How do you study pharmacy school material?
First, you may need to recognize that how you studied in your undergraduate studies was more of a “pump & dump” mechanism for the brain. We learn something just to learn it for the exam and as soon as the exam is over, we tend to move on & then forget it.
If that was how you studied in undergrad (I’m guilty), then I have to be honest and tell you that it’s likely not going to work out well in pharmacy school. Why? Because you DO have to remember what you’re learning now. It will be used in your career.
When you’re learning a high volume of complex content in a short amount of time, it can certainly feel like that’s what you’re going to have to do. However, there are some ways to help overcome that.
1). Focus on Why You’re Learning the Material
Remember to keep your focus on WHY you’re learning the material. Don’t study just to study, but instead remind yourself that you need to have this knowledge like it is common sense in order to provide better care for your patients. Imagine if your grandma, mom, dad, sister, nephew, aunt, etc…, was asking you about that pharmacy question.
2). Study What you Don’t Know
Don’t keep studying the things you already know. It may boost your ego for the moment because you “think” you know a lot based off of that one part you keep relooking at, but you’re not doing yourself any favors.
You have to be comfortable with studying the parts that are more confusing to you, especially the material towards the end of a unit where you’ve had less time exposure to it.
3). Understand Big Picture Concepts
Learn big picture concepts first. It helps to solidify the foundation of what you’re learning. Then, when you understand the big picture, it may be easier to get into the smaller details.
For example: When learning about diabetes, the big picture concept would be to understand the liver and the various roles it plays with blood glucose and insulin. Use analogies or visualization tools if it helps to get a better picture of what’s going on. Then, that in turn would help to understand the drug classes and how they do what they do.
4). Test Yourself and/or Pretend to Teach
You should try to explain the concepts out loud. If you find that you’re struggling to find words or to make it coherent, that kind of gauges where you’re at with your knowledge on that topic.
Making charts and filling them in can also be used to help organize your thoughts and help to test yourself unofficially.
(Note: I will have some FREE fill in tables and charts available to help with learning infectious disease/antibiotics (one of the hardest classes in pharmacy school!). So, stay tuned for that!)
In the meantime, read more on what physical tools I used to help get me through pharmacy school.
5). Figure Out Where and How you Learn Best
Only join in study groups if you truly learn better that way; otherwise you may end up wasting more time because study groups don’t always stay on the topic of studying. If you like a little social time with studying though, then you certainly can.
6). Breaks are Good for You
Take 10-minute breaks every 45 minutes or so of focused studying, if needed. I know studying is not always fun. In fact, the thought of studying sounds more appealing, but actually studying is not. So, it’s easy to get distracted every few minutes or so, especially when your phone is involved. It would be more time efficient if you give yourself a scheduled break only after seriously studying for a set amount of time. This is called getting in your flow.
7). Recall your Exam
Right after an exam, it may be best to go through the same lectures that were on the exam and distinctively highlight what was tested so that you kind of know what the big picture concepts are, especially helpful for when the final exam rolls around.
8). Work as an Intern
The best way to learn is to do and to practice. If you can and are willing to, you should work as an intern at a nearby pharmacy during pharmacy school so that you can apply what you’re learning in the classroom to real live patients and situations. Yes, that’s what IPPE’s and APPE’s are for too, but this is additional practice, money, and networking opportunities. Not to mention that patient cases taught in textbooks are just that, so more experience with real patients and their complex health complications provides you with more advantage on how to handle them when you are the pharmacist taking care of them.
Good luck with your studies!
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