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Starting Pharmacology in September 2015

kathwalker1995

Hi All,
this is a message for anyone who has/is studying Pharmacology,
I am writing to ask what things, particularly what a-level topics I should read over before starting the course this september.
I haven't studied Biology since as level in 2012 and chemistry since A2 in 2013, I have just transferred from a mathematics course in University.

Thanks
Kath x

Reply 1

seasons of wither

I'm a second year pharmacology student. In my experience, universities make sure everyone is on the same page at the start of the year as everyone is entering with slightly different qualifications. The introductory lectures are therefore reassuringly basic - I didn't do any revision before I started and I didn't find it difficult despite taking a year out.

However, you are asking what topics you should read over. If you really want to do this, I'd recommend some physiology-based stuff such as cardio, renal, muscles. Some more biochemistry-ish stuff could be very helpful too, such as cell division, the cell cycle, transcription, translation and the genetic code. A lot of the chemistry we learned in our first year was new to me, but maybe go over electrochemistry, thermodynamics, the c = n/v equation and redox rules. In our first year we also did some stats.

Hope this helps a bit, but don't worry too much about it. Several people on my course don't have a biology and/or chemistry A level. What is useful will also vary from course to course so maybe look up the kind of modules you'll be taking in your first year if possible. Good luck :smile: