Jeepluv77 Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 I'm hoping someone can give me some advice on learning my meds. I'm sailing through everything else, and I had the adult meds down pat. Then we hit PALS. I've retained everything else I've learned but now the adult dosages for meds are a big jumble. I'm not sure why, but seeing as I plan to test NREMT-I in August I kinda need to fix this. Not to mention I'd prefer not to kill any patients. I'm sure if I can just find the right memory system or study guides I'll get them all straight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spenac Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 Hand write each drug and all its details. Then record them in your voice. Listen to them. This covers multiple senses so it soaks in more. Then do it all over again and again every day. I read somewhere that we retain X% of what we see, X% of what we hear, X% of what we hear, etc. So the more senses involved the more you retain. Hang in there. Also even on small breaks test yourself, choose a drug write it out from memory, then check it. Hope this helps some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeepluv77 Posted July 1, 2009 Author Share Posted July 1, 2009 It does! Thank you! I'm still learning how to study as I never had to do it in high school. I'm getting a little better with it, but it's still hard. I made up flash cards, but can't find anyone to quiz me with them. So I just read the front and try to recall what's on the back. I have trouble with rote memory so I'm also trying to learn more about what each particular drug does on a cellular level. If I know what exactly it does, why, and how it's particular theraputic index works it's easier for me. At that point the dosage becomes more logical instead of just another number. Unfortunately, you don't learn that as an intermediate student(at least here) so I'm having to try to do it on my own. I'm thinking of buying the text for advanced pharmacology, which I've been told doesn't actually add drugs but rather expands on how they work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spenac Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 It does! Thank you! I'm still learning how to study as I never had to do it in high school. I'm getting a little better with it, but it's still hard. I made up flash cards, but can't find anyone to quiz me with them. So I just read the front and try to recall what's on the back. I have trouble with rote memory so I'm also trying to learn more about what each particular drug does on a cellular level. If I know what exactly it does, why, and how it's particular theraputic index works it's easier for me. At that point the dosage becomes more logical instead of just another number. Unfortunately, you don't learn that as an intermediate student(at least here) so I'm having to try to do it on my own. I'm thinking of buying the text for advanced pharmacology, which I've been told doesn't actually add drugs but rather expands on how they work. That is the biggest key to really being successful with your drugs, should have mentioned it as well. Good for you keep up the hard work. Some of the more experienced instructors may have some good drug books that they could suggest for you to get more in depth. Also don't hesitate to google or bing the drugs to get more information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeepluv77 Posted July 1, 2009 Author Share Posted July 1, 2009 I just found out Monday that our wing at the school actually has it's own collection of medical reference books that we can borrow. When I go to class tonight I'll see which one they recommend. I don't want one that's going to be over my head but if it's too simplified it'll be a waste of time to read. A few of the proctors have offered extra help with skills stations but since I've got those down pat I'm going to see if someone may come in and help me learn the drugs. It'll be hard though because we are in the last month of class and several of my classmates are still struggling in static and dynamic cardiology. I've got the algorhythms but on the last practical day we did I missed a static scenario because I gave atropine instead of amiodarone. Ami is one I struggle most with, probably because of it's complexity and the fact that we've learned zero about how it works. Just like I only remember lido because it's the same as epi. Also, during ACLS they only taught us the drugs we carry. So I missed a question on my written(still passed though but it sucked) and I'm going to be ill prepared for NREMT-I test. Now we've all got to play catch-up because we are teaching ourselves all the other drugs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VentMedic Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 (edited) Here's a link to a couple of sites for a decent overview of pharmacology. Of course it is not a substitute for a couple of college pharmacology courses. http://nursingpharmacology.info/learning2.htm http://www.pharmacology2000.com/learning2.htm Edited July 1, 2009 by VentMedic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeepluv77 Posted July 1, 2009 Author Share Posted July 1, 2009 Thanks for the links! I'm hoping to start the last two semesters for paramedic next fall so I'll definately be taking those pharm classes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COWSskateGOOD Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 I am also a fan of all of the Elsevier Products, Jeffrey Guy has a great book called : Pharmacology for the Pre-Hospital provider it also has a matching PODCAST which is an online talk radio segment you can download, it helps while your commuting to hear and study utilizing all time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireMedic65 Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Do what spenac said. write, read, listen.. repeat! repetition is the key, over and over and over! you have to memorize them, nothing to learn about them really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Plain Ruff Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Do what spenac said. write, read, listen.. repeat! repetition is the key, over and over and over! you have to memorize them, nothing to learn about them really. Ok, memorize them for your test. But in a stressful situation your memory regarding the pediatric dosages is going to go out the window. There is nothing wrong with using a field guide or pamphlet put out by a reputable childrens hospital to quickly review a dosage for adenosine or epinephrine on a 5kg patient. In fact, a prominent pediatric intensivist at Childrens Mercy Hospital told me one day "It's criminal not to use a guide, the first thing to go in a critical child call is gonna be your drug dosage memory" Not saying that this is what will happen to you or anyone on here since we all are "AWESOME PROVIDERS" but to those of us who are not awesome providers I can take all the help I can get when I get a critical kid. Why do you think we have the broselow chart/bag???(way to overpriced if you ask me though) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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