How To Study In Pharmacy School

Academic success is measured by grade in school. The higher the grade, the more successful the student is. And to get higher grades, knowledge is key. To acquire this knowledge requires long hours of listening to and studying relevant materials.

This is what school is all about. After graduating from pharmacy school, I quickly realised many things I could have done differently. What I have learned can help many pharmacy students learn and succeed in pharmacy school.

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There is one rule of thumb when it comes to advice and taking advice from people. What works for me may not work for you. What worked for your friends, family or lecturers may not work for you. So the bottom line is to find out the best pattern that will work better for you early and do it. Studying is a trial by error approach until you find a suitable pattern. The pattern you have used in secondary and primary school may fail you in university.

Challenge Pharmacy Student Face

Many blogs that have content on his topic are foreign blogs. Their advice does not reflect the Nigeria education system. It won't work. In Nigeria, lecture halls are small, without basic sitting furniture. The most expensive piece of electronics in the hall is the sound system and it is useless. Most Nigerian universities don't allow the use of laptops in lecture halls. The lecture timetable is as useless as the 'p' in psychology. Lecturers walk in anytime they like. The worst ones come toward the end of the semester to drop 40 pages of single spacing, time new Romans font 12 material without graphical illustration and expect you to finish understanding it in two days to sit for a test.

Pharmacy laboratory

You cannot even boast of a single lecture venue as it can change when lecture is about to start. And the new venue may be another 20 minutes walk down the road. On getting there, the lecturer who got there with a car is already 10 minutes into the lecture with students who could afford public transport.

Financial constraints is another topic we cannot exhaust today. If all the money in you is for food, what about money to make a photocopy of materials. To avoid these expenses you want to attend a lecture. But your health won't let you into the deoxygenated room. And you need to take public transportation to save your blood sugar from hitting a low figure. The time saved from entering public transport can also be converted to study time.

When many people will say school is a level playing ground, they often forget that a little distraction can evoke fear. A student whose father loses his job cannot listen to a lecture the same way as a student whose father just got a promotion at a place of work. And if it happens during examination, that is the end. And some students are always unfortunate to receive bad news towards the examination period.

There is that group of lecturers that keep reminding you of how bad their school days were. So they see that the system has improved hence no student must complain. They are always sadistic. They are the major reason the university is rotten away.

Solution To Succeed In Pharmacy School

For the first year in pharmacy school, the courses are usually basic science and general studies. Most of the topics are extension of secondary school subjects. Excelling well in year one increases your chances of graduating and with your set. It is a proven theory. Also, the high age, especially those with first degrees, don't do well.

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Let us look at the situation. In most schools in Nigeria, pharmacy students receive lectures with students from other departments. In most cases, the classes are choked up. Most of the lecturers don't give in their best. Some just talk a little and drop material. Others don't even come at all, letting students waste their time.

Let's beat it. Lecture is good. But poor lecture conditions can sap you of your energy. Ask yourself if you will be able to survive the heat and suffocation that comes with overcrowded class. Many people have fainted and eventually died in attempts to attend all lectures. If your health and physical condition does not permit you, please don't go to those lectures. But if you can cope, please attend all lectures. There are advantages also.

Let's assume you did not go to some lectures. Make friendship with a friend that is always in the lecture. Immediately the lecture ends, get whatever they wrote and make a photocopy. Ask for clarification on what the lecturer talks about and ask for the note they took. This helps to clarify where the lecturer most likely sets questions from.

Because of my physical strength, I did not attend many lectures in year one. But the error I made was that I wanted to transfer the note into my own personal book. Here is the problem. Such an approach means that I will have to keep the student note with me for some hours. In some cases, I may even need to take it home. No student will want to leave their note for another student for just some few hours. They will be saying they want to revise the material immediately. It is a lie. They just don't want to let go of their note for various fears.

And to make matters worse, some students use eight in one notebook. With a book like that, you are sure nobody will let go of their note. Your best bet is to make a photocopy from a nearby business center. Now arrange those copies by each lecture and label it.

2-3 study hours a day in year one is more than enough to get you good grades. Because you miss the explanation by the lecturer, you will have to study extra hours more than those students who could receive the lecture. Read the material for the day in the evening. Read in advance topics not yet taught.

Year one is the best time to find your study balance. Study group in year one is a waste of time. However, you can use year one to check it out if it will help you. There are different ways study groups are organised but the most common is for everyone to read a topic in advance and discuss it at a said time and day. Reading at night may not yield positive result in year one.

Most year one examination questions are multiple choice questions (MCQ). It makes it easy to prepare for. Go through the material and then check out the last question. The more last question you study the greater your chances of getting through. The reason is that many lecturers don't have time to ask new questions. They go back to old questions and lift most of the questions from there. The hard working lecturer may lift questions from two to three past questions.

For biology and chemistry examination, knowing salient points is vital. For mathematics, understanding each formula helps you recall in the examination hall. General studies (GST) requires little study of their material and past questions. I recommend that you don't miss these lectures.

Can you stay off politics and extracurricular activities for the now? Yes thank you. Because it will do you a while lot of good. Not that they are bad. It will drain you and leave you feeling exhausted. Get your balance first, will you. Then you can think of that. Many of the students who join never get out on flying colours. Very few did. How are you sure you will belong to the very few. Don't gamble with your future today. Please kindly reserve those activities for future level.

In subsequent years, the lecture hall is a little bit more conducive. Then, the lecturers are familiar faces. 

Before the lecture begins, do a Google search on topics that will be taught. Get material from those ahead and study. It is best to do this during the end of second semester year one examination. But it is not too late at the beginning of first semester year one. But a word of advice, the lecturer for that course can change or the lecturer can change the study material.

Review each class at home. Closing late from lectures can actually reduce your chances of doing this. This is where late night study comes into play. In as much as I hate it, you have no choice as a pharmacy student in Nigeria. And towards the end of the semester, the lecturer comes in with bulky material. This is where good time management comes in. Write out a flexible schedule that can easily be adjusted according to circumstances. And keep to it.

I must not forget to add that you must get good gadgets. This includes at least a good mobile phone. Data is life. You know what I mean. With a phone, you get access to arrays of quick and resourceful information. You can connect with fellow students on the go discussing what is happening.

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Never cheat. It is a crime against the school authority and yourself. When you cheat, you pass but fail to learn the topics. When you meet some topic tomorrow, you meet the same topic in another department or course, you either have to chest again or fail.

Those laboratory works won't stick in your memory if you do not participate. I know most laboratory practical classes are group with a good number of students. No matter how small, do something. It will be the trigger you need to do well in the examination.

Lastly, learn how to transcribe. This has helped me a lot as a blogger. Although some of my friends did this in school, I did not. Now I know what I miss.

Other things you should do is to always eat healthy, avoid distraction and volunteer to work. Eating healthy costs money. Especially when you have diverted most of the funds for feeding into public transport and photocopy of materials. Stay if relationship that will distract you. Volunteer to work in a community pharmacy or related field will help you a lot in learning on field.