Pharmacology NURS 474A General Exam
Study Guide – Practice Questions &
Verified Answers
Looking for a reliable way to ace your exams with confidence? This comprehensive study
guide is designed to help students fully understand course material, sharpen critical thinking
skills, and perform at their best in assessments.
Unlike basic revision notes, this resource focuses on exam-style practice questions that mirror
the structure, difficulty, and expectations of real exams. Every question is paired with clear,
accurate answers and detailed explanations, ensuring you understand why an answer is
correct—not just what to memorize.
What You’ll Get Inside:
✔ Extensive coverage of essential and frequently tested topics
✔ Exam-level practice questions aligned with course objectives
✔ Step-by-step explanations to simplify complex concepts
✔ Clean, structured formatting for fast and effective revision
✔ Updated content based on current academic standards
Why Students Love This Guide:
This study resource is perfect for last-minute revision, structured study planning, and
strengthening weak areas. It helps you identify knowledge gaps, improve test-taking
strategies, and approach exams with clarity and confidence.
Ideal For:
• Final exam preparation
• Midterm reviews
• Weekly study sessions
• Catching up on difficult topics
• Boosting grades and overall academic performance
,Whether you’re preparing days or weeks in advance, this guide provides the support, clarity,
and practice needed to succeed. It is a powerful supplementary tool designed to help you
study smarter, not harder.
A must-have resource for students who want results.
Obj. #1 Define basic terms of pharmacology that apply to nursing practice: drug, pharmacology,
clinical pharmacology, and therapeutics ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓drug, pharmacology,
clinical pharmacology, and therapeutics
drug ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓- any chemical that can affect living processes
pharmacology ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓- the study of drugs and their interactions with
living systems
clinical pharmacology ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓- study of drugs in humans
therapeutics ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓- the use of drugs to diagnose, prevent, or treat
disease, or to prevent pregnancy
Obj. #2 Explain the difference between therapeutic effect and maximum benefit with minimal
harm ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓therapeutic effect - must know the rationale for treatment
and the nature and time course of the intended response
max benefit, min harm - employ drugs in such a way as to maximize therapeutic responses,
while preventing or minimizing adverse reactions and interactions
Obj. #3 Discuss pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓-
pharmacokinetics is the study of drug movement throughout the body, including what happens
to the drug as it makes this journey
,- pharmacodynamics is defined as the study of the biochemical and physiologic effects of drugs
on the body and the molecular mechanisms by which those effects are produced (study of what
drugs do to the body and how they do it)
Obj. #4 Explain the 10 rights of medication administration ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓right
patient
right drug
right dose
right route
right time
right education
right assessment
right evaluation
right to refuse
right documentation
Obj. #5 Explain the four main processes that make up pharmacokinetics and the clinical
relevance ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion—
determine how much drug will be at its sites of action at any given time, these processes are the
major determinants of the time course over which drug responses take place
absorption ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓movement of a drug from its site of administration
into the blood
distribution ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓movement of drugs throughout the body
metabolism ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓- biostransformation
- defined as the enzymatic alteration of drug structure
, most often takes place in the liver
excretion ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓- defined as the removal of drugs from the body
- drugs and their metabolites can exit the body through urine, sweat, saliva, breast milk, or
expired air
Obj. #6 Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the various techniques of drug
administration as they relate to pharmacokinetics. ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓- oral: ease,
convenience and relative safety, oral is preferred
- parenteral: emergencies required rapid onset of drug action; situations where plasma drug
levels might be tightly controlled; treatment with drugs that would be destroyed by gastric
acidity, digestive enzymes, or hepatic enzymes if given orally
Obj. #7 Explain the time course of drug responses, how it is measured, maintained, and toxicity.
------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓plasma drug levels, single-dose, half-life, repeated dose
plasma drug level ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓- clinical significance of plasma drug levels
- minimum effective concentration
- toxic concentration
- maintain plasma drug levels within the therapeutic range
single-dose level ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓- the duration of effects is determined largely
by the combination of metabolism and excretion
- for drug levels above the minimum effective dose, the therapeutic response will be maintained
half-life drug level ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓- defined as the time required for the amount
of drug in the body to decrease by 50%; percentage vs. amount
Study Guide – Practice Questions &
Verified Answers
Looking for a reliable way to ace your exams with confidence? This comprehensive study
guide is designed to help students fully understand course material, sharpen critical thinking
skills, and perform at their best in assessments.
Unlike basic revision notes, this resource focuses on exam-style practice questions that mirror
the structure, difficulty, and expectations of real exams. Every question is paired with clear,
accurate answers and detailed explanations, ensuring you understand why an answer is
correct—not just what to memorize.
What You’ll Get Inside:
✔ Extensive coverage of essential and frequently tested topics
✔ Exam-level practice questions aligned with course objectives
✔ Step-by-step explanations to simplify complex concepts
✔ Clean, structured formatting for fast and effective revision
✔ Updated content based on current academic standards
Why Students Love This Guide:
This study resource is perfect for last-minute revision, structured study planning, and
strengthening weak areas. It helps you identify knowledge gaps, improve test-taking
strategies, and approach exams with clarity and confidence.
Ideal For:
• Final exam preparation
• Midterm reviews
• Weekly study sessions
• Catching up on difficult topics
• Boosting grades and overall academic performance
,Whether you’re preparing days or weeks in advance, this guide provides the support, clarity,
and practice needed to succeed. It is a powerful supplementary tool designed to help you
study smarter, not harder.
A must-have resource for students who want results.
Obj. #1 Define basic terms of pharmacology that apply to nursing practice: drug, pharmacology,
clinical pharmacology, and therapeutics ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓drug, pharmacology,
clinical pharmacology, and therapeutics
drug ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓- any chemical that can affect living processes
pharmacology ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓- the study of drugs and their interactions with
living systems
clinical pharmacology ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓- study of drugs in humans
therapeutics ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓- the use of drugs to diagnose, prevent, or treat
disease, or to prevent pregnancy
Obj. #2 Explain the difference between therapeutic effect and maximum benefit with minimal
harm ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓therapeutic effect - must know the rationale for treatment
and the nature and time course of the intended response
max benefit, min harm - employ drugs in such a way as to maximize therapeutic responses,
while preventing or minimizing adverse reactions and interactions
Obj. #3 Discuss pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓-
pharmacokinetics is the study of drug movement throughout the body, including what happens
to the drug as it makes this journey
,- pharmacodynamics is defined as the study of the biochemical and physiologic effects of drugs
on the body and the molecular mechanisms by which those effects are produced (study of what
drugs do to the body and how they do it)
Obj. #4 Explain the 10 rights of medication administration ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓right
patient
right drug
right dose
right route
right time
right education
right assessment
right evaluation
right to refuse
right documentation
Obj. #5 Explain the four main processes that make up pharmacokinetics and the clinical
relevance ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion—
determine how much drug will be at its sites of action at any given time, these processes are the
major determinants of the time course over which drug responses take place
absorption ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓movement of a drug from its site of administration
into the blood
distribution ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓movement of drugs throughout the body
metabolism ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓- biostransformation
- defined as the enzymatic alteration of drug structure
, most often takes place in the liver
excretion ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓- defined as the removal of drugs from the body
- drugs and their metabolites can exit the body through urine, sweat, saliva, breast milk, or
expired air
Obj. #6 Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the various techniques of drug
administration as they relate to pharmacokinetics. ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓- oral: ease,
convenience and relative safety, oral is preferred
- parenteral: emergencies required rapid onset of drug action; situations where plasma drug
levels might be tightly controlled; treatment with drugs that would be destroyed by gastric
acidity, digestive enzymes, or hepatic enzymes if given orally
Obj. #7 Explain the time course of drug responses, how it is measured, maintained, and toxicity.
------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓plasma drug levels, single-dose, half-life, repeated dose
plasma drug level ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓- clinical significance of plasma drug levels
- minimum effective concentration
- toxic concentration
- maintain plasma drug levels within the therapeutic range
single-dose level ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓- the duration of effects is determined largely
by the combination of metabolism and excretion
- for drug levels above the minimum effective dose, the therapeutic response will be maintained
half-life drug level ------- ✔ CORRECT ANSWER ✓✓- defined as the time required for the amount
of drug in the body to decrease by 50%; percentage vs. amount
