ObjectiveIn the last two decades medical and pharmacy schools have shifted away from traditional, teacher‐centered curricula using didactic lectures as primary teaching modalities. New curricula offer a variety of teaching modalities including more active learning opportunities, small group teaching and self‐directed learning.Integrating pharmacology instruction into curricula with more active learning opportunities and self‐directed learning can be challenging. Pharmacology is both, a basic science and a clinical science and students are sometimes uncertain what exact drug information (individual compounds versus drug classes) to learn.To help students learn pharmacology in a more self‐directed environment, laminated flashcards containing the most important information about drug classes and individual compounds used to treat a specific disease state were developed. Each card contains also a “favorite figure” in which the mechanism of action of all different drug classes for a specific disease state are shown. This provides a more easily memorized framework that allows students to fit each detailed puzzle piece into a bigger concept.MethodsTen Drug Cards were developed to date and include following drug classes: Antiarrhythmics, Diabetes medications, Antiplatelet and Anticoagulants, Asthma medications, Analgesics, Immunosuppressants, Diuretics, Dyslipidemia Drugs, Drugs used for several Cardiovascular Diseases and Drugs targeting the Autonomic Nervous System. Second Year Pharmacy Students (n=64) of the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California, San Diego were provided with these cards. Students were surveyed whether the Drug Cards helped them learn Pharmacology. Students were also questioned how they used the card to learn Pharmacology.ResultsThe survey response rate was 89% (n=57). Ninety‐one percent of the students agreed or strongly agreed that the cards helped them learn pharmacology. Students commented that they used the card as a “great review tool” and a “quick reference guide”. They valued the card as “being handy”, and a “great study aid on the go”. Students also noted that the card helped them to decide what drug information is most essential.ConclusionProviding the students with a framework to study challenging pharmacology topics might help students to grasp the material without loosing the forest for the leaves.Antiarrhythmics Drug Card Front PageFigure 1Antiarrhythmics Drug Card Back PageFigure 2