Test Generator Questions, Chapter 1, Introduction to Drugs
Format: Multiple Choice
Chapter: 1
Client Needs: Physiological Integrity: Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies
Cognitive Level: Analyze
Difficulty: Moderate
Integrated Process: Nursing Process
Objective: 1
Page and Header: 3, Introduction
1. A nurse working in radiology administers iodine to a client who is having a
computed tomography (CT) scan. The nurse working on the oncology unit
administers chemotherapy to clients 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
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.
,Format: Multiple
Client Needs: Physiological Integrity: Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies
Cognitive Level: Understand
Difficulty: Easy
Integrated Process: Nursing Process
Objective: 3
Page and Header: Legal Regulation of Drugs, 19, Box 1.2
2. The care provider has prescribed intravenous hydromorphone, an opioid, for a
client using a client-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump. The nurse is aware that this
drug has a high abuse potential. Under what category would hydromorphone be
classified?
A) schedule I
B) schedule II
C) schedule III
D) shedule IV
Ans: B
Feedback: Opioids 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
schedule II drugs and an accepted medical use. Schedule IV drugs have low abuse
potential and limited dependence liability.
Format: Multiple Choice
Chapter: 1
Client Needs: Physiological Integrity: Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies
Cognitive Level: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
Integrated Process: Nursing Process
Objective: 2
,Page and Header: 14, Drug Evaluation
3. When involved in phase III drug evaluation studies, what action should the nurse
perform?
A) Work with animals which are given experimental drugs.
B) Select appropriate clients to be involved in the drug study.
C) Monitor and observe clients closely for adverse effects.
D) Make decisions that will determine effectiveness of the drug.
Ans: C
Feedback: Phase III studies involve use of a drug in a larger sample of the
population. The purpose is to determine the treatment benefit and to monitor side
effects that may not have been apparent in the earlier studies. Phase I studies
involve healthy human volunteers who are usually paid for their participation.
Nurses may observe for adverse effects and toxicity. 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 clients who are involved in phase II studies have the
disease the drug is intended to treat. These clients are monitored closely for drug
action and adverse effects.
Format: Multiple Choice
Chapter: 1
Client Needs: Physiological Integrity: Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies
Cognitive Level: Analyze
Difficulty: Moderate
Integrated Process: Nursing Process
Objective: 4
Page and Header: 22, Legal Regulation of Drugs
, 4. What concept is prioritized when a provider is considering the substitution of
brand name drug with a generic drug?
A) bioequivalency
B) critical concentration
C) distribution
D) half-life
Ans: A
Feedback: The goal is that the generic medication is bioequivalent (has the same
effect on the body) to the brand name medication. 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 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.
Format: Multiple Choice
Chapter: 1
Client Needs: Physiological Integrity: Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies
Cognitive Level: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
Integrated Process: Nursing Process
Objective: 5
Page and Header: 23, Legal Regulation of Drugs
5. A nurse is assessing the client’s home medication use. After listening to the client
list current medications, the nurse asks what priority question?
Format: Multiple Choice
Chapter: 1
Client Needs: Physiological Integrity: Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies
Cognitive Level: Analyze
Difficulty: Moderate
Integrated Process: Nursing Process
Objective: 1
Page and Header: 3, Introduction
1. A nurse working in radiology administers iodine to a client who is having a
computed tomography (CT) scan. The nurse working on the oncology unit
administers chemotherapy to clients 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
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.
,Format: Multiple
Client Needs: Physiological Integrity: Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies
Cognitive Level: Understand
Difficulty: Easy
Integrated Process: Nursing Process
Objective: 3
Page and Header: Legal Regulation of Drugs, 19, Box 1.2
2. The care provider has prescribed intravenous hydromorphone, an opioid, for a
client using a client-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump. The nurse is aware that this
drug has a high abuse potential. Under what category would hydromorphone be
classified?
A) schedule I
B) schedule II
C) schedule III
D) shedule IV
Ans: B
Feedback: Opioids 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
schedule II drugs and an accepted medical use. Schedule IV drugs have low abuse
potential and limited dependence liability.
Format: Multiple Choice
Chapter: 1
Client Needs: Physiological Integrity: Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies
Cognitive Level: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
Integrated Process: Nursing Process
Objective: 2
,Page and Header: 14, Drug Evaluation
3. When involved in phase III drug evaluation studies, what action should the nurse
perform?
A) Work with animals which are given experimental drugs.
B) Select appropriate clients to be involved in the drug study.
C) Monitor and observe clients closely for adverse effects.
D) Make decisions that will determine effectiveness of the drug.
Ans: C
Feedback: Phase III studies involve use of a drug in a larger sample of the
population. The purpose is to determine the treatment benefit and to monitor side
effects that may not have been apparent in the earlier studies. Phase I studies
involve healthy human volunteers who are usually paid for their participation.
Nurses may observe for adverse effects and toxicity. 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 clients who are involved in phase II studies have the
disease the drug is intended to treat. These clients are monitored closely for drug
action and adverse effects.
Format: Multiple Choice
Chapter: 1
Client Needs: Physiological Integrity: Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies
Cognitive Level: Analyze
Difficulty: Moderate
Integrated Process: Nursing Process
Objective: 4
Page and Header: 22, Legal Regulation of Drugs
, 4. What concept is prioritized when a provider is considering the substitution of
brand name drug with a generic drug?
A) bioequivalency
B) critical concentration
C) distribution
D) half-life
Ans: A
Feedback: The goal is that the generic medication is bioequivalent (has the same
effect on the body) to the brand name medication. 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 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.
Format: Multiple Choice
Chapter: 1
Client Needs: Physiological Integrity: Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies
Cognitive Level: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
Integrated Process: Nursing Process
Objective: 5
Page and Header: 23, Legal Regulation of Drugs
5. A nurse is assessing the client’s home medication use. After listening to the client
list current medications, the nurse asks what priority question?
