Certain drug classes show up again and again on the list of things PAs wish they knew cold. They’re high-stakes, detail-dense, and constantly evolving — which is exactly why they’re easy to miss under exam pressure and easy to get rusty on in practice. A quick tour of the usual suspects:
- Anticoagulants & antiplatelets — DOAC dosing, reversal agents, and bridging still cause the most hesitation.
- Antibiotics — spectrum, resistance patterns, and the allergy cross-reactivity questions everyone second-guesses.
- Insulins & antidiabetics — onset/peak profiles and the newer GLP-1 and SGLT2 agents.
- Antihypertensives — first-line choices by comorbidity and the contraindication traps.
- Psychotropics — SSRIs/SNRIs, serotonin syndrome, and monitoring.
- Anticonvulsants — interactions and level monitoring.
- Steroids & immunosuppressants — tapering and adverse-effect profiles.
- Opioids & pain management — equivalence and safe prescribing.
- Anticholinergics — the cumulative-burden questions, especially in older adults.
- Cardiac agents — digoxin, antiarrhythmics, and their narrow margins.
The fix isn’t cramming — it’s a structured pass that puts these classes side by side so the distinctions stick. The Pharmacology Review Course is organized exactly that way: 12 hours of AAPA Category 1 CME, built class-by-class around the material most likely to be tested and prescribed. You reinforce the whole map, drill the classes you know are soft, and earn documented credit while you do it. It’s $399.99 for 30 months, with the same optional $100–$1,500 Amazon or Apple gift-card add-on.