Pharmacology Starter Pack
This write-up is especially dedicated to all pharmacy students who have not yet taken and about to take the subject Pharmacology.
Even when I was just on my first year of BS Pharm, it was already a fact to me that this subject will play a large contribution to my knowledge about this profession. Pharmacology is the so-called Heart of Pharmacy, and along with that title, it is usually a big burden to the life of a pharmacy student. In our college, there are students who take this subject for the second, third or even fourth time. Hence, it is one of the reasons of the student’s delay in college. It brought me so much fear that if I’m not doing really well in the first few years, how will I manage to survive the junior and senior year? I also heard for the nth time that students with pre-med courses such as BS MedTech and BS Nursing have a lot of difficult time learning it and they were asking, ”How do you study that subject?”. We answer them by class and they are divided into 2 subjects: Pharmacology 1 covers the introduction, autonomics and CNS drugs while Pharmacology 2 is about Cardio drugs, Endocrine and drugs for Chemotherapy. However, the real question here is that, “Why the hell is this subject a pain in ones’ butt?”
Pharmacology is the study of drugs, their mechanism of action, classifications, side effects, and also the diseases that these drugs treat. How the body responds to the drug is already handled by its branch subject, Pharmacokinetics. Having said that, maybe some would think that the reason why it is hard is because it’s very bulky and the names are hard to memorize. But what if I tell you that it’s not the precise answer?
With respect to what I observed for the longest time, the answer is because most students are not ready. They may have passed all of its pre-requisite subjects but believe me, it is not enough, not even close to say that someone is really equipped to surpass Pharmacology that easy. Well then, what did I do to make it less difficult?
Let me tell you now my story. It was summer after second year when I had a vacation to our province. Having introduced to my parent’s friend, I was asked 3 drug questions: What is the treatment for diabetes? For asthma? For hangover? I can barely say a word. I had idea, but never conveyed it to him. That was then that I realized, knowledge is useless if it is not applied. The next morning, I started reading MIMS. Did I memorized it? No, of course not! That’s absurd. According to a 58-year old hospital pharmacist that I know, it is impossible to memorize all the drugs because they’re just too many. So what I did was I familiarized myself to the drug classes, wrote a list of them on a small paper especially the most important ones, paid attention to how they are presented, and remember the diseases they treat and are contraindicated to. Did it took me one whole day? NO! That’s why let me state in the level of St. Damian, learning Pharmacology does not happen in one sitting or two, it is a long process before you fully grasp it. Am I way smart now? Definitely not. That was just the start. I found an old The Merck Manual of Medical Information at our house and made it my best friend on free times of weekends. I owe around 25% of my medical knowledge to it.
Now, what good did it brought me when I actually started taking the subject? The moment a professor mentions a drug, a process, a drug interaction or distinctive side effect, it rings a bell to me. When she asks a question, I have an idea. When I have to absorb the bulky informations while the professor is teaching or simply when I study, my mind is like a stomach digesting a food normally. And for the best part, the moment I am remembering their names, be it while studying or taking the test, it’s like I’m recalling the lyrics to my all-time favorite song! I’m not kidding you guys. Drug names for me are like binary to an IT specialist. But it doesn’t usually work as easy as that. Most of the time, I read the lessons ahead of time. It usually takes me around 2-3 readings before I take a quiz or exam. It won’t only save you for a possible surprised oral recitation or pop-up quiz, but also, it will definitely lessen the burden if you already have other subjects to study and final exams are coming.
During our review for the board exams, it was understood that Pharmacology is not always the hardest and it is 15% (not having the highest percentage). I do not want to brag much for this subject but according to my friend, Pharmacology is everywhere, which is true and it always happens. Back on college, they said that in order to understand Pharmacology, you must understand Anatomy and Physiology. Now if you don’t understand Pharmacology, we have a real problem. It’s like a key or a backbone that if you don’t familiarize yourself with it, you might find yourself groping in the dark. It’s like a soldier with no gun for the war.
One day, you will look back to the late afternoons you spent in the school library to study real hard or the sleepless nights with your friends at the rooftop and chuckle, because, you may have stumbled but you have survived.
There are few pharmacy students who love Pharmacology, will you be one of them? #
