't think the professor was good. He made it harder than it had to be.

I am taking Pharmaceutics now, and I find it interesting. The work is pretty easy though.

I'm concerned that we don't do anything else related to drugs (such as PK and pharmacology) until P2 year. Is this normal?

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Staring at law review book 101.

There isn't enough Adderall in the universe....

 

[mike36]

I am taking Pharmaceutics now, and I find it interesting. The work is pretty easy though.

I'm concerned that we don't do anything else related to drugs (such as PK and pharmacology) until P2 year. Is this normal?

I don't know what is "normal" at other schools, but at UT Austin we take basic med chem (1 hr), basic pharmacology (1hr), biopharmaceutics/pharmacokinetics, and pharmaceutics (with compounding lab) in the first year. I think those are all of the real drug related classes until P2.

 

[rxlynn]

I am taking Pharmaceutics now, and I find it interesting. The work is pretty easy though.

I'm concerned that we don't do anything else related to drugs (such as PK and pharmacology) until P2 year. Is this normal?

I think it is normal for a lot of schools - my whole first P1 year was all of the basic sciences (biochem, micro, immuno), A&P course like you describe, pharmaceutics, communications, biostats - in other words, a lot of foundational courses. And so, depending on your background before pharmacy school some of this seemed extremely easy (or not). I think most of my classmates would agree that year 2 is much more difficult, both in terms of amounts of material but more importantly in terms of type of material. And, I personally am finding a lot of it more interesting now that we are actually talking about the pharmacology of the drugs.

 

[mattc_85]

At UK it's pretty much all basic sciences (biochem, A&P, etc.) for the first year with Antibiotics, Drug Design, OTC and Lab thrown in. In Drug Design we get a little taste of PK but the main class isn't until PY2. We also get into Therapeutics and Pharmacology the second year. So most of the "drug" classes begin in the second year for us.
This semester I think my most difficult class is Therapeutics. Not based on difficulty of material but volume of material. After 3 weeks of class it seems like I have a ream of paper full of powerpoints for that class and we don't have tests for another 3 weeks!
On second thought it could be Med Chem. So far all I remember from class is that nicotine makes you happy.

 

[firefighter9015]

My most difficult class was Drug Design, but it was never because I did not understand the material. I always understood what was going on, but I never did well on the exams.

Second year has been the worst for me. The amount of work has doubled since last year, and the majority of it is new material unlike 1st year where there is a lot of foundational courses.

 

[skeksis]

I believe I know exactly what school you are talking about; if not,then disregard. This year IBHS is, from what I understand, easier than previous years due to the discontinuation of the essay portion of the tests. There also used to be one test per week, instead of two per module. As far as the school seeming like it's act is not together, I do not think you will find much better or worse at any other school of pharmacy as far as P1 classes go. If you are waiting for more challenges or wishing to make grades lower than an "A", then you may find P2 year to be more satisfying. Most people may say that a pharm.D is a pharm.D, no matter where it comes from; perhaps being proud that you will have one in a few years regardless of your perception of course level difficulty should be the road to take. If that is not an option, then there is always the option of the very rare transfer or other route of egress - you are never committed to stay... I don't mean to sound so harsh, but there are many millions of people who will never attain what you wish to attain, no matter how hard they work or smart they are.

 

[taken2]

Don't worry, you are still in P1. You will have alot of fun in P2 trust me. Last semester was hell for me and I am a P2 student. Almost half of my class failed Pharmacology and Toxicology last semester.
Pharmaceutics is my best class so far in pharmacy school. I hate Pathophysiology and Tox. Med. chem is also annoying.

 

[nerv12345]

so what's the teaching like? do they just throw information at you and expect you to know it? or do they actually try and teach you?

 

[NormalSaline]

so what's the teaching like? do they just throw information at you and expect you to know it? or do they actually try and teach you?

The professors are, for the most part, very good. They really do teach the material. I am just concerned that we don't seem to cover nearly as much material as do many other schools.

 

[drhemi70]

“Even in my limited sub-subspecialty of hepatology, 19% of what I learned is obsolete and 21% was never true in the first place. “
http://www.medhunters.com/articles/knowledgeAndTheHalfLifeOfTruth.html

maybe your profs are just really good at giving you the 60% that really is true and up to date instead of the last thirty years of untruths and lies.
DR

 

[drugdoc]

I'm a P1 and my most difficult class is my integrated health sciences class. Its basically modular A&P with a few drugs and disease states tossed in.

There are 2 x 50 question multiple choice tests per module.They cover 120-160 .ppt slides per test.

I study less than an hour per day on average, and got A's in all 3 modules last semester. I am not bragging, but I am concerned that I am not being challenged (taught) enough.


So tell me about your toughest class!😀

WOW! So, let me count up my Pathology Exam #1 (of 4 this semsester) slides....444.

 

[NormalSaline]

I believe I know exactly what school you are talking about; if not,then disregard. This year IBHS is, from what I understand, easier than previous years due to the discontinuation of the essay portion of the tests. There also used to be one test per week, instead of two per module. As far as the school seeming like it's act is not together, I do not think you will find much better or worse at any other school of pharmacy as far as P1 classes go. If you are waiting for more challenges or wishing to make grades lower than an "A", then you may find P2 year to be more satisfying. Most people may say that a pharm.D is a pharm.D, no matter where it comes from; perhaps being proud that you will have one in a few years regardless of your perception of course level difficulty should be the road to take. If that is not an option, then there is always the option of the very rare transfer or other route of egress - you are never committed to stay... I don't mean to sound so harsh, but there are many millions of people who will never attain what you wish to attain, no matter how hard they work or smart they are.

Wow, aren't you a supersleuth🙂? I hope that I did not come off as ungrateful or whiny, as I truly am happy to be here. You also make a good point in saying that transferring is unlikely and I can leave at any time. I really just need to make the best of the situation, which is actually quite good to begin with.

I was expecting pharmacy school to be a back breaking amount of work from the get go...maybe my expectations were just off base. It kind of seems silly to complain about such a thing.

maybe your profs are just really good at giving you the 60% that really is true and up to date instead of the last thirty years of untruths and lies.
DR

That really is an awesome way to look at it 😎

 

[drhemi70]

Did you click the hyperlink. It is a cool article with lots of stuff you can pull out of it for quotes. Funny what we think we know. Also funny that what we now is not true today may end up being the gospel 10 years from now. School really teaches you the process of how to learn this stuff. Then you get out in the real world and have to make your own decisions. If you are going to do your job well you had better make sure those are up to date clinically informed decisions. Another interesting stat. People's blood pressure is able to be controlled in upto 70-80 percent of the population in clinical studies, but in the real world the best we are achieving is about 31%. Guess what people - docs pharmacist nurses - the whole medical field it seems don't take the newest recommendations(guidelines) to heart because they think it is either cookbook medicine or that the only reason the guidelines were developed was to rein in costs.

Don't get down on the education your receiving, learn how to learn. With the half life of information in this profession your going to have to relearn most of what you know today in 15-20 years anyways.
DR

 

[skeksis]

Wow, aren't you a supersleuth🙂? I hope that I did not come off as ungrateful or whiny, as I truly am happy to be here. You also make a good point in saying that transferring is unlikely and I can leave at any time. I really just need to make the best of the situation, which is actually quite good to begin with.

I was expecting pharmacy school to be a back breaking amount of work from the get go...maybe my expectations were just off base. It kind of seems silly to complain about such a thing.

Well, I am a student at the same school. It gets "harder" (though my GPA is way up there too) during P2 year, especially once the ICARE modules start. It seems that many of the courses for P1, such as any intro courses or IBHS are there to get students acclimated to the profession and get them all on the same page with the basic sciences (although a lot of that is already achieved with the PCAT and admissions process). I often wonder as well if I am really learning enough or if I am learning the right things, but then I think "I could always read DiPiro or some other book cover to cover if I want to know more." A lot of it seems like info I'll never apply. Most pharmacists I ever spoke with basically said it's not all about what you know, but knowing where to get the information. In any event, I am happy to be here, and I feel that graduation day will be a major accomplishment for me.

So far, I guess the hardest class for me is the ICARE cardio module, but it's really volume rather than difficulty. P3 students would probably say the ICARE infectious disease module.

 

[firefighter9015]

Well, I am a student at the same school. It gets "harder" (though my GPA is way up there too) during P2 year, especially once the ICARE modules start. It seems that many of the courses for P1, such as any intro courses or IBHS are there to get students acclimated to the profession and get them all on the same page with the basic sciences (although a lot of that is already achieved with the PCAT and admissions process). I often wonder as well if I am really learning enough or if I am learning the right things, but then I think "I could always read DiPiro or some other book cover to cover if I want to know more." A lot of it seems like info I'll never apply. Most pharmacists I ever spoke with basically said it's not all about what you know, but knowing where to get the information. In any event, I am happy to be here, and I feel that graduation day will be a major accomplishment for me.

So far, I guess the hardest class for me is the ICARE cardio module, but it's really volume rather than difficulty. P3 students would probably say the ICARE infectious disease module.

Is ICARE therapeutics?

 

[skeksis]

Is ICARE therapeutics?

They are the Integrated Care and Science modules. It's basically therapeutics and a mix of other things, like med chem, etc. Everything is tied together in ICARE.

 

[mattc_85]

They are the Integrated Care and Science modules. It's basically therapeutics and a mix of other things, like med chem, etc. Everything is tied together in ICARE.

Sounds like a good way to teach. Do you still have a different med chem class. I think clustering things together like that would make learning a little easier.

 

[mike36]

Sounds like a good way to teach. Do you still have a different med chem class. I think clustering things together like that would make learning a little easier.

I believe they group everything like that at UT Austin in the pharmacotherapy classes. I'm still a P1 so not 100% sure.