what is the best way to learn pharmacology; paramedic

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Help!!! How do you remember all the drugs and dosages

• Thread starter Paulsen7158
• Showtime appointment Oct half dozen, 2009

• #1

Im in medic school through NCTI, and I tin can recall the drugs for a week or and then while we are tested on them and and so a few days later I can only remember parts of the drugs... I am really having a hard fourth dimension grasping the dosages. I write them down on flash cards and everything, I just cant quite grasp how to go on them in the erstwhile retentiveness bank.

ANY tips would be greatly appreciated and or how you got through medic school!

-paulsen7158

• #2

Put these 3 things on your flash cards goose egg more..
one. proper noun trade and generic on the front
on the back
2. dose with route (IM> IV. PO. etc)
3. class
This part is like learning your abc's this info will give you what you demand to know to start. There is a limited amount of space available to your retentiveness recall filling it with things similar indications side affects etc. will make the cup run over. With this ifno y'all can effigy out the rest. here's how and it takes some work and study. You demand to have a solid understanding of the drugs mechanism of action. meaning you need to know how information technology works and breaks down in the body. Too as the disease process yous're treating. Thats why you see people harping on A&P education etc. A swell supplemental book I used was Brady's Prehospital Pharm. (although it was over 12 years ago) it has a skilful breakdown of mech. of action thats easy to understand. If y'all know that nitro is a vasodilator(not for chest pain) and understand what it means, you lot will be able to figure out when information technology volition benifit when its a bad idea for your patient and why. knowing the mech of action u will understand the side affects that take time and study start with y'all abc'due south and you'll be a paramedic non a parrot medic. you can also endeavour some rn texts though I dont know of any specific ones.I'thou sure they're out there.

• #3

one more than matter when memorizing the drugs don't worry virtually uses focus on those three things and yous'll be able to remember them a lot easier the remainder will come up together. promise this helps.

• #4

Yeah...Just put the minimum amount of info on the cards...Name on front end and on the dorsum put dose / road and form...start of with learning that...the residue volition come alot easier..then maybe you can add indications then contraindications as yous become more comfortable with it....HANG IN THERE...it will come

• #5

as a chemist's shop tech.... everything stated above is correct. if you call back medic school is bad... try the chemist's shop tech board. Why exercise I need to know that atrovastatin is lipitor... and carboxymethocellulose ir artificial tears... I have ni idea.... merely its rattling effectually up there somewhere

Its best to start with brand (trade) to generic.... once youve got information technology one way... the other mode should exist ok. Its easy to know that benadryl is an antihistamine and sleep assist... simply remembering diphenahydramine is a lot harder... so remember trade name and go from there.

• #6

Put these 3 things on your flash cards nothing more..
1. name trade and generic on the front
on the back
ii. dose with route (IM> IV. PO. etc)
3. class

Right, contraindications, side effects and mechanisim of action are sooo not important

• #7

I call back the signal is that if yous try to force also much information about the drugs at first y'all will find it very hard to go along the information in your mental files. Building a firm foundation by knowing those 3 bones things will enable you to remember the fine details more easily. It builds a mental framework for the additional information, and aids retentiveness.

• #8

The bespeak is that there is a large difference between memorizing and knowing. things like indications side affects mechanisim of action.. require a higher level of noesis.(memorization is the lowest form) for instance children acquire to say their abc's well before they can read. Recall of those 3 things equally your abc's and when y'all get to the college levels of learning pharm you'll already know your abc's. More importantly mech of action indications etc. are non things you lot memorize because yous need to understand them and the theory backside them.I'll spare you more teaching theory, It will eventually all come up together and you won't have to worry nearly dosages and names when you are trying to focus on a deeper agreement of pharm. the side affects indications etc. are part of that deeper understanding.

Last edited by a moderator: Oct 16, 2009

• #9

• #x

in course, we had to make books that had the drug proper noun, mg, dosage, contraindications, indications, and and then on.
later on we finsished form, nosotros kept these books and carried them with us, just in case nosotros forgot something, or wanted to double cheque what we were almost to practise.

• #eleven

• #12

Forget the flashcards. Do what works for y'all.

I started doing flashcards then got bored with them.

The manner I learned the drugs was learned how they worked, what they did, and what they were used for. In one case you know what Morphine does, you'll know what it's used for. Dosages come up easy after that.

• #13

Something else you tin do, if flashcards aren't your thing, is to sit in the truck with your partner and have him/her pick up ane of the drugs in the box. Then see how much yous can tell them about that particular medication.

You will be surprised at how much y'all actually know, that you didn't remember you did. The more than you review things, the more you will retain. It just takes time.

• #14

I memorized my local protocols which included the dosages. Than I filled in all the rest of the data I needed. Its just how I needed to larn.

• #15

MMiz

I put the Chiliad in EMTLife

I teach my students 5 dissimilar means to memorize facts and content, and I'm amazed at how many of them pick the different options.

one. Traditional flash cards
2. Create a funny/intriguing story correctly using the fabric
3. Create a traditional flash card purchase color code them into categories, and use a pic
4. Repetition - Write the information ten times
5. Music - Write a song or rap that defines all of the vocabulary. Once you've written your slice, practice is many times so that you'll remember the words and their definitions

It's i thing to use the study guides, but another thing to master the words. Brand it part of your daily routine.

• #16

I accept suggestion for you homes, "Adderall", get dorsum to emt school until, yous perform in the big leagues.

• #17

I wanted to get a caput start on pharmacology, don't have all the required literature at the moment. Anyone know any sites, that lists all the nationally canonical ALS drugs?

• #18

I wanted to become a head get-go on pharmacology, don't take all the required literature at the moment. Anyone know whatever sites, that lists all the nationally approved ALS drugs?

Not sure about national, but hither's a pdf link to Wisconsin's Paramedic medications. Your state or provice probably has a very similar list somewhere.

• #19

How about remembering the dosages?

What helped y'all remember them for each drug?

• #20

I am merely finishing up the didactic portion of my medic program, and this may sound stupid, merely one of the ways a couple classmates and I found that helped was to use the actual drug name to assist jog your memory.
For example,
Amiodarone
The k looks like a sideways iii, and so it reminds me that the initial dose (for a pulseless pt) is 300mg.

Atropine
The "trop" reminds me of "stop", so I remember atropine is indicated for symptomatic bradys, heart blocks, PEA, asystole and organophosphate poisoning.
And for dosing, 0.5 if alive, 1 if done, 2-3 O.P.P. (Org.phos. poisoning)

haha, I don't know if this makes sense to anyone else, but we got pretty artistic with them and it lead to some pretty interesting study sessions. Disclaimer: this only a style to assist get the initial basic grasp of the drugs and remembering them for quizzes. Do NOT rely on these discussion games to get you through school and/or internships.
Also, like everyone else has been saying, take the time to actually sympathise what each drug does and how it works and why you are giving it. I was really good at regurgitating the info on the quizzes, merely as grade progressed, I had realized I really made it worse for myself and couldn't chronicle the words on the page to an actual scenario, let alone think anything but the virtually recent drugs. So be sure to go dorsum and review the previous drugs too.
But my 2 cents.
Good luck!!!

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