Chapter 01 - Introduction to Drugs

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

Test Bank - Focus on Nursing Pharmacology (8th Edition by Karch) 4

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

Test Bank - Focus on Nursing Pharmacology (8th Edition by Karch) 5

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.

Test Bank - Focus on Nursing Pharmacology (8th Edition by Karch) 6

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?

Adequate studies in pregnant women have demonstrated there is no risk to the fetus.

Animal studies have not demonstrated a risk to the fetus, but there have been no adequate studiesin pregnant

women.

Animal studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus, but there are no adequate studies inpregnant

women.

There is evidence of human fetal risk, but the potential benefits from use of the drug may beacceptable

despite potential risks.

Ans: 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.

Discharge planning for patients leaving the hospital should include instructions on the use of over-thecounter (OTC) drugs. Which comment by the patient would demonstrate a good understanding of OTC

drugs?

OTC drugs are safe and do not cause adverse effects if taken properly.

OTC drugs have been around for years and have not been tested by the Food and Drug

Administration (FDA).

OTC drugs are different from any drugs available by prescription and cost less.

OTC drugs could cause serious harm if not taken according to directions.

Ans: 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

Test Bank - Focus on Nursing Pharmacology (8th Edition by Karch) 7

FDA laws changed. OTC education should always be included as a part of the hospital discharge

instructions.

What would be the best source of drug information for a nurse?

Drug Facts and Comparisons

A nurse’s drug guide

A drug package insert

The Physicians’ Drug Reference (PDR)Ans: B

Feedback:

A nurse’s 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.Lippincott’s 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 nurse’s

drug guides.

The nurse is preparing to administer a medication from a multidose bottle. The label is torn and soiledbut the

name of the medication is still readable. What is the nurse’s priority action?

Discard the entire bottle and contents and obtain a new bottle.

Find the drug information and create a new label for the bottle.

Ask another nurse to verify the contents of the bottle.

Administer the medication if the name of the drug can be clearly read.

Ans: 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.

Test Bank - Focus on Nursing Pharmacology (8th Edition by Karch) 8

What aspect of pharmacology does a nurse study? (Select all that apply.)

Chemical pharmacology

Molecular pharmacology

Impact of drugs on the body

The body’s response to a drug

Adverse and anticipated drug effectsAns:

C, D, E

Feedback:

Nurses study pharmacology from a pharmacotherapeutic level, which includes the effect of drugs on

the body, the body’s 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.

The nurse, providing patient teaching about home medication use to an older adult, explains that evenwhen 

drugs are taken properly they can produce negative or unexpected effects. What are these negative

or unexpected effects called?

Teratogenic effects

Toxic effects

Adverse effects

Therapeutic effects

Ans: 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.

After administering a medication, for what would the nurse assess the patient?

Test Bank - Focus on Nursing Pharmacology (8th Edition by Karch) 9

Drug effects

Allergies

Pregnancy

Preexisting conditions

Ans: 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.

The nurse receives an order to administer an unfamiliar medication and obtains a nurse’s drug guide

published four years earlier. What is the nurse’s most prudent action?

Find a more recent reference source.

Use the guide if the drug is listed.

Ask another nurse for drug information.

Verify the information in the guide with the pharmacist.

Ans: 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.