Learn how certain drugs interfere with this mechanism, resulting in the adverse effects associated with that drug/drug class – again, major interactions not all.ĭon’t see “mechanism of action”, “side effects” and “drug interactions” as separate phenomena.Understand how this mechanism is responsible for its side effect profile – not every side effect, but major side effects.Learn the fundamental mechanism of action of each drug-drug class.Once you know how anticholinergics affect the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, both in the central and peripheral nervous system, it demystifies why the side effects of dry mouth, pupil dilation and urinary retention occur. Suddenly, the subject of pharmacology becomes less and less arcane.įor example, once you understand that ACE inhibitors, such as Ramipril, result in the accumulation of kinins in the lung, the side effect of “persistent, dry cough” suddenly has relevance. From the mechanism, you begin to understand why certain side effects and drug interactions happen. Learning mechanisms of action is important, then. If a question were to appear, it would be on something specific – but something that had notable clinical and mechanistic consequences.
You don’t need to know the specifics of specifics of each mechanism of action. It’s not necessary for you to recall this level of detail, though. Sometimes this list of receptors exceeds well over a dozen. Some members of this class do, though, a diverse mechanism of action – that is to say, they have agonist and antagonist activity at a wide spectrum of receptors.
These drugs are predominantly used in the treatment of depression. The mechanism of action of a drug-drug class explains how the drug works. This begins by appreciating the link between drug class, mechanism, side effects and drug interactions. Instead, you need to put pharmacology in perspective and know what to learn. It’s unreasonable to assume that you have the necessary recall for this task. If you attempt to learn every fact about every medicine, almost haphazardly, you’re inevitable going to fail (unless, of course, you have a photographic memory). Of course, this depends upon what pharmacology exam you’re sitting – but the core principal applies nonetheless. This means knowing what to learn and what not to learn. Pharmacology in Perspectiveįirst things first, you need to put pharmacology in perspective. We hope that, through the strategies we discuss here, that you discover what your Achilles heel is and how best you can get back on your feet. If you’ve previously failed a pharmacology exam – or other clinical test such as the NAPLEX exam or NCLEX – it may be time to take a step back and review where you’re going wrong. Without the cognitive paddles to hand, you’re doomed to sink down and down that grades timetable. Whether you’re a pharmacy, nursing, medicine or pharmacology student – you’re all in the same boat. In today’s chapter of our pharmacy blog, that’s precisely what we review.
There are effective strategies you can apply to your study to ensure you pass your pharmacology exam first-time around. With a seemingly never-ending stream of drug names, side effects, drug interactions and mechanisms of action – where does it end? It can be difficult to find method in this maelstrom of medicinal madness, but it is possible. Pharmacology can be confusing, particularly when you first encounter the subject.
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