P1 Fall Semester Survival Guide

Created and distributed by the KU School of Pharmacy Student Chapter of CPFI

 

This information has been collected and summarized from survey responses submitted by pharmacy students from the graduating classes of 2022, 2023, and 2024. Each year various revisions are made to the curriculum, due to different professors, changes in content, and feedback provided by previous pharmacy students. This survival guide includes study tips and tricks and is intended to give you a general impression of what a first-year pharmacy student might expect.

In This Survival Guide

General Tips from Upperclassmen

It is important to study hard for your P1 classes and to truly learn the information, as it will be the foundation for future classes. The first semester may start off being difficult, but don’t be afraid to ask upperclassmen, fellow students, or professors questions. Reach out EARLY if you need help, everyone wants you to succeed!  Don’t be afraid to try new study techniques or study in groups. Remember that earning good grades is very achievable! The amount of studying that you put in should reflect in your results.

  • Time management is key!
  • GO TO CLASS! Don’t get into the habit of studying for other courses during different lectures. It will only allow you to get behind.
  • Even if you didn’t need to study in undergrad, it is IMPORTANT to study in pharmacy school. Make sure to prepare even for the first exams and quizzes.
  • Don’t be afraid to get involved in organizations! Leadership roles will teach you a lot and will help you in school, work, and your personal life. Enjoy P1 year! Take the opportunity to meet new people and get involved!

Note Taking Methods

  • Download lecture slides before class using an annotation app (EX: Notability or iAnnotate) onto iPad
    • Use an Apple Pencil to write notes directly on downloaded lecture slides
    • Type notes onto the slides (via text box, etc.)
    • Highlight key concepts on each slide
  • Handwrite notes in a notebook
  • Rewatch lectures to solidify concepts and make sure that your notes are complete

Utilize Your Resources

  • **Rho Chi Tutoring is offered Mon-Fri 12-1pm in Room 3032 (no appointment needed)**
  • Review lecture material and/or past exams with your professors (do not hesitate to email professors!!)
  • Watch YouTube Videos to clarify or add to lecture material (EX: ‘Speed Pharmacology’ and ‘AK Lectures Biochem’)
  • Create a class GroupMe or Facebook Page
  • Utilize the SOP Master Calendar, which organizes all events, quizzes, exams, and more by semester

Medicinal Chemistry 1 (MDCM 601)

How has what you learned during this course prepared you for courses in future semesters?

  • The content of this course will continue to be used in the upcoming MDCM courses, including chemical structures.
  • Many of the MDCM department faculty teach with similar styles.
  • Learning the biochemical processes of the body will help to understand the physiology of a disease, which in turn can make it easier to understand pharmacology.

What do you wish you would have known before taking this course?

  • Learn and remember the chemical structures presented during class, they will be on the exams! Handwritten flashcards or quizlets are helpful! Be sure to stay on top of this course. Additionally, it is important to recognize that the details of structures are important and affect molecular function; be able to distinguish between molecules with similar chemical structures.
  • Make sure to keep up with studying for this course. Don’t wait until right before the exam to review the content. Be ready to adapt your study techniques based on which professor is teaching the unit (your study strategies may change from professor to professor, even in the same course).
  • The online practice questions that were written specifically for the course have been similar to exam questions in previous years.

Study Tips

  • Use the online practice questions on LaunchPad and review any practice questions provided during lecture.
  • Utilize the textbook to better understand topics that you may not fully understand!!
  • Practice drawing out the structures on paper, flashcards, or a whiteboard.
  • Ask questions during the review sessions.
  • Fill out study guides if provided by the professors and make sure that you study this material in detail when preparing for exams.
  • Review the content with a group -- if you can teach other students a concept, you know it.
  • Study as you go rather than trying to memorize it all right before the exam!!!!

Pharmacology 1 (P&TX 630)

How has what you learned during this course prepared you for courses in future semesters?

  • This course explores the physiology of a system and how diseases and drugs affect it. By developing a good understanding of the pharmacology of various drugs and how they are used to treat different disease states, it will help you choose correct treatments in future courses.
  • Vitamins and neurotransmitters are involved in several different systems. The information covered during this course can be applied both P2 and P3 year in many upcoming classes.

What do you wish you would have known before taking this course?

  • Stay on top of the material by studying daily and learning the different drugs/vitamins as they are taught in lectures instead of waiting until the last minute to cram.
  • Take quizzes seriously as this is an excellent way to become familiar with how each professor may ask exam questions.
  • Do NOT just reread your notes or ONLY re-watch the lectures. Instead find ways to RECALL the information without looking at your notes.
  • This will be your first taste of studying drugs in the body! Study to retain the brain pathways and physiology -- this will help you understand neuro drugs in MDCM and Pharmacotherapy in P2 year.

Study Tips

  • Create charts or flashcards for the different drugs and associated disease states that include mechanism of action, drug class, and side effects.
  • Re-watching PARTS of the lectures that explain difficult concepts can be very helpful.
  • Make sure that you are actively listening in class and taking detailed notes.
  • Write down the in-class questions and answer choices during class. Try to review and answer them without looking after you have studied for a while. This will allow you to get used to the different professor’s style of questions and will also help you determine what you need to study.

Pharmacy Calculations (PHCH 517)

How has what you learned during this course prepared you for courses in future semesters?

  • These are basic calculations that you will be doing for the rest of your career. Learn them!
  • These calculations will be helpful in Pharmacy Skills Lab II-A.
  • This class sets the foundation for the Principles of Solution/Dosage Forms course in the P1 Spring which is a more difficult course. Make sure you feel comfortable with this content.

What do you wish you would have known before taking this course?

  • “Take this course seriously! It is an easy course to do well in but keep good notes as calculations are seen on the NAPLEX!”
  • Understand how to solve the problems and why you do each step. Don’t just write down the answer.
  • You will need to know how to use these calculations for your rotations and the NAPLEX.
  • This class is pretty straightforward. If you are good at math, you will not have a problem succeeding in this class.

Study Tips

  • Do as many practice questions as you can to ensure you are prepared for exams!
  • Ask for help if you need it, the professors want you to understand the material!
  • Do the homework and the practice problems to prepare for the exams. Work on them on your own as much as you can WITHOUT looking at the answers to make sure you understand how to solve the problems on your own.
  • Taking notes with paper and pencil may be easier when doing the practice problems.
  • Writing information on the notecard that you may use for the exams is a good way to review the information that you need to know for the exam (not sure of current notecard policies).
  • Complete the midterm and final exam review problem sets – they are very reflective of question types that you will likely see on these examinations!

Ethical, Legal, & Cultural Issues in Patient Care (PHPR 620)

How has what you learned during this course prepared you for courses in future semesters?

  • Knowing the laws will really help you on your rotations and when you work in a pharmacy.
  • This course is important to helping you develop your professional judgment and how you would handle various situations.

What do you wish you would have known before taking this course?

  • Focus on the law portion and memorize the laws really well. It would be really helpful to develop a solid law foundation early on in pharmacy school.
  • Study hard for the ethics and law quizzes, don’t underestimate them.
  • Take each assignment, quiz, and exam seriously and try to earn as many points/bonus points as possible. Many students have ended the course only a few points away from an A.

Study Tips

  • Fill out the study guides and memorize the terms given to you.
  • Make flashcards and learn the terms.
  • Do not cram right before the exam. Make sure you truly understand the concepts and know the details.
  • The questions can get tricky and specific.
  • Actually READ through the material and be able to understand examples of how the laws are put into practice.
  • Complete the ethics study guides with detailed answers and examples. These will really help you on the exams.
  • Study the review jeopardy questions and the study guides for the exams!!!!!
  • Studying with groups can help you understand the concepts and review the slides.
  • Write down or take pictures of practice questions in class, the format of these questions and the material that they cover will be reflected on exams.

Introduction to Clinical Chemistry (PHCH 667)

How has what you learned during this course prepared you for courses in future semesters?

  • Pay attention to labs and their values, they come up again and again!
  • Having a strong understanding of labs, disease states, terminology, and the many topics covered in this class is a definite advantage in P2 year. This course is more of an introductory course, so make the most of the easy A!
  • Lab values can be helpful in future lab courses and on rotation – make sure that you are familiar with them!

What do you wish you would have known before taking this course?

  • I wish that I would have committed information about various lab tests (parameters, why each is completed, when they can be used, etc.) to memory. A lot of this material will come up in many future courses. Understanding and learning this material can form a strong foundation moving forward!
  • General information about lab tests will be helpful when moving forward in the curriculum; this information will be discussed and plays a role in monitoring and diagnosis of many disease states.

Study Tips

  • Study the quiz material questions – these will likely re-appear on exams!
  • This course is an EASY A if you complete the quizzes, show up to class, participate, and review for exams.
  • Interact in class – the professors are looking for participation! It will likely count as part of the course grade.
  • Watch all flipped classroom videos of lecture material.
  • Write down practice questions in class.
  • Use Quizlet to organize and learn the material.
  • Take every quiz and practice quiz possible. Review the answers. Small word differences will be the key (EX: a blank test reads (high/low) which is because of a (high/low) biomarker).

Pharmacy Skills Laboratory I-A (PHAR 510)

How has what you learned during this course prepared you for courses in future semesters?

  • Take the time to learn and practice prescription verification & knowing what should be included.
  • Use this course to start to develop your patient counseling skills. You will use these skills for MANY future OSCE/OSLE exams.
  • Vaccinations … as a student intern, you will have countless opportunities to use this skill at work, vaccine clinics, and rotation.
  • Lots of the skills are applicable to real life practice and make a good base for more classes.

What do you wish you would have known before taking this course?

  • Drug information is important! Develop these skills early on as a pharmacy student, they will really help you!
  • LEARN the top 100 drug information and commit this to memory!! You will continue to come back to this. Learning this information early will also help you in the future once specific disease states and common medications are reviewed.
  • Take lab OSCE/Milestone examinations seriously. These are a great opportunity to show what you know and develop patient interaction skills. Prepare and study prior to these exams!
  • Dr. Davidow is very straightforward and will tell you what to focus on and how to do so. There’s a lot of practice information and ways to clinically apply it. Practice!!!

Study Tips

  • Make sure that you are comfortable with patient counseling – you will need this skill in your future job and career. This course will help to form a strong foundation in this area.
  • Have fun with it :)
  • Enjoy the vaccination section of this course, employers will utilize students all of the time to vaccinate patients!
  • Learn the top 100 drug information a little bit at a time. Keep up with it!

KU Christian Pharmacists Fellowship International (CPFI) Student Chapter

About CPFI

CPFI serves as a Christian organization within the School of Pharmacy. Our group holds general body meetings, bible studies, socials, community service events, and more to connect in fellowship with pharmacy students that share similar ideals.

As a national organization, CPFI unites pharmacists and pharmacy students working to incorporate their faith into the pharmacy profession. CPFI has chapters throughout the United States and offers members opportunities for community service, short or long term mission trips, bible studies and an annual national conference.

How can I get involved?

To get involved or get more information, send an email to either kucpfi@gmail.com or grohnem@ku.edu. Feel free to explore or fill out this membership form below; annual chapter dues are $5: CPFI Membership Form.

Executive Team Members

  • Kimberly Dankyi – President
  • Makenna Rudzik – Vice President
  • Kallie Leiker – Secretary
  • Jackson Rush – Treasurer
  • Sunny Henein – Community Service Chair
  • Kaylee Lowe – Fundraiser Chair
  • Charles Devillier – Social Chair

Follow us on social media! Instagram: @kucpfi, Facebook: KU CPFI Student Chapter