In this article a current third year pharmacy student discusses pharmacy student study strategies to maximize learning in 2025 and beyond.
Authored By: Fabian Quiroga, Pharm.D. Candidate 2026
Article posted 16 April 2025
No one really warns you about just how much content you will encounter in pharmacy school – until you are in it. Whether it is a single week, an entire module, or the full school year, the amount of material can feel overwhelming. Many of us came in with a Bachelor’s degree and study methods that worked well in undergrad. So naturally, we assume they will work here too… right? Well—yes and no.
Pharmacy school moves fast. Think of it like getting blasted in the face with a fire hydrant of information. As a result the big question becomes: how do you figure out what is actually important to focus on? This can be complicated to answer depending if your goal is to become competent for practice versus just wanting to pass an exam.
As a third-year student pharmacist, I have figured out what works for me—and what definitely does not work. Making the leap from undergrad to the clinical courses in pharmacy school required some serious adjustments to how I studied. Learning, for me, has become a process. It is kind of like building a house. You need a solid foundation before you can build anything stable on top of it.
In this post, I will share a few tips that have helped me navigate the intense pharmacy curriculum. Just keep in mind: the goal is not just to survive; it is to retain what we are learning so we can ultimately use that knowledge to better serve our future patients.
1. Treat learning like building a house
An educational model that is often used to explain the stages of cognitive learning is Bloom’s Taxonomy. It visually represents how we move through different levels of learning, from the simplest (i.e., define and identify) to the more complex (i.e., analyze and predict).
At the foundation of our house we have “remember,” which is where you are recalling basic facts, terms, and concepts. This is straight memorization. The next layer is “understand,” where you now can explain or describe the material in your own words. Third comes “apply,” where you take what you have learned and use it in practical, real-world scenarios. In pharmacy school that usually means applying it to patient care, which may occur during experiential education or through practice cases.
In the “apply” domain, you cannot function if you skipped the subsequent steps. This is where many pharmacy school exam questions are focused. So as I mentioned, you need to lay a strong foundation by understanding the basic principles and being able to explain and compare the key concepts. This is crucial, because applying the knowledge effectively requires a deeper understanding of how the content works together.
Blooms continues up the layers to analyze, evaluate, and finally atop the house is creating. These domains are more applicable to advanced pharmacy practice experiences / clinical rotations.
The key takeaway here is that learning in pharmacy school is not just about cramming facts – it is a strategic process. Building a strong foundation from your undergrad or pre-pharmacy courses is the best way to prepare yourself to integrate complex topics and disease states later on. Now, what does this look like in practice? Incoming… the Snowball Method.
2. Consider the “snowball method”
I learned about the snowball method from one of my Anatomy & Physiology (A&P) professors during undergrad. It really shaped the way I learned from that point on.
The snowball method promotes repetitive review of content in “chunks” over time. Let’s say I am learning about the management of hypertension in class. To learn how to treat this disease, I need to first understand the basic physiology of how blood pressure is regulated in our bodies. So, on Day 1 of study, I review the physiology of blood pressure. The following day (Day 2), I introduce the pathophysiology of hypertension (i.e., what goes wrong). On Day 3, I will learn the pathophysiology and review what I learned yesterday about the physiology of blood pressure regulation.
I continue adding to my “snowball” every day with new information, while still reinforcing older content to keep my brain trained to synthesize the material and promote long-term retention. This strategy allows me to identify patterns and gain a full picture of the study materials. It is not easy, but it is effective.
3. Map out your plan!
I am a big believer in the power of concept maps (thanks to another A&P professor who introduced me to them).
Concept maps, diagrams, and flow charts are great tools for visually connecting ideas and concepts. One thing my A&P professor always said stuck with me. It was: Physiology isn’t learned on a flashcard—it is learned on a concept map. Why? This is because the human body is a beautifully complex network of interconnected systems working together to keep us alive. Medications are no different.
To truly understand how a drug works, you need to know its mechanism of action, the therapeutic receptors it targets, and its potential off-site effects. Concept maps are a great way to organize and visualize all of these connections, helping you see the bigger picture and how everything fits together.
4. Find your village
You may have heard that to get through pharmacy school, “it takes a village.” A big part of the experience is building those memories of late-night (or early mornings- but I am definitely a night owl) study sessions with friends.
I have found that studying in groups after doing my own independent review has been incredibly helpful. Quizzing each other with rapid-fire questions pulled straight from our lecture slides helps test your knowledge in a safe, zero-stakes environment. Something I might only partially understand could be something a friend has a solid grasp on, and they will help break it down for me—and vice versa.
Teaching one another in a small group setting is such a powerful tool, and it makes learning not only more effective, but a lot more enjoyable too.
Overall, the pharmacy curriculum (no matter where you go) is probably unlike anything you have encountered yet. We are being trained to care for people’s grandparents, parents, siblings, and friends, and to serve as the medication experts on interdisciplinary healthcare teams. The sheer volume of information we are expected to learn can feel overwhelming (because it is), but there are ways to manage the stress that comes with it.
Know that you cannot actually learn all of the information. You can only learn how to develop reasonable strategies for navigating the unknown.
Keep in mind that you are not expected to know every single detail about every drug and every disease state. That mindset alone can take a huge weight off your shoulders, especially around exam time. Setting the right expectation is extremely important for mental health.
We are not being trained to be walking encyclopedias who can recite the percent protein binding of captopril off the top of our heads. We are being trained to be well-rounded, empathetic, competent, and humble healthcare providers—people who always put the needs of their patients first. Every lecture, every study session, every hour you put in is an investment in the care you’ll provide one day. And little by little, you’ll realize you’ve built something solid—a strong, stable house of knowledge that you’ll carry with you throughout your career.
Resources & Readings
Exam Prep: How to Study With Bloom’s Taxonomy
Disclosure: The views and opinions expressed in this article represent those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of any former, current, or potential future employer.
About The Author
Fabian Quiroga is a third-year pharmacy student at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy, having completed my Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Education at the University of Florida in 2022. My primary career goal is to utilize the knowledge acquired throughout my academic journey to provide exceptional patient care. My current interests include infectious diseases, chronic disease management, and critical care. My long-term career goal is to obtain a position as a Clinical Professor with a concurrent clinical practice site, allowing me to integrate teaching with real-world patient care.
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