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 4th
Edition 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 what
category 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 have
low abuse potential and limited dependence liability.
3. When involved in phase III drug evaluation studies, what responsibilities
would 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 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.
4. What concept is considered when generic drugs are substituted for brand
name 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 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 bodys
tissues and is the same in generic and brand name drugs. A drugs 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.
5. A nurse is assessing the patients home medication use. After listening to the
patient 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 research
them.
6. After completing a course on pharmacology for nurses, what will the nurse
know?
A) Everything necessary for safe and effective medication administration
B) Current pharmacologic therapy; the nurse will not require ongoing
education for 5 years.
C) General drug information; the nurse can consult a drug guide for specific
drug information.
D) The drug actions that are associated with each classification of
medication
ANSWER: 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.
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 risk
to the fetus.
B) Animal studies have not demonstrated a risk to the fetus, but there have
been no adequate studies in pregnant women.
C) Animal studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus, but there are
no adequate studies in pregnant women.
D) There is evidence of human fetal risk, but the potential benefits from use
of the drug may be acceptable despite potential risks.
ANSWER: B
Feedback:
Category B indicates that animal studies have not demonstrated a risk to the
fetus. 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 studies
have 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 by
the 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 the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
,C) OTC drugs are different from any drugs available by prescription and
cost 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 have
been 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 may
have 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 Nursing
Drug 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 drug
information, 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 contain
a 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 another
nurse 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 pharmacology
courses.
12. The nurse, providing patient teaching about home medication use to an older
adult, 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 concern
for 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 is
prescribed.
13. After administering a medication, for what would the nurse assess the
patient?
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 for
allergies, 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 nurses
most 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 is
wrong.
