Test Bank For Pharmacology Clear and Simple:
A Guide to Drug Classifications and Dosage Calculations,
4th Edition by Cynthia J. Watkins
Chapters 1 - 21
,
,Chapter 1. History of Pharmacology
Pharmacology Clear and Simple- A Guide to Drug Classifications and Dosage
Calculations 4thEdition Watkins Test Bank
1. A nurse working in radiology administers iodine to a patient who is having a
computedtomography (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?
A) Pharmacoeconomics
B) Pharmacotherapeutics
C) Pharmacodynamics
D) Pharmacokinetics
ANSWER: 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.
2. A physician has ordered intramuscular (IM) injections of morphine,
a narcotic, every 4 hours as needed for pain in a motor vehicle
accident victim. The nurse is aware this drug has a high abuse
potential. Under whatcategory would morphine be classified?
A) Schedule I
B) Schedule II
C) Schedule III
D) Schedule IV
ANSWER: B
, Feedback:
Narcotics with a high abuse potential are classified as Schedule II
drugs because of severe dependence 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 havelow abuse potential and limited dependence
liability.
3. When involved in phase III drug evaluation studies, what
responsibilitieswould the nurse have?
A) Working with animals who are given experimental drugs
B) Choosing appropriate patients to be involved in the drug study
C) Monitoring and observing patients closely for adverse effects
D) Conducting research to determine effectiveness of the drug
ANSWER: C
Feedback:
Phase III studies involve use of a drug in a vast clinical population
in whichpatients are asked to record any symptoms they experience
while taking thedrugs. Nurses may be responsible for helping collect
and analyze the information to be shared with the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) butwould 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.
4. What concept is considered when generic drugs are substituted
for brandname drugs?
A) Bioavailability
B) Critical concentration
C) Distribution
D) Half-life
ANSWER: 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 ofa 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 bodys tissues and is
the same in generic and brand name drugs. A drugs half-life isthe
time it takes for the amount of drug to decrease to half the peak
level, which should not change when substituting a generic
medication.
5. A nurse is assessing the patients home medication use. After
listening to thepatient list current medications, the nurse asks what
priority question?
A) Do you take any generic medications?
B) Are any of these medications orphan drugs?
C) Are these medications safe to take during pregnancy?
D) Do you take any over-the-counter medications?
ANSWER: 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 researchthem.
6. After completing a course on pharmacology for nurses, what will
the nurseknow?
A) Everything necessary for safe and effective medication
administration
B) Current pharmacologic therapy; the nurse will not require
ongoingeducation for 5 years.
C) General drug information; the nurse can consult a drug guide for
specificdrug information.
D) The drug actions that are associated with each
classification ofmedication
ANSWER: C
Feedback:
, After completing a pharmacology course nurses will have general
drug information needed for safe and effective medication
administration but willneed 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, butthere will always be a need to research new drugs and
also those the nurse is not familiar with because no nurse knows all
medications.
7. A nurse is instructing a pregnant patient concerning the potential
risk to her fetus from a Pregnancy Category B drug. What would the
nurse inform the patient?
A) Adequate studies in pregnant women have demonstrated there is
no riskto the fetus.
B) Animal studies have not demonstrated a risk to the fetus, but
there havebeen no adequate studies in pregnant women.
C) Animal studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus, but
there areno adequate studies in pregnant women.
D) There is evidence of human fetal risk, but the potential benefits
from useof the drug may be acceptable despite potential risks.
ANSWER: B
Feedback:
Category B indicates that animal studies have not demonstrated a
risk to thefetus. However, there have not been adequate studies in
pregnant women to demonstrate risk to a fetus during the first
trimester of pregnancy and no evidence of risk in later trimesters.
Category A indicates that adequate studies in pregnant women have
not demonstrated a risk to the fetus in the first trimester or in later
trimesters. Category C indicates that animal studieshave shown an
adverse effect on the fetus, but no adequate studies in humans.
Category D reveals evidence of human fetal risk, but the potential
benefits from the use of the drugs in pregnant women may outweigh
potential risks.
8. Discharge planning for patients leaving the hospital should include
instructions on the use of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. Which
comment bythe patient would demonstrate a good understanding of
OTC drugs?
A) OTC drugs are safe and do not cause adverse effects if taken properly.
B) OTC drugs have been around for years and have not been tested
by theFood and Drug Administration (FDA).
,C) OTC drugs are different from any drugs available by
prescription andcost less.
D) OTC drugs could cause serious harm if not taken according to
directions.
ANSWER: D
Feedback:
It is important to follow package directions because OTCs are
medications that can cause serious harm if not taken properly.
OTCs are drugs that havebeen determined to be safe when taken as
directed; however, all drugs can produce adverse effects even when
taken properly. They may have originally been prescription drugs
that were tested by the FDA or they mayhave been grandfathered in
when the FDA laws changed. OTC education should always be
included as a part of the hospital discharge instructions.
9. What would be the best source of drug information for a nurse?
A) Drug Facts and Comparisons
B) A nurses drug guide
C) A drug package insert
D) The Physicians Drug Reference (PDR)
ANSWER: B
Feedback:
A nurses drug guide provides nursing implications and patient
teaching points that are most useful to nurses in addition to need-to-
know drug information in a very user friendly organizational
style.Lippincotts NursingDrug Guide (LNDG) has drug monographs
organized alphabetically and includes nursing implications and
patient teaching points. Numerous other drug handbooks are also on
the market and readily available for nurses to use. Although other
drug reference books such as Drug Facts and Comparisons, PDR, and
drug package inserts can all provide essential druginformation, they
will not contain nursing implications and teaching points and can
be more difficult to use than nurses drug guides.
10. The nurse is preparing to administer a medication from a multidose
bottle. The label is torn and soiled but the name of the medication
is still readable.What is the nurses priority action?
A) Discard the entire bottle and contents and obtain a new bottle.
B) Find the drug information and create a new label for the bottle.
C) Ask another nurse to verify the contents of the bottle.
D) Administer the medication if the name of the drug can be clearly read.
,ANSWER: A
Feedback:
When the drug label is soiled obscuring some information the safest
action by the nurse is to discard the bottle and contents because drug
labels containa great deal of important information, far more than
just the name of the drug. Concentration of the drug, expiration date,
administration directions, and precautions may be missing from the
label and so put the patient at risk.Looking up drug information in a
drug handbook or consulting with anothernurse will not supply the
expiration date or concentration of medication. Be safe and discard
the bottle and its contents.
11. What aspect of pharmacology does a nurse study? (Select all that
apply.)
A) Chemical pharmacology
B) Molecular pharmacology
C) Impact of drugs on the body
D) The bodys response to a drug
E) Adverse and anticipated drug effects
ANSWER: C, D, E
Feedback:
Nurses study pharmacology from a pharmacotherapeutic level, which
includes the effect of drugs on the body, the bodys response to drugs,
and both expected and unexpected drug effects. Chemical and
molecular pharmacology (Options A and B) are not included in
nursing pharmacologycourses.
12. The nurse, providing patient teaching about home medication use to
an olderadult, explains that even when drugs are taken properly they
can produce negative or unexpected effects. What are these negative
or unexpected effects called?
A) Teratogenic effects
B) Toxic effects
C) Adverse effects
D) Therapeutic effects
ANSWER: C
Feedback:
, Negative or unexpected effects are known as adverse or side effects.
Teratogenic effects are adverse effects on the fetus and not a likely
concernfor an older adult. Toxic effects occur when medication is
taken in larger than recommended dosages caused by an increase in
serum drug levels.
Therapeutic effects are the desired actions for which the medication
isprescribed.
13. After administering a medication, for what would the nurse
assess thepatient?
A) Drug effects
B) Allergies
C) Pregnancy
D) Preexisting conditions
ANSWER: A
Feedback:
After the medication is administered, the nurse assesses the patient for
drug affects, both therapeutic and adverse. The nurse would assess the
patient forallergies, preexisting conditions, and pregnancy before
administering a medication.
14. The nurse receives an order to administer an unfamiliar medication
and obtains a nurses drug guide published four years earlier. What
is the nursesmost prudent action?
A) Find a more recent reference source.
B) Use the guide if the drug is listed.
C) Ask another nurse for drug information.
D) Verify the information in the guide with the pharmacist.
ANSWER: A
Feedback:
The nurse is responsible for all medications administered and must
find a recent reference source to ensure the information learned about
the medication is correct and current. Using an older drug guide could
be dangerous because it would not contain the most up-to-date
information. Asking another nurse or the pharmacist does not
guarantee accurate information will be obtained and could harm the
patient if the information iswrong.
, 15. What would the nurse provide when preparing a patient for
discharge andhome medication self-administration?
A) Personal contact information to use if the patient has questions
B) Thorough medication teaching about drugs and the drug regimen
C) Over-the-counter medications to use to treat potential adverse effects
D) A sample size package of medication to take home until
prescription isfilled
ANSWER: B
Feedback:
The nurse is responsible for providing thorough medication teaching
about drugs and the drug regimen to ensure the patient knows how
to take the medication and when to notify the provider. The nurse
never provides personal contact information to a patient. If adverse
effects arise, the patientis taught to call the health care provider and
should not self-medicate with over-the-counter drugs, which could
mask serious symptoms. The nurse never dispenses medication
because it must be properly labeled for home use; this is done by the
pharmacy.
16. In response to the patients question about how to know whether
drugs aresafe, the nurse explains that all medications undergo
rigorous scientific testing controlled by what organization?
A) Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
B) Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
C) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
D) Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare
Organizations(JCAHO)
ANSWER: A
Feedback:
The FDA is responsible for controlling and regulating the
development andsale of drugs in the United States, allowing new
drugs to enter the market only after being subjected to rigorous
scientific testing. The DEA regulates and controls the use of
controlled substances. The CDC monitors and responds to infectious
diseases. The JCAHO is an accrediting body that inspects acute care
facilities to ensure minimum standards are met.
17. The nurse, assisting with Phase I drug studies, is talking with a
woman whoasks, Why cant I participate in this study? What would
be the nurses best response?
