A nurse working in radiology administers iodine to a patient who is having a computed tomography(CT)
scan. The nurse working on the oncology unit administers chemotherapy to patients who have cancer. At the
Public Health Department, a nurse administers a measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine to a 14-month-old
child as a routine immunization. Which branch of pharmacology best describes the actions of all three
nurses?
Pharmacoeconomics
Pharmacotherapeutics
Pharmacodynamics
Pharmacokinetics Ans:
B
Feedback:
Pharmacology is the study of the biologic effects of chemicals. Nurses are involved with clinical pharmacology
or pharmacotherapeutics, which is a branch of pharmacology that deals with the uses of drugs to treat, prevent,
and diagnose disease. The radiology nurse is administering a drug to help diagnose a disease. The oncology nurse
is administering a drug to help treat a disease.
Pharmacoeconomics includes any costs involved in drug therapy. Pharmacodynamics involves how a drug affects
the body and pharmacokinetics is how the body acts on the body.
A physician has ordered intramuscular (IM) injections of morphine, a narcotic, every 4 hours as neededfor
pain in a motor vehicle accident victim. The nurse is aware this drug has a high abuse potential. Under what
category would morphine be classified?
Schedule I
Schedule II
Schedule III
Schedule IV
Ans: B
Feedback:
Narcotics with a high abuse potential are classified as Schedule II drugs because of severe dependence
, 5
liability. Schedule I drugs have high abuse potential and no accepted medical use. Schedule III drugs have a
lesser abuse potential than II and an accepted medical use. Schedule IV drugs have low abuse potential and
limited dependence liability.
When involved in phase III drug evaluation studies, what responsibilities would the nurse have?
Working with animals who are given experimental drugs
Choosing appropriate patients to be involved in the drug study
Monitoring and observing patients closely for adverse effects
Conducting research to determine effectiveness of the drugAns: C
Feedback:
Phase III studies involve use of a drug in a vast clinical population in which patients are asked to record any
symptoms they experience while taking the drugs. Nurses may be responsible for helping collect and analyze the
information to be shared with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) but would not conduct research
independently because nurses do not prescribe medications. Use of animals in drug testing is done in the
preclinical trials. Select patients who are involved in phase II studies to participate in studies where the participants
have the disease the drug is intended to treat. These patients are monitored closely for drug action and adverse
effects. Phase I studies involve healthy human volunteers who are usually paid for their participation. Nurses may
observe for adverse effects and toxicity.
What concept is considered when generic drugs are substituted for brand name drugs? Bioavailability
Critical concentration
Distribution
Half-life Ans:
A
Feedback:
Bioavailability is the portion of a dose of a drug that reaches the systemic circulation and is available to act on
body cells. Binders used in a generic drug may not be the same as those used in the brand name drug. Therefore,
the way the body breaks down and uses the drug may differ, which may eliminate a generic drug substitution.
Critical concentration is the amount of a drug that is needed to cause a therapeutic effect and should not differ
between generic and brand name medications. Distribution is the phase of pharmacokinetics, which involves the
movement of a drug to the body’s tissues and is the
, 6
same in generic and brand name drugs. A drug’s half-life is the time it takes for the amount of drug to decrease to
half the peak level, which should not change when substituting a generic medication.
A nurse is assessing the patient’s home medication use. After listening to the patient list current medications,
the nurse asks what priority question?
Do you take any generic medications?
Are any of these medications orphan drugs?
Are these medications safe to take during pregnancy? Do
you take any over-the-counter medications?
Ans: D
Feedback:
It is important for the nurse to specifically question use of over-the-counter medications because patients may not
consider them important. The patient is unlikely to know the meaning of orphan drugs unless they too are health
care providers. Safety during pregnancy, use of a generic medication, or classification of orphan drugs are things
the patient would be unable to answer but could be found in reference books if the nurse wishes to research them.
After completing a course on pharmacology for nurses, what will the nurse know?
Everything necessary for safe and effective medication administration
Current pharmacologic therapy; the nurse will not require ongoing education for 5 years.
General drug information; the nurse can consult a drug guide for specific drug information.
The drug actions that are associated with each classification of medicationAns: C
Feedback:
After completing a pharmacology course nurses will have general drug information needed for safe and effective
medication administration but will need to consult a drug guide for specific drug information before
administering any medication. Pharmacology is constantly changing, with new drugs entering the market and
new uses for existing drugs identified. Continuing education in pharmacology is essential to safe practice.
Nurses tend to become familiar with the medications they administer most often, but there will always be a need
to research new drugs and also those the nurse is not familiar with because no nurse knows all medications.
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