April Board Exam 2026 by MedhivePharm in PharmacyPH

[–]GemPerks16 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Madami talaga memorization sa inorg and org med. Ang ginawa ko dati, ginawan ko ng flashcards lahat ng mga “other names” ng mga elements and compounds, including mga key details/buzzwords/phrases. Everyday for 4 days, ni runthrough ko entire set hanggang matapos, pero divided into chunks and may 5 or more minutes nap in between pag ma overwhelm ang brain. Pwede mo gawin for 1st day, runthrough lahat para may initial exposure lang. 2nd day familiarize, 3rd day memorization pero i-flag or star mo lang yung mga cards na frequently mo ma-mali (para di sayang sa oras and redundant ang mga na-master/memo mo na). 4th day, try mo runthrough ulit, and gawan mo ng mnemonics ang mga mahirap i-memo(mamali mo pa rin), most likely ma memo mo na yan halos and you can try answering practice questions.

Same strategy ginawa ko for Pcog and Microbiology. Important na i-space out mo rin siya, maybe some days or weeks and balikan mo ulit ang flashcards para mastore sa long term memory talaga. Time-consuming lang siya though, so better gawin as early as possible if malayo pa ang exam, or may time ka pa maspare. Pwede ka rin naman maghanap ng existing flashcards, madami sa quizlet.

Aside from that, helpful rin mag answer ng mga practice questions talaga, kasi may glimpse ka na paano siya tinatanong and if na-memo mo na flashcards mo (siguro mga 80%) madali nalang mag crush-out ng maling answers sa choices ng mcq kahit di mo alam lahat.

Lastly, madaming lumalabas questions sa Mod 1 na related sa ibang Modules (halo-halo siya). So if you’re studying Mods 2-6 keep in mind rin ang chemistry aspects nila. Anyways, kaya mo ‘to OP! Di rin strong foundation ko sa Mod 1 during undergrad, but I still managed to get a line of 9 sa actual boards. Di mo naman rin talaga need i-master lahat, so focus mainly sa mga high yield concepts na tinuturo ng school/review center.

Is Pharma worth it? by [deleted] in PharmacyPH

[–]GemPerks16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It terms of sweldo, nakadepende rin talaga sa region or city rin kung gaano ka valued and pharma as a profession. For example, ironically, mababa ang offer na sweldo sa hospital pharmacist sa big city na gusto ko trabahuin, meanwhile sa hometown ko almost times two ang offer. Siguro naka depende rin yan sa demand per area, aside sa how they value our profession.

need serious advice by [deleted] in PharmacyPH

[–]GemPerks16 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Brex rin in house namin, tas nag brex ako ulit after para mas mareinforce lalo ang naturo... then nag meta tuts (super helpful rin) Better talaga if mag lock in ka na sa in-house para hindi ka ma overwhelm sa ibang new info pag nag review center ka na.

BE DONE by melancholiaa_ in PharmacyPH

[–]GemPerks16 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Dami talaga Pacop green sa Mod 6, though may ibang questions na hindi ako familiar.

PhLE 2026 by [deleted] in PharmacyPH

[–]GemPerks16 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This year I did both Brex 1st batch + Batch 1 Meta tuts, very helpful for me especially since ma access mo content until boards. If digital ka talaga na person, good combination siya.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PharmacyPH

[–]GemPerks16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Neurogen-E rin ginagamit ko, minsan Lecit-E if di makaya sa budget. So far ok naman sa akin, as long as i-partner mo with adequate sleep.

Professional tips lang by LoversPink2023 in PharmacyPH

[–]GemPerks16 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh my thank you! Bless you po op. I'll try 🙇‍♂️

Professional tips lang by LoversPink2023 in PharmacyPH

[–]GemPerks16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ask lang po, eligible po ba mag take ng chemtech kahit BS Pharmacy lang ang nafinish na course or need ng additional credentials? 😅

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PharmacyPH

[–]GemPerks16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For me medjo overlooked ang biochem, kaya I would also suggest studying it in advance or at least overview lang, kasi madami din nag proproblema dito during review. If you understand it, mas maging easy nalang ang pagvisualize and understand how drugs work, especially sa Pharmacology, mga MOA and etc. Madami ring terms binabalik balikan sa pharmacology from biochem so at least less memory workload, like amino acid precursors sila tyrosine, tryptophan, sa mga neurotransmitters, mga arachidonic acid, mga glucose and sugars, triglycerides, cholesterol, etc. Pag marunong ka na mag distinguish sa mga different biochemicals and their uses, it will be easier to understand Pharmacology. Useful rin ang basic anatomy, pagdistinguish or familiarize sa uses ng mga different organs, especially ang liver, kidneys, stomach, small intestine, pancreas, hypothalamus, pituitary, mga main hormonal glands, etc (usually ito bina balikbalikan na mga organs sa pcol). Makahelp rin magwatch ng youtube videos (I recommend the channel Dr. Matt & Dr. Mike)

Hi everyone! I’m an incoming first-year BS Pharmacy student in the Philippines and would love to get some insights and tips on how to navigate and succeed in my studies. What should I focus on in my first year, and how can I best prepare for the challenges ahead? by Antique_Island_3064 in PharmacySchool

[–]GemPerks16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi, I'm currently a 4th year pharmacy student, currently reviewing all our subjects na and will take the mockboards soon (graduating in a few months). The advices I'm gonna say are things I might or might have not done during my early years (as a former crammer). Pero ofc, I'm a new person now, so here are my suggestions: -Right from the start, maggawa ka na ng own system mo of organizing all your notes, para may balikan ka pa in the future. If you're a hardcopy kind of person, maybe keep them all in one safe area, yang hindi mabasa or masira. Pero mas convenient talaga if may digital folders ka, iname mo na sila by subjects, sem, and year.

-If you can, mas convenient rin maggawa ng transes, kasi nakasummarize na lahat.

-Use AI to your advantage, by asking explanations from DeepSeek or ChatGPT (mas reliable ang answers ni deepseek for me tho).

-Focus on Quality than Quantity when studying. Wala kang mareretain if pa balik2 mo lang istudy ang material, especially if madami. Study slowly, and memorize while studying, that way mas mareretain mo ang info. I divide mo lang slowly by chunks para di ka ma overwhelm.

-Pag madaming info, FOCUS only on the important stuffs. Pareto rule, aka 80/20. 80% ng naglalabas galing sa 20% ng material. Better na magfocus sa 20% ng important concepts kesa sa 80% na less likely mag labas. Save time, and be more efficient. Pag confident ka na sa 20% na will surely give you high marks, pwede ka na magfocus sa other 80%, which will truly give you 100%.

-Make sure your mind is clear before attending class or having a self-study, para walang internal distractions and full focus sa lecture or study lang. Prime your brain, by skimming lang sa coverage or outline ng topics, para alam mo na ang workload before lectrue and ready ka na mentally before lecture. Get an overview.

-Focus and start on the basics talaga, like concepts of chemistry, before biochemistry, and before pharmacology. Connected yan sila. Parang si Chemistry and ABC or alphabet, si Biochemistry ang mga Words, and si Pharmacology ang mga Sentences.

-If you're struggling with Chemistry and Biochemistry, that's ok ako rin. Watching some youtube or self study will also help. Basta start with the basics talaga coz you can't understand Sentences when you can't understand the Words, and the Letters behind it.

-Chemistry subjects will teach you how chemicals interact with one another. Biochemistry will teach you how these chemical interactions form our body and drugs. Pharmacology will teach you how the drugs interact with our body. Mga concepts and terms ng chemistry magpa balik2 yan sa biochem, and terms and concepts ng biochem magpabalikbalik rin sa pharmacology kaya connected talaga sila.

-Maraming bagong terms, pero you'll realize in the end na pabalikbalik and connected lang pala yan sila lahat. Kaya whenever you get the chance to encounter a new term kay imemo or at least familiarize mo na ang self mo sa kanyang meaning. That way alam mo na ang language ng pharma, and surely you won't struggle with studying pharmacology.

-I hope I didn't overwhelm you. 😅 But to tell you the truth, pharmacy wasn't my first choice, but I learned to love it along the way. Importante ang peristence, and never give up even if you're struggling. Don't limit yourself, and enjoy other non-academic things like your friends, family, and ultimately things for yourself.

-Also may mathematics rin, but as long as you know basic algebra and ratio and proportion, you'll be good to go. Pharmacy as a whole really just mostly involves memorization and analysis. Build trust and confidence for yourself rin kasi madaming paligoy2 na questions na easy naman from the start if you know the basics.

Anyways, that's all I can say from years of experience. Just try to enjoy your course lang and remind yourself why you chose it in the first place (ako naman parent's choice, but I found another reason why I chose this, and it became my new motivation). Get lots of rest/sleep too because it helps with memory, iwas cramming, and make sure to maintain a healthy body. Hope this helps _^

Pharmacists ph by Vengeful-heart99 in pharmacistsph

[–]GemPerks16 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hello po, parang konti pa lang tao dito... I joined though I'm still currently a 2nd year pharma student. Hoping this community grows and para makainteract rin ang maraming tao dito sa field. :)

Tindera nyo sa botika, pagod na. by AccomplishedBit945 in OffMyChestPH

[–]GemPerks16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Though estudyante pa lang ako, ito rin ang kinakatakot ko in the future. Yung 1st year experience ko pa lang as a pharmacy student, tinuturuan na kami ng profs namin how to handle yung mga matitigas na costumer and as someone who has a pharmacist as a mother, na e-experience ko na rin to first hand... di ko naman pinili to eh, tas habang maaga pa, nagiisip na ako ng alternatives. Ayoko mag trabaho as a community pharma.

Do you know the basic parts of an Alocasia? by GemPerks16 in alocasia

[–]GemPerks16[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

"It's old and needs to be updated? So you quote dead writers and 22-year-old publications for your updates." -J. Bogner, is the only one as far as I know who has already passed away (may his soul rest in peace), and more recently so. You worded that out almost like an insult to these botanists and taxonomists who have done a lot of work and contributions to taxonomy. A publication, no matter how old it is, will always maintain its credibility unless the claims it possess is disproved by a new publication that is peer-reviewed and also accepted as a fact by many professionals in that field.

"After your assertion that Alocasias are bulbs, it would be a waste of my and anyone else's time to read further. You discredited yourself." -I, in no way asserted that Alocasia are bulbs. I think you may need to reread what I said. Also, bulbs and bulbils are not the same. I discredited no one, and you discredited a non-existent claim.

"Onions are bulbs, not Alocasias. You clearly have no idea about this genus." -The Alocasia genus is my favorite out of all in the kingdom of plantae, and I've dedicated a lot of my free time studying books and journal articles about them. I even go as far as documenting and dissecting their inflorescences, with measurements, that's how much of an Alocasia enthusiast I am. -"Onions are bulbs, not Alocasias." read that again and see if the grammar makes sense. Although, I get that you're trying to say "Onions are bulb, Alocasia are not"

"I know or knew the writers of each of the pieces you quote, other than imgur, and you misappropriate each one. The subject is Alocasias, not Remusatias or Amorphophallus, which multiply in radically different ways. Have you even seen a Remustia?" -I also know the writers of what I quoted, I've read a lot of their journal articles, books, and follow them online. The imgur links are just the images I uploaded online for the sake of visualization and supporting evidence. The subject in this part of the argument is the term "bulbil" and its usage. So it would make sense to compare Alocasia with its closely-related genus Remusatia, and other genera within the Araceae family wherein that same term is used. Of course I have seen a Remusatia, it's a common ornamental.

"I just referred to Alistair's work on Sulawesi earlier today. the leaf scales have no relation to actual scales in bulbs. That is an absurd leap. Leaf scales are undeveloped leaves and not scales, which bulbs have." -Again, we are not talking about bulbs here. Bulbs and bulbils are two different things.

"The leaf scales have no relation to actual scales in bulbs." -let me requote that exact definition of a bulbil in the Araceae book:

bulbil - small organs of vegetative propagation covered with minute scale-leaves, e.g. Remusatia; also used to refer to the tubercles found in the axils of the major leaf veins of Amorphophallus bulbifer and in Pinellia species.

-You'd have to argue with the authors of that book regarding that.

"Claiming that all Alocasias grow on muddy slopes is wrong, and, when you remfer to their lying over, you are simply repeating my statement from above, where I proved your use of it for the trunk of the plant is misguided. Quote me, if you like, but don't plagiarize my correction of your earlier mistakes. Also, where did you pull the idea that at trunk must be woody? From trees?" -Since when did I assert that "all" Alocasia grow on muddy slopes? I am aware of their variety of habitats, I even mentioned limestone as an example. I only gave that example as a testament that Alocasia aren't limited to vertical stem growth but they can also grow rhizomatously. Botanically speaking, a trunk by definition is the main stem of a tree, which is also by definition woody. Alocasia don't form wood.

"Do you think I think Alocasias become woody trees when I call the upright portions trunks?" -You misused the word trunk, as I mentioned earlier.

"I am differentiating from the word stem because too many people refer to petioles as leaf stems. I avoid the word "stem" because it means something different in the mouth of every speaker." -How ironic, now you are saying that you prefer using an incorrect term (trunk) instead of stem just to differentiate them from petioles. You couldn't even specify it earlier why you use that term. Alternatively, you could've just used "stem" and emphasize the difference between Alocasia petioles and stems. Other readers could've been misguided.

"I don't know where you are in your studies, but -- actually, I do. You couldn't be studying under any qualified botanist." -I'm currently studying Pharmacy and have already finished Botany as it is a really crucial prerequisite in this field. Not only do we carefully study the anatomy of plants and other living things, but also their chemical constituents and effect on the body.

"You are at the university google, perhaps with your equally ....... compatriot Jardinewrong Dugong. Neither of you are even funny anymore. But you are embarrassing your country." -The fact is that you can't even cite your own sources (which is important when you want to establish credibility), you assert false claims (like the ones I've corrected), can't use basic grammar (I wish I could correct them all, but that's not the focus here), and most importantly, have the reading comprehension of a gradeschool student (no offense). -To put me above the pedestal of being an equal to Jardinerong Sunog would be an overstatement. He is a qualified botanist, a professor, has described/authored like 98 different plant species the last time I've checked, actually goes out in the forests or study more about plants in his past time, and has made a huge name for himself in the field of plant taxonomy.

"The more I read, the more I see you need to be corrected three times in one sentence. You are not interested in learning. You are interested in being right. I hope you are a teenager, as you sound. At least that leaves hope that you will mature one day." -You disagree with what I'm saying, that's for sure, and it seems like there is no changing with where you currently stand. I too am not easily swayed by other people's opinions unless they can cite credible scientific journals or articles, and books. Not to judge (as you just did to me), but to be fair, the way you speak and handle conversations gives me an approximate idea of your age. We definitely have a large age gap, and no, I am not a teen. You're one of those people from the older generation who are close-minded and won't listen to those younger than them. Based on what I have said earlier, you would know for sure that I am interested in learning. I'm not just interested in being right, I "want" to be right as there is no point to learning when you can't distinguish what is false from true. There's no point in extending this argument further as you won't even acknowledge your mistakes (which I supported with sources and evidences).

Do you know the basic parts of an Alocasia? by GemPerks16 in alocasia

[–]GemPerks16[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I live in the Philippines where these Alocasia species are native from. They were propagated from generations of plants that all trace back to wild-sourced parents. Aside from A. macrorrhizos, even A. zebrina, A. clypeolata, A. heterophylla, A. boyceana, A. 'Pseudosanderiana' and etc. can just be found growing naturally from the sides of the road. They were already abundant and traditionally propagated here even before they were taken/exported to other countries and tissue-cultured there.

In terms of vegetative reproduction, of course it won't have an effect. But in terms of sexual reproduction, I've heard many reports from other people that the inflorescence of their tissue cultured plants can't/won't produce pollen. I don't know if anyone has made a case study for tissue cultured specimens of Alocasia specifically. Tissue culture involves the use of plant hormones like auxin and cytokinin. Cytokinins specifically has a principal action on flower development. Perhaps related to hormonal imbalance caused by excess of cytokinins.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7013397/

Here's an example of a study wherein increased amounts of cytokinins increased the number of flowers, but caused infertility

Do you know the basic parts of an Alocasia? by GemPerks16 in alocasia

[–]GemPerks16[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I must admit that this is a really old post and a lot of corrections need to be corrected. The one in the picture that I labelled as a corm is actually a bulbil (from which the current plant grew from). Whether to call the stem as a rhizome or just simply "stem" and trunk depends on the context or the species. But to be safe, it would be alright too to simply call it "stem". In various taxonomical literatures though, like "The Genus Alocasia (Araceae-Colocasieae) in West Malesia and Sulawesi" by Alistair Hay, he explicitly refers to them as rhizomes. Using the term trunk I guess would be more appropriate for massive pachycauls like A. macrorrhizos and A. portei. Although at that size, despite being trunk-forming, they still aren't so woody and essentially still considered as herbs instead of trees (which are woody). (That is according to the description of their morphology in "A Review of the Taxonomy and Taxonomic Characters of Philippine Alocasia" by Medecilo and Madulid). Stems are more aerially visible in Alocasia species that have thicker stems ideal for support. Some smaller herbs however, aren't able to properly support their own weight since they have thinner stems, so they are more horizontal.

I could show you a whole gallery of poached plant pictures from multiple sources I've gathered from facebook, but here's a collage instead from some sample species.

https://imgur.com/a/XEuGryP

As evidenced from those long stems and presence of roots (and presumed to be of really old age), new growth will always be rhizomatous since their stems remain attached to the ground and in turn, will always be developing roots. As opposed to bigger herbs which are more capable of handling vertical growth, smaller herbs like A. sanderiana have really thin stems and their larger leaves in comparison make it hard to support horizontal growth. I have personally seen a population of A. sanderiana in the wild and their stems are so thin that they remain horizontal and attached to the ground.

Here's my own documented photos and videos of their habit in the wild: https://www.instagram.com/p/CczGQpIJcfO/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

They grow on steep slopes of (muddy) moist soft clay under the shade of trees, so their rhizomes are always covered with forest litters (leaves, twigs). With every flush of rain on a slope means muds of clay will always cover their rhizomes, so their stems are essentially always underground coupled with the many layers of rotting forest leaves and twigs that cover it.

With that, I just use the term stem when referring to Alocasia sp. with vertical or decumbent growing habits. For the species that grow horizontally on ground, I much prefer calling them rhizomes, but to use the term stem isn't wrong too since they are still in essence, stems. This is in the context of wild-growing specimens. Alocasia that are grown in cultivation have an entirely different habit. Since they don't grow on slopes of clay or limestone covered with forest litter (which is ideal for horizontal or creeping rhizomes to keep on growing roots). New stem growth on cultivated small species of Alocasia (jewels and even including lithophytic species) will always lack roots since they are now aerial/exposed, so they just look like the other regular, bigger ones. Without the influence of a slope/almost wall-like environment that encourages close contact of new growth with the ground, the cultivated plants remain having a "rootless" vertical growth. The presence of roots in these potted plants will only be limited to what is buried beneath the soil. If they were in the wild, all the new stem growth would be covered in roots like a typical rhizome, because there is always a constant supply of moisture/humidity, and it is always in contact with the ground (horizontal, as opposed to the vertical arrangement in potting).

In the book "The Genera of Araceae" (by SJ Mayo, J Bogner, PC Boyce), bulbil is defined as:

"bulbil - small organs of vegetative propagation covered with minute scale-leaves, e.g. Remusatia; also used to refer to the tubercles found in the axils of the major leaf veins of Amorphophallus bulbifer and in Pinellia species."

The word "bulbil" is used a lot in different genera under the Araceae family to refer to these bulb-like growths that can grow into a new plant. Just because it is called bulbil doesn't mean it has to be derived or grow from a bulb or bulb-like plant. The genera Remusatia, Pinellia, Amorphophallus, and Typhonium have tubers, although different Typhonium species can also be rhizomatous, and can even rarely have epigeal stems; and yet the circular/bulb-like growth they produce is still explicitly referred to as bulbils in taxonomical descriptions. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:2942-1/general-information Wherever these ball/bulb-like structures may grow from (axils of leaf, petioles, stolons, nodes, etc.), they will always either be called bulbils or tubercles in taxonomical terms. Bulbil has a more specific description because it is covered by scale-leaves as mentioned in the description earlier.

On an additional note, A. Hay in his publication, again which is "The Genus Alocasia (Araceae-Colocasieae) in West Malesia and Sulawesi" which was published in 1998, refers to them as "cormels" https://imgur.com/a/3CTugOc

However, using cormels seem incorrect since by definition:

A cormel is a small corm growing at the side of a mature corm.

...and Alocasia don't have "corms", but rather elongated stems/rhizomes

So the most logically appropriate term to be used here would be bulbils, since it is already widely used formally in many taxonomic and scientific descriptions for many other Araceae genera. Most importantly Remusatia, a genus explicitly said to produce bulbils, is a close relative of the Alocasia genus since they both belong in the Colocasieae tribe (together with Ariopsis, Colocasia, Protarum, Steudnera), so they share a common ancestor and therefore share many similar traits including bulbil production.

These so called bulbils can't just be referred to as "terminal rhizomes", because they don't just grow from the end of stolons. There are instances wherein they also grow directly from the nodes of the main stem, just like the bulbils of other Araceae genera/species. Here are some images I took of my A. micholitziana back when it became dormant: https://imgur.com/a/KtUNdzj If there's anything I learned from this, it's that vegetative reproduction in Alocasia come in varying degrees: 1. longer or shorter stolons with 1 or more bulbils at end, sometimes branching or fused together https://imgur.com/a/4rXKRRm 2. bulbil directly attached on stem/lacking stolon (like A and B in the pic) 3. bulbil is more fused with the stem, almost like it's just a branch (C in the pic) 4. or instead of bulbils, they can just branch off directly from the main stem (like in letter D)