How to flag your AMH

In preparation for my intern final exam, I was having a discussion with my folks on "how to flag your AMH effectively". I have seen several flagged AMH, mine was slight under-flagged.most people over-flagged, some were just right.

So let's talk about the book.

There are 3 sides of a book that you can flag.

Some people have 2 layers of flagging on each sides, which I personally discourage.

The idea of flagging is to flag important pages, not every few pages.








TIPS:
1. Flag your index
- from A to Z, I find it very useful. For myself, I use green flags for index. For other things I use different colour.

2. Flag important tables ( according to AMH 2011)
The following is my list of important tables. Just for reference, it is up to your own judgement which are the important ones.

- Opioid comparative information pg 48
-guide to drug choice for selected infection pg 96
-comparative information for sympathomimetics pg 235
- coexisting conditions and antihypertensive choice pg 246
- drugs that may prolong QT interval pg 276
-drugs affecting blood glucose concentration pg 399
- insulins : comparative information og 400
-antineoplastic pg 527
-comparison of tyrosine kinase inhibitor pg 570
-comparison of oral/parental corticosteroid pg 603
- comparison of NSAIDS pg 619
- antidepressant changeover guide pg 736
- drugs that contribute to serotonin toxicity, symptoms pg 738
-comparative characteristic of antipsychotic drug pg 755
- inhaled corticosteroid doses in adults pg 800

3. Know your flags
- What is the use of flag if you don't know which table you have flagged?

In short, just make sure your flagged AMH is user friendly

Share with me if you have other ideas on flagging the pharmacist bible.

HMR report ( Pre-exam tips)

A junior recently mentioned to me that she will be taking a test on home medication review soon. Back in my time, they called it medication management ( i think)..Oh well, similar thing i guess. So, the usual format would be :

" A doctor refer a patient to you to review his/her medication. You have a list of medication in front of you, with or without presenting problem, and maybe some laboratory test result"

Okay, I did badly when I was a student  ( a borderline pass, I wasn't a particularly academic-bright student anyway). I vaguely remember about half of the class passed the test. We were given 45 minutes to produce a letter/report to the doctor.

45 minutes flies like a rocket when you are taking exam. So, I have some several tips to share, which might be a little help for students who will be taking it soon or in the near future.

TIPS:
PRE-EXAM

1. MEMORISE the format of the letter, introduction and conclusion BY HEART...!!
 - Under stressed condition with restricted time, the last thing you want to do is to waste extra 5 or 10 minutes on these standard stuffs. This is especially important for students whose English is not proficient ( like me).

2. Flag/label your AMH
- It will save you so much time when you do bit of flagging on your AMH. I did not do it till during my intern exam. I regretted not doing it during uni.
- Of course, do not over do it. I have seen AMH that is so over flagged that I wonder how the person use the book ( seems like every third page is flagged).
- For detail, see how to flag your AMH

3. Go through your lecture notes
- Duh...., isn't it obvious?
-Examiners will normally set question based on what he/she has taught. Don't spend one night studying cytotoxic drugs when your lecturer only taught you antibiotics and cardiovascular.

4. Sleep well ( if you can)

Pharm-help

Hey all my fellow juniors,

Loving the taste of pharmacy course? This blog is created to help some of my fellow juniors who might be facing some difficulties in their studies.

I am a newly registered pharmacist, graduated from UniSA back in year 2010. What I am trying to create is like a FREE-tutoring service for pharmacy students. I can't guarantee that I will be able to answer every single question that you ask, but I will try my very best to provide you the answer within a reasonable time frame.

If you have any questions at all ,please feel free to email me and I will post the answer on this blog for other readers as well.

youngsu@hotmail.co.uk