Coffee Before Clinicals
Coffee Before Clinicals
Real nurses. Real professors. Real support for nursing students.
Nursing school is hard. We’re here to make it a little easier.
Coffee Before Clinicals is a podcast created by nurse educators who understand what it’s really like to balance exams, clinicals, care plans, and the never-ending pressure to “figure it all out.”
Hosted by experienced nursing professors, this show is your go-to space for:
- Practical survival strategies for nursing school
- Test prep tips that actually work
- Deep dives into diseases, meds, and clinical scenarios
- Case-based learning to help concepts stick
- Real talk about burnout, confidence, and impostor syndrome
This isn’t a polished lecture or a YouTube recap. It’s the voice of nurses who’ve been where you are—and now walk beside you in the classroom and on the floor. Whether you’re on your way to clinical, prepping for the NCLEX, or questioning everything during finals week, we’ve got your back.
No fluff. No judgment. Just coffee, clinicals, and the clarity you need to keep going.
New episodes drop when you need them most.
Follow wherever you listen—and grab your coffee before clinicals.
Coffee Before Clinicals
You Don't Need to Memorize Every Drug in Existence
Pharmacology doesn't have to be about memorizing hundreds of drug names in a week. We can make this challenging subject manageable by focusing on patterns, categories, and building confidence over time.
• Break drugs down into categories - medication class, mechanism of action, therapeutic use, and key side effects
• Focus on distinctive side effects that stand out (like phenytoin causing gingival hyperplasia)
• Learn critical nursing considerations that keep patients safe
• Study by drug class rather than individual medications
• Group medications with similar endings (-olol for beta blockers, -pril for ACE inhibitors)
• Use color-coding, concept maps, and focused flashcards
• Create memorable mnemonics (like the 4 Bs for beta blockers)
• Practice pronunciation by breaking difficult names into syllables
• Form small study groups and teach concepts to each other
• Be strategic with AI tools as study supplements, not primary sources
• Give yourself grace - even experienced nurses look things up
If today's episode helped you breathe a little deeper, pass it on to classmates and tag us on Instagram at Coffee Before Clinicals.
Music by Smallrose Productions
Does pharmacology make your brain want to pack up and leave? You're not alone. It's the subject I get the most questions about every single semester. And no, you're not expected to memorize 500 drug names in a week. Today, let's talk about how to study for Pharm Without the Panic. Welcome to Coffee Before Clinicals, the podcast for student nurses who want real talk, clinical support and a whole lot of reassurance along the way. I'm your host, jennifer nurse educator, former ICU nurse and your unofficial guide through the wild world of nursing school.
Speaker 1:Let's talk pharmacology, a subject that often feels like trying to memorize the dictionary backwards. Here's the truth. You do not need to know every single drug by heart. What you do need is a way to recognize patterns, connect concepts and build your muscle memory over time. Start by breaking each drug down into categories Main category, medication class, mechanism of action, therapeutic use, must-know side effects. Now for this part, it seems like every drug causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but I want you to focus on the side effects that stand out and could be tested. For example, take phenytoin and its unique side effects of gingivial hyperplasia, or lithium and its narrow therapeutic range leading to toxicity. These are the kind of red flag side effects your instructor and exams will expect you to know. You also should break down into categories of key nursing considerations. Think about things like holding a beta blocker if your patient's heart rate is 60 or below, and monitor potassium levels when giving furosemide. Some meds like vancomycin require peak and trough levels to be drawn and, for insulin, always double check with another nurse before administering. These are the kinds of safe practice habits that keep your patient and your license safe and always prioritize understanding the why.
Speaker 1:If a med lowers blood pressure, what could happen if it works too well? Hypotension that's how we go from memorization to critical thinking. Okay, here's a scenario. You're on the med search floor. Your patient has a stack of meds, including something you've never seen before. What do you do? You pause, you look it up and you ask. Even seasoned nurses double-check medications, and when you're new on a floor, you'll start to see the same meds over and over again Metoprol, frosamide, pantoprozole. Familiarity builds confidence, and let's normalize this too builds confidence, and let's normalize this too.
Speaker 1:Pronunciation is hard. Even I have trouble saying most of the generic names sometimes, and that's okay. If you're stuck on hydrochlorothiazide or phenytoin, you're not alone. Try breaking them into syllables Hydro-chloro-thia-zide or phenytoin. Say them out loud, slowly and often. Use phonetic spelling in your notes, like tenolol for atenolol or clonazepam for clonazepam, and don't be afraid to ask your professors or your preceptors how to say something. Nobody is expected to be perfect and they expect safety and curiosity. All right, here's what I see. A lot Students try to cram a week before pharmacology exams.
Speaker 1:Pharm doesn't work that way. It builds week by week. Instead, set aside time to create review and content as you go. Make your notes into color-coded summaries. Use consistent systems.
Speaker 1:Let's talk flashcards. One pitfall writing the drug name on one side and everything on the back. It's overwhelming. Try one concept per card, for example, one for MOA, one for side effects, one for nursing considerations. Focus your brain on one piece at a time. Concept maps are amazing, especially for visual learners. Put that drug name in the center, then create spokes with mechanism of action, class, therapeutic use, side effects and then teaching Use color. I love to use color, so I would always put signs and symptoms in pink, mechanism of action in blue, and then I carry that theme through my notes. Those visuals will help stick into your brain. So here's what I want you to remember Study by drug class, not individual drug. The patterns will help you remember.
Speaker 1:For example, beta blockers like atenolol, metoprolol and propanolol all end in O-L-O-L and work by slowing your heart rate and lowering the blood pressure. Ace inhibitors like lisinopril and enalapril they end in P-R-I-L and cause a cough due to bradykinin buildup. Calcium channel blockers like amylodipine and nifedipine relax blood vessels to reduce blood pressure and often cause peripheral edema, nephrolidema. When you group drugs in by classes, it's easier to connect those mechanism of actions, the side effects and what to watch for. In clinicals I also love to use mnemonics, but make them yours. Silly. Always works, weird works. If it sticks, it works. For example, to remember side effects for acetylcholine, use the phrase can't see, can't pee, can't spit, can't poop. That's blurry vision, urinary retention, dry mouth and constipation. For beta blockers, remember the four Bs bradycardia, bronchospasm, blood pressure lowered and blood sugar masking. For the insulin types, try Lin Goes Fast for short, acting like regular insulin, or Lantus Lass for long-acting insulin.
Speaker 1:One of the best things that you can do is teach it to someone else. Teaching is learning. If you can explain a med, you understand it. Also, be smart about AI tools. They are helpful for quizzing and simplification, like generating sample questions for beta blockers or creating flashcard sets for antibiotics. For example, you can ask it to explain the difference between lisinopril and losartan in simple terms or quiz you on insulin types.
Speaker 1:But always verify everything against your textbooks and drug guides, especially when it comes to dosages, side effects and nursing implication. Use AI as a study buddy, but not your only source of truth. And then create those small study groups that will last through nursing school and beyond. Try to keep it no more than five people. This way, everyone gets a chance to participate. Divide those meds out and then teach it to each other. All right, you're not supposed to know everything, not yet In real practice. You'll have colleagues, charge nurses, pharmacists and drug books. Nursing school teaches you how to think, not just memorize. So give yourself some grace. Pause when you need to Ask, when you need to Look it up, when you need to. You're learning, and that's exactly what you're supposed to be doing. If today's episode helped you breathe a little deeper, pass it on to ClassMe and tag us on Instagram at Coffee Before Clinicals. You've got this and I will see you next time. Music, music, music.
