How to Study Pharmacology in NP School

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How should you study pharmacology in NP school to be successful?

Pharmacology is simultaneously one of the most challenging courses you will take and one of the most important. For most NP students, their pharmacology course takes place within one quarter/semester and moves at lightning speed in order to cram in all the material needed to be a safe prescriber. The goal of most pharmacology courses is to teach you the foundational knowledge required to be a prescriber who is competent and safe. Today, we discuss how to study pharmacology in NP school including lots of tips and tricks. You may also like this article on how to study for your primary care/ management courses.

Despite how difficult mastering pharmacology is, there are 3 pieces of good news:

  1. The 1st piece of good news is that since we’re already RNs, we have taken pharmacology courses before. So while the focus is different, you will have some knowledge already from your work as a RN. 
  2. The 2nd piece of good news is that your pharmacology course is only the first of many opportunities to learn about prescribing as a provider. 
  3. The best news is that once you start clinical rotations you will be able to use every clinical encounter to learn more and deepen your understanding of prescribing. This, in my opinion, is the best way to learn as you are using real world experiences to provide context which helps you learn and remember better. But before you get to this point, you must take and pass your pharmacology course.  

Tips and tricks for how to study pharmacology in NP school

There are 5 steps I recommend using to study pharmacology. We’re going to discuss each in more detail below.

  1. Skim the assigned readings before class
  2. Attend class and take notes on the presented powerpoint slides
  3. Fill out study guides while referencing the powerpoint slides and the assigned readings
  4. Make flashcards
  5. Review powerpoint slides and study guides before exams

Step #1 – skim the assigned readings before class

  • Usually there are more assigned readings than you can complete so how do you prioritize what to read? Should you read before class? 
  • Skimming the assigned readings is one strategy to help you feel prepared during class, but to not feel overwhelmed as you balance the reading assigned in other courses. 
  • Skim the readings (articles or assigned chapters in the textbook) before class. The goal here is to have a very basic understanding of what is going to be presented during class time. 
  • You can take notes if that helps you learn, though I found it wasn’t helpful for me as I always had a better idea what to prioritize and take notes on after attending class. 
  • I retained more information from the reading in depth after attending class and listening to the lecture rather than spending hours reading prior to class. That being said, if you learn best from doing all of the assigned readings prior to attending lecture, definitely do the readings before class so that you maximize your learning.  

Step #2 – attend class and take notes on powerpoint slides 

  • Most pharmacology courses are going to be based on lectures given from powerpoint slides. Often slides are provided in a PDF format to print or in powerpoint. If provided to you in powerpoint, you can actually write notes directly below the slides. Having printed copies or an electronic version allows you to write down only the important information that is added by the lecturer.
  • Take notes on points that are emphasized or that help clarify difficult concepts.  
  • Sometimes, underlining or highlighting on the slides can be helpful for remembering important points.
  • Professors often spend more time on the most important concepts so take notice and make a note on your slides so you can remember when studying later.

Step #3 – fill out study guides using slides and textbook (focused studying) 

  • Your professor may provide you a study guide, but if not, see below for what I used in school and found incredibly effective. 
  • My best tip and trick is this: the study guides you create for your pharmacology course are super helpful to have on hand once you start your clinical rotations. Include all of your study guides in a clinical resource binder that you bring to clinical every single day (see this post for 11 items you should always bring to clinical rotations). Creating these study guides takes a lot of time, but if you are thorough now, you will find them to be helpful references for more than this course. 
  • After attending class, first review the lecture slides and add information to each section of the study guide. If you need more information than what is available in the lecture slides, go to the assigned readings to find the answer. Whether finding the information in the lecture slides or the readings, adding this information into the study guide is a great way to synthesize the material while also creating a resource that would be helpful for studying for exams and also for use in clinical rotations.  
  • You’ll notice the study guides are created for each drug class instead of individual drugs. This is because the principles are often the same or similar within each class of drug. Learning each drug class with save you a lot of time and is one of the best study tips for pharmacology. If there is something unique about a particular drug, make a note of that in the particular section. 

Subscribe and get my free study template (example below)

Study Guide Example

Drug Class and Drug Names Included in the Class 
Pharmacodynamics/mechanism of action 
Pharmacokinetics – important notes about absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion  
Major precautions, contraindication, or populations for whom you wouldn’t use this drug 
Major drug interactions 
Clinical indications 
Drug selection- what makes this drug or drug class better or worse than other options for this clinical indication? 
What are the monitoring requirements? 
Patient education – common side effects, reasons or adverse events to contact you, any dietary restrictions, anything the patient definitely needs to know about the medication  
Any special administration instructions 

Step #4 – make flashcards for the most important or challenging concepts

  • There are two ways to go about creating flashcards:
    • #1 As you create your study guides (in step 3), make flashcards for any concepts that require straight memorization.
    • #2 Once you have completed study guides and begin reviewing them and the lecture slides, if you come across a concept that you need to memorize or can’t quite grasp, create a flashcard for it.
  • Flashcards are great to have on hand as they can help you with rote memorization or learn more challenging concepts. 
  • Here are some topics I found particularly helpful to create flashcards for:
    • Definitions, especially for pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic concepts (area under the curve, bioavailability, therapeutic index, etc) 
    • Learning which medications belong to each drug class (for example, SSRIs include escitalopram, sertraline, fluoxetine, paroxetine, etc.) 
    • Drug mechanisms of action 
    • Drug Black Box warnings

Step #5 – review powerpoint slides and study guides before exams 

  • If you’ve completed steps 1-4 already, you’ll have already spent a lot of time studying and learning the important information. 
  • When it comes time to study for your exam, you’ll have all of the resources you need – lecture slides with important points highlighted, study guides for each drug class, and flashcards. 
  • Use the lecture slides, study guides and flashcards as you see fit to study. 
  • The earlier you start reviewing all of these materials, the better. Pharmacology is a difficult course, and is not something that you can cram for. If you cram the night before, you’re likely forget everything after the test and by the time you start clinical rotations.
  • By taking the time to study a little each day, you will have a better mastery of the material and will be more confident in clinical rotations where you must apply the content learned in your lectures.

Summary: Tips and Tricks for How to Study Pharmacology

Shows medications organized by day of the week.

Following these 5 steps, I studied and passed my pharmacology course. My hope is that these 5 steps for how to study pharmacology in NP school give you a starting point for approaching this challenging material. By skimming the assigned reading before class, attending class, creating study guides for each drug class, making flashcards, and finally, reviewing these study resources prior to the exam, you will be on the road to success. By dedicating your time to study pharmacology now, you will be able to learn so much more once you start your clinical rotations. Having the foundational knowledge is key to becoming a safe and competent prescriber.

Stay tuned for Thursday’s post – a step by step guide and checklist on how to apply for FNP board certification with AANP.

What questions do you have? Did you find pharmacology challenging? What were your tips and tricks for studying and passing this course?

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