Preparing for Part 1 of the Intern Pharmacy Oral Exam
*Note: Jenny has given me permission to use her email. I have blacked out personal details. An intern (Jenny) that is using the Memorise Medicine website sent me an email…
Understanding the name: H2 antagonist.
Understanding the name: There are a plethora of abbreviations used in the medical world. Some are commonly accepted and others are not. What happens when the abbreviation becomes more common…
Tug Of War: Dopamine Agonist VS. Antagonist.
Medicine is a broad and complex topic. Let’s simplify things, as much as possible.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀In Australia, ALL antipsychotic (e.g. olanzapine, haloperidol, quetiapine and risperidone) medicines block dopamine. Additionally, a lot of…
Ursodeoxycholic acid & Cholesterol-lowering medicines.
Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) (Ursofalk ®) is used to treat forms of cholestatic liver disease (CLD). Example: primary biliary cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis and cholestasis related to cystic fibrosis. Hypercholesterolemia is…
Passing The Pharmacy Australia Intern Oral Exam: The easy way
New second edition to help you prepare for the new 2021 oral exam format!Attention! Australian Intern Pharmacist. Are you scared of the upcoming oral exam? I thought so. I’ve written…
UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) Medicines & The Interaction You Need To Know.
In Australia, we treat UTIs with the following medicines: Trimethoprim Cephalexin Amoxycillin with clavulanic acid Nitrofurantoin Norfloxacin Fosfomycin trometamol (NEW) Hexamine hippurate (used prophylactically). Patients with an…
Don’t Worry About Learning Styles. Use This Instead.
Until Uni restarts, I think I'll take a break from medicine information post. Because it's the holidays and you've already spent a lot of time studying and cramming for your…
Are PPIs & H2 Antagonists Causing Anaemia?
Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs e.g. Nexium® & Pariet®) and histamine-2 (H2) antagonists (H2RAs e.g. Zantac®) are frequently used for the treatment of stomach acid‐related disorders. E.g. peptic ulcer, GORD…
Melatonin (Circadin) & Food.
Do you know why melatonin (Circadin) is listed to have with food? Hint: the answer is not in your AMH (Australian Medicines Handbook).First, let’s look at why we take certain…
Potassium and Blood Pressure
Here’s an easy way to remember what happens when you have too much potassium. Increase POTassium can lead to a decrease in blood pressure, this increase the chance of hyPOTension…