NUR 155
EXAM 4 STUDY GUIDE
Foundations of Nursing
Galen College of Nursing
,
, NUR 155 Unit 9/10 CH14, CH21, CH35, CH36 (37-39
questions)
Chapter 35- Medication Administration
Medication reconciliation - prevent adverse drug events, creating the most accurate list of meds.
● Admission
● Discharge
● Transfer
Pharmacokinetics - the study of how a medication enters the body, moves through the body and
ultimately leaves the body.
● Absorption: passage of a drug from the administration site into the bloodstream
● Distribution: process of delivering the medication to tissues and organs
● Metabolism: process by which a drug is altered to a less active form to prepare for
excretion
● Excretion: process that removes the less active drug or its metabolites
Pharmacodynamics- The process in which a medication interacts with the body’s cells to
produce a biological response.
● Biochemical response
○ Local or systemic
○ Evaluation is based on the patient's clinical condition
● Drug action factors
○ Onset of action: time the body takes to respond to a drug
○ Half-life: time it takes for the blood concentration of a drug to measure one-half of
the original dose
○ Peak plasma level: highest serum (blood) concentration
○ Trough: lowest serum level
○ Drugs can be mixed, but they need to be compatible
Principle of Drug Actions
● Side effects, adverse effects, and interactions
○ Side effects
■ Predictable but unwanted and sometimes unavoidable reactions to
medications. Side effects may be minor and harmless or they may cause
patient injury
○ Adverse effects
■ Severe, unintended, unwanted, and often unpredictable drug reactions.
■ STOP the medication
○ Toxic effects
■ Result from a medication overdose or the buildup of medication in the
blood due to impaired metabolism and excretion.
EXAM 4 STUDY GUIDE
Foundations of Nursing
Galen College of Nursing
,
, NUR 155 Unit 9/10 CH14, CH21, CH35, CH36 (37-39
questions)
Chapter 35- Medication Administration
Medication reconciliation - prevent adverse drug events, creating the most accurate list of meds.
● Admission
● Discharge
● Transfer
Pharmacokinetics - the study of how a medication enters the body, moves through the body and
ultimately leaves the body.
● Absorption: passage of a drug from the administration site into the bloodstream
● Distribution: process of delivering the medication to tissues and organs
● Metabolism: process by which a drug is altered to a less active form to prepare for
excretion
● Excretion: process that removes the less active drug or its metabolites
Pharmacodynamics- The process in which a medication interacts with the body’s cells to
produce a biological response.
● Biochemical response
○ Local or systemic
○ Evaluation is based on the patient's clinical condition
● Drug action factors
○ Onset of action: time the body takes to respond to a drug
○ Half-life: time it takes for the blood concentration of a drug to measure one-half of
the original dose
○ Peak plasma level: highest serum (blood) concentration
○ Trough: lowest serum level
○ Drugs can be mixed, but they need to be compatible
Principle of Drug Actions
● Side effects, adverse effects, and interactions
○ Side effects
■ Predictable but unwanted and sometimes unavoidable reactions to
medications. Side effects may be minor and harmless or they may cause
patient injury
○ Adverse effects
■ Severe, unintended, unwanted, and often unpredictable drug reactions.
■ STOP the medication
○ Toxic effects
■ Result from a medication overdose or the buildup of medication in the
blood due to impaired metabolism and excretion.
