Test Bank For Understanding Pharmacology, 3rd Edition by Linda Workman, Linda LaCharity.
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Course
Pharmacology
Institution
Pharmacology
Test Bank Understanding Pharmacology, 3rd Edition by Linda Workman, Linda LaCharity.
ISBN: 9780323793506.
Understanding Pharmacology 3e workman test bank.
TEST BANK Understanding Pharmacology 3/E Linda Workman
Chapter 01: Drug Therapy: Roles, Regulations, Actions, and Responses
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which role in drug therapy is common to all prescribers, the nurse and the pharmacist?
a. Checking insurance coverage for the drug
b. Asking the patient about any known drug allergies
c. Teaching the patient about the specific drug prescribed
d. Ensuring that the drug does not carry a “black box warning”
ANS: C
Although the nurse spends more time with the patient and often has more opportunity for
teaching patients all about their prescribed drug therapies, this role is one that should be
performed by all prescribers and the pharmacist, as well as the nurse administering the drug.
Although asking the patient about known drug allergies is important, this is not an expected
role for the pharmacist or the person dispensing the drug.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Understanding
2. Which drug feature is most important for a drug to be classified as over-the-counter (OTC)?
a. Has a currently accepted medical use and is at least 50% effective.
b. Requires no adjustment in food or liquid intake for best absorption.
c. Is composed of naturally occurring substances rather than compounded from
chemicals.
d. Has a low potential for harmful side effects when taken at the recommended
dosage and schedule.
ANS: D
Drugs designated as over-the-counter (OTC) are weaker at a lower dosage and have less
potential for harmful side effects. They are available for purchase without a prescription and
are considered safe for self-medication when the package directions for dosage and schedule
are followed.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Understanding
3. Which drug feature is responsible for a drug or drug category being classified as a “high-alert
drug?”
a. The same side effects occur in almost all people who take or receive the drug.
b. The drug has an increased risk for causing a patient harm if it is used in error.
c. There is no oral form of the drug and it must be given intravenously (IV).
d. The drug is manufactured in a foreign country.
ANS: B
A high-alert drug is one that has an increased risk for causing a patient harm if it is used in
error. The error may be a dose that is too high, a dose that is too low, a dose given to a patient
for whom it was not prescribed, and a dose not given to a patient for whom it was prescribed.
These drugs are often referred to as “PINCH” drugs, P = potassium, I = insulin, N = narcotics
(opioids), C = cancer chemotherapy agents, and H = heparin or any other drug that strongly
affects blood clotting.
, DIF: Cognitive Level: Understanding
4. A patient is prescribed to receive 25 mg of a drug every 8 hours. How many total mg of the
drug will the nurse calculate the patient should receive daily?
a. 50 mg
b. 75 mg
c. 100 mg
d. 150 mg
ANS: B
There are 24 hours in a day. 24 hours divided by 8 hours is 3. Three times 25 mg is 75 mg.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Applying or Higher
5. What action or condition is a major disadvantage of the oral drug delivery route?
a. First-pass loss of drug is extensive.
b. The drug must be sterile rather than clean.
c. Only lipid-soluble drugs can be absorbed.
d. Adverse effects occur more rapidly than with other routes.
ANS: A
Drugs taken orally are absorbed by the gastrointestinal system into the blood. This blood
circulates first to the liver before going to any site of action (other than the blood). The liver is
a major processing site for metabolizing and eliminating the drug. Therefore, some drugs are
deactivated and their effectiveness is reduced by the liver. All oral drugs have less
bioavailability than drugs administered by other routes.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Understanding
6. Why is it important for the nurse to always ask a patient about his or her use of any herbal
supplements or botanicals?
a. Many states do not have regulations about herbal supplements or botanicals.
b. These substances are illegal and their use by patients must be reported.
c. Patients who use botanicals seldom take their prescribed drugs.
d. These substances can interact with a prescribed drug.
ANS: D
Many herbal supplements and botanicals have effects on cell activity. Sometimes these agents
can make drug side effects worse or can reduce the effectiveness of a prescribed drug. Others
can actually cause health problems.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Understanding
7. A patient is prescribed to take a one-time 20-mg dose of a powerful anti-inflammatory drug
that has a half-life of 48 hours and an expected side effect of a greatly increased risk for
sunburn while the blood drug level is above 0.2 mg. What is the minimum number of days
the nurse will instruct the patient to use precautions to avoid sun exposure after taking this
drug?
a. 4 days
b. 10 days
c. 14 days
, d. 20 days
ANS: C
Blood drug level at 4 days = 5 mg. Blood drug level at 10 days = 0.75 mg. Blood drug level at
14 days = 0.18 mg. Blood drug level at 20 days = 0.03 mg (rounded up from 0.0275).
DIF: Cognitive Level: Applying or Higher
8. A patient who has been taking the same drug for blood pressure control for 2 months now
reports that several times recently she has experienced intermittent lip swelling and an itchy
throat. What is the nurse’s best first action?
a. Notifying the prescriber immediately
b. Examining the patient’s oral cavity with a flashlight
c. Documenting the report in the medical record as the only action
d. Asking the patient whether she has any known food or drug allergies
ANS: A
The symptoms the patient is describing are associated with an allergic reaction known as
angioedema. It can be intermittent and also can become so severe with continued dosing of the
drug causing the problem that the patient’s airway can swell to the extent that breathing
cannot occur. Certain drug types to control blood pressure more commonly have this adverse
effect. The patient may have such a response after taking the drug for days, weeks, and
months and not understand that this is an allergic reaction.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Applying or Higher
9. Which feature of a drug agonist increases its potency?
a. Having a highly water-soluble chemical structure
b. Binding to its receptors tightly for a long time period
c. Being metabolized by the liver instead of the kidneys
d. Receiving the drug intravenously rather than by the intramuscular route
ANS: B
A drug agonist binds to its receptors to cause a change in the cells and tissues. The longer a
drug remains bound to its receptors and the more tightly it binds increases its duration of
response, making it more potent than a drug that binds with its receptors for a shorter time.
Although drugs given intravenously work faster than those given by other routes, this does not
increase its potency.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Understanding
10. A patient tells the nurse that she is allergic to the drug her health care provider just prescribed.
What is the nurse’s best first action?
a. Asking her to describe the allergic response she had previously to this drug
b. Asking her whether she received the drug she was allergic to by mouth or by
injection
c. Thanking her for the information and asking the health care provider to prescribe
something else
d. Telling her that her health care provider will also prescribe an antidote that will
prevent an allergic response to the new drug
ANS: A
, Many patients do not understand the difference between a side effect, an allergy, and an
adverse effect. She may really have had an allergic reaction or perhaps just experienced a side
effect that would not preclude her receiving this drug again. It is important to find out just
what the reaction involved in order to determine whether she should receive this drug.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Applying or Higher
11. When a patient is told that a newly prescribed drug has a long half-life, she asks how this can
affect her. What is the nurse’s best response?
a. “The long half-life requires that the drug be given by injection rather than by
taking it orally.”
b. “There are many more possible side effects and adverse effects for drugs that have
a longer half-life.”
c. “Because these drugs are metabolized more slowly, you will need to take a higher
drug dose more frequently.”
d. “You may continue to have the expected response and the side effects for a few
days after stopping the drug.”
ANS: D
Drugs with a long half-life remain in the body longer, even after the patient stops taking the
drug. This means that both the intended response and any side effects or adverse effects also
may continue longer. Many oral drugs have long half-lives and do not need to be given
parenterally. Although all drugs have side effects, a longer half-life does not increase the
number of possible side effects, just the duration. Usually, drugs with a longer half-life are
taken less frequently and/or at lower dosages because they remain effective longer.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Applying or Higher
12. A patient asks why he must take a “loading dose” for the first dose of his newly prescribed
antibacterial drug and then take lower doses after that. What is the nurse’s best response?
a. “The loading dose allows the first dose of this drug to get into your bloodstream
faster and because it stays in the bloodstream a long time, you can take lower
doses after that.”
b. “The first dose of a drug has to be higher to reach the bloodstream because the
liver destroys it before it has a chance to start its action and work for you.”
c. “By taking the highest dose first, you can be checked by us to be certain that you
will not have a bad reaction or other side effects to this drug.”
d. “By taking this higher dose first, even if you forget a dose, the drug can still be
effective for you.”
ANS: A
A loading dose is most often used with drugs that have a long half-life. Giving a higher dose
for the first dose allows it to reach the bloodstream rapidly and stay there. Smaller doses
follow it to keep the blood drug level at a steady state without increasing the risk for a drug
overdose.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Applying or Higher
13. Which precaution is most important for the nurse to teach to prevent harm for a patient
newly prescribed to take a drug that has a black box warning for its potential to cause a
serious heart rhythm problem?
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