Probably the most common question I get asked as an NCLEX tutor is how to study medications. It's one of those categories that is boundless and in which there is always more to learn. I think that's what makes it so demoralizing to study. You end up feeling helpless because you will never know it all.
And that's the truth- you won't! You need to give up on your former nursing school perfectionism. NCLEX doesn't care that you want to know everything; all it wants to know is if you know enough. I've compiled my best tips below for achieving that goal.
1. Make specific question flashcards. Check out the related posts section to the right for a whole post just about how to correctly make flashcards. The WORST way to study drugs is to put the name of the drug on one side and alllllll the information you can find about it on the back. That's just writing. It's not studying. Instead, you need to make flashcards that are testable. Rather than "Furosemide" on one side and "K wasting diuretic, usually prescribed with Klor-con, watch potassium level, be careful giving with Digoxin" on the other, do this-
Flashcard #1: "What category of medication is Furosemide?" "A potassium-wasting diuretic."
Flashcard #2: "What medication is usually prescribed with Furosemide?" "Klor-con."
Flashcard #3: "What electrolyte must you watch carefully when a patient is on Furosemide?" "Potassium."
Flashcard #4: "What medication must be given carefully with Furosemide? Why?" "Digoxin, because it works based on a correct potassium level and may become toxic when the K+ level is abnormal."
See how it breaks down all that information? That's how you study a darn med!
2. When it comes to studying side effects of medications, pick the top 3 most common/serious/specific ones and stick to those. Don't worry about the other thousand. KISS principle. (Keep It Simple, Stupid.)
3. Practice with medication questions. Get comfortable with them, even Select All that Apply's. Whatever you get wrong, make a flashcard out of it and move on. They're just NCLEX questions.
4. Make it a point to memorize drugs that have safe ranges or peaks/troughs. The top three examples are Digoxin, Lithium, and Vancomycin. Memorizing them now will save you a ton of mental stress.
5. If all you know about a drug is what it treats, think about what the drug is supposed to do and if it did too much of that, what would happen? That should lead you to most side effects. Morphine, for example, is going to stone you- it's a downer. What happens if the body is brought down too much? Respiratory depression, lethargy, constipation, etc. Think critically like this and apply what you know. You probably are being given more clues in the NCLEX question than you think!
Got more tips? Feel free to share below.