Exam 1 Pharmacology Drug List
Module 1:
There are a lot of terms and definitions to know in pharmacology. The items below are
important to know.
Drug (Also known as: Medication)
• Full Definition: Any chemical that can affect living processes within the human
body (Burchum & Rosenthal, 2019).Note: The term drug and medication can and
will be used interchangeably throughout this course.
• Simple Definition: Any substance that has a physiological effect on the body
Pharmacology
• Full Definition: The study of drugs and their origin, nature, properties, and
effects on living organisms (Venes, 2013).
• Simple Definition: The study of drugs and their effects on the body
Therapeutics (Also known as: Pharmacotherapeutics)
• Full Definition: The use of drugs to diagnose, prevent, or treat disease.Note:
The phrase "therapeutic effect" refers to the drug's effect on the body to
diagnose, prevent, or treat disease (Burchum & Rosenthal, 2019).
• Simple Definition: Beneficial or useful effects of a drug
Side effect
• Full Definition: Responses in the body where the drug's effects are neither
needed nor wanted that cause problematic, but not harmful, symptoms (Smith,
2016).
• Simple Definition: Undesirable effects that are bothersome, but not harmful to
the client
Adverse effect
• Full Definition: Responses in the body where the drug's effects are both
undesirable and harmful (Smith, 2016).
• Simple Definition: Harmful undesirable effects
,Pharmacokinetics
• Full Definition: The study of the metabolism and action of drugs with particular
emphasis on the time required for absorption, duration of action, distribution in
the body, and method of excretion (Venes, 2013).
• Simple Definition: What the body does to drugs
Pharmacodynamics
• Full Definition: The molecular interactions of a drug with specific biological
receptors on or in the body's cells, which lead to a desired therapeutic response
(Smith, 2016).
• Simple Definition: What drugs do to the body
The Original 5 Rights
For much of nursing's history, nursing medication administration focused on
the "5 rights". These 5 rights are almost as old as the profession of nursing,
and are often referred to colloquially as "The Rights".
1. Give the right drug
2 ...... to the right client
3 ...... in the right dose
4 ...... by the right route
5 ...... at the right time.
In recent years however, the original 5 rights have been expanded upon;
some textbooks refer to 6, 7, 8 or even 10 unique rights. Common examples
of additional rights include:
• Right assessment
• Right documentation
• Right evaluation
• The client's right to education
• The client's right of refusal
Limitations of the rights
While The Rights are an essential and critical element to safe and effective medication
administration, they fail to encompass the totality of the nurse's responsibilities around
medication administration.
, • The Rights only ensure that the medication will be administered as prescribed. As
future professional nurses, it is imperative that you practice to the fullest extent
of your education and training. This means you will need to begin thinking of
medication administration as much more than simply The Rights.
• You must recognize that important additional interventions are required both
before and after a medication is given to ensure it will do the most good with the
least harm.
• An in-depth understanding of pharmacology is therefore required of the modern
professional nurse in order to ensure the overall therapeutic goals are
accomplished for your client.
Checks and Balances
Remember that The Rights only ensure that the medication is given as
prescribed. But what if a mistake was made by the pharmacist or the
prescribing clinician.
• Strict adherence to The Rights is important, but it is not going to prevent a
mistake from reaching the client.
• Does that mean the nurse has no responsibility in preventing mistakes? The
answer is NO - nurses indeed, have a responsibility to detect and prevent
upstream errors from reaching the client.
Nurses spend the most time directly with the client, and therefore often
know the client's health status best. The closeness of this nurse-client
relationship allows the nurse to:
• observe how the medication is affecting the client and intervene if needed.
• anticipate how a particular medication and or dosage will affect the client if
given.
The nurse is the last line of defense against medication errors.
Applying your Pharmacology Knowledge
A good way to break down the responsibilities of the nurse as it pertains to
pharmacology is to think about it in the two primary spheres of influence the
nurse has related to medications:
1. Pharmacology knowledge as it pertains to the direct client care you provide
2. Pharmacology knowledge as it pertains to client education
, Pharmacology Knowledge: Direct Client Care
The use of pharmacology in client care focuses on the following eight
aspects of medication therapy:
1. Preadministration assessment - Collecting data and analyzing that data
2. Dosage and administration - The Rights
3. Promoting therapeutic effects - Examples, using an analgesic with nonpharm
comfort measures; using asthma meds with breathing exercises
4. Minimizing adverse effects - This requires knowledge of what to look for and
how to intervene
5. Minimizing adverse interactions - This requires knowledge of how different
drugs interact with each other when given concurrently to the same client
6. Making “as needed” or PRN decisions - This requires good nursing judgement
7. Evaluating responses to medications - Is the drug doing what it was supposed
to, is not effective, or is causing having harmful adverse effects
8. Managing toxicity - This requires knowledge
The common thread throughout all these aspects is "you could never know
too much about the medications you are giving your clients".
Pharmacology Knowledge: Client Education
Nurses play an important role in educating clients about their medications. When
educating clients, it is important to give the client the following information:
1. The name of the drug and what it is for in simple terms
2. Dosage - how much to take with each dose
3. Dosing schedule - how often to take it
4. Route and technique of administration - PO versus sublingual versus
subcutaneous
5. What the expected response should be an when they should expect it
6. Nondrug measures to enhance their response (e.g. exercise for hypertension)
7. Duration of the treatment
8. How to store it
9. Symptoms of major adverse effect and how to cope with them
10. Major drug-drug and drug-food interactions
11. Who to call with issues
Module TWO:
• Levodopa - Dopaminergic Drugs
• Carbidopa - Dopaminergic Drugs
• Donepezil- Cholinesterase Inhibitors
Module 1:
There are a lot of terms and definitions to know in pharmacology. The items below are
important to know.
Drug (Also known as: Medication)
• Full Definition: Any chemical that can affect living processes within the human
body (Burchum & Rosenthal, 2019).Note: The term drug and medication can and
will be used interchangeably throughout this course.
• Simple Definition: Any substance that has a physiological effect on the body
Pharmacology
• Full Definition: The study of drugs and their origin, nature, properties, and
effects on living organisms (Venes, 2013).
• Simple Definition: The study of drugs and their effects on the body
Therapeutics (Also known as: Pharmacotherapeutics)
• Full Definition: The use of drugs to diagnose, prevent, or treat disease.Note:
The phrase "therapeutic effect" refers to the drug's effect on the body to
diagnose, prevent, or treat disease (Burchum & Rosenthal, 2019).
• Simple Definition: Beneficial or useful effects of a drug
Side effect
• Full Definition: Responses in the body where the drug's effects are neither
needed nor wanted that cause problematic, but not harmful, symptoms (Smith,
2016).
• Simple Definition: Undesirable effects that are bothersome, but not harmful to
the client
Adverse effect
• Full Definition: Responses in the body where the drug's effects are both
undesirable and harmful (Smith, 2016).
• Simple Definition: Harmful undesirable effects
,Pharmacokinetics
• Full Definition: The study of the metabolism and action of drugs with particular
emphasis on the time required for absorption, duration of action, distribution in
the body, and method of excretion (Venes, 2013).
• Simple Definition: What the body does to drugs
Pharmacodynamics
• Full Definition: The molecular interactions of a drug with specific biological
receptors on or in the body's cells, which lead to a desired therapeutic response
(Smith, 2016).
• Simple Definition: What drugs do to the body
The Original 5 Rights
For much of nursing's history, nursing medication administration focused on
the "5 rights". These 5 rights are almost as old as the profession of nursing,
and are often referred to colloquially as "The Rights".
1. Give the right drug
2 ...... to the right client
3 ...... in the right dose
4 ...... by the right route
5 ...... at the right time.
In recent years however, the original 5 rights have been expanded upon;
some textbooks refer to 6, 7, 8 or even 10 unique rights. Common examples
of additional rights include:
• Right assessment
• Right documentation
• Right evaluation
• The client's right to education
• The client's right of refusal
Limitations of the rights
While The Rights are an essential and critical element to safe and effective medication
administration, they fail to encompass the totality of the nurse's responsibilities around
medication administration.
, • The Rights only ensure that the medication will be administered as prescribed. As
future professional nurses, it is imperative that you practice to the fullest extent
of your education and training. This means you will need to begin thinking of
medication administration as much more than simply The Rights.
• You must recognize that important additional interventions are required both
before and after a medication is given to ensure it will do the most good with the
least harm.
• An in-depth understanding of pharmacology is therefore required of the modern
professional nurse in order to ensure the overall therapeutic goals are
accomplished for your client.
Checks and Balances
Remember that The Rights only ensure that the medication is given as
prescribed. But what if a mistake was made by the pharmacist or the
prescribing clinician.
• Strict adherence to The Rights is important, but it is not going to prevent a
mistake from reaching the client.
• Does that mean the nurse has no responsibility in preventing mistakes? The
answer is NO - nurses indeed, have a responsibility to detect and prevent
upstream errors from reaching the client.
Nurses spend the most time directly with the client, and therefore often
know the client's health status best. The closeness of this nurse-client
relationship allows the nurse to:
• observe how the medication is affecting the client and intervene if needed.
• anticipate how a particular medication and or dosage will affect the client if
given.
The nurse is the last line of defense against medication errors.
Applying your Pharmacology Knowledge
A good way to break down the responsibilities of the nurse as it pertains to
pharmacology is to think about it in the two primary spheres of influence the
nurse has related to medications:
1. Pharmacology knowledge as it pertains to the direct client care you provide
2. Pharmacology knowledge as it pertains to client education
, Pharmacology Knowledge: Direct Client Care
The use of pharmacology in client care focuses on the following eight
aspects of medication therapy:
1. Preadministration assessment - Collecting data and analyzing that data
2. Dosage and administration - The Rights
3. Promoting therapeutic effects - Examples, using an analgesic with nonpharm
comfort measures; using asthma meds with breathing exercises
4. Minimizing adverse effects - This requires knowledge of what to look for and
how to intervene
5. Minimizing adverse interactions - This requires knowledge of how different
drugs interact with each other when given concurrently to the same client
6. Making “as needed” or PRN decisions - This requires good nursing judgement
7. Evaluating responses to medications - Is the drug doing what it was supposed
to, is not effective, or is causing having harmful adverse effects
8. Managing toxicity - This requires knowledge
The common thread throughout all these aspects is "you could never know
too much about the medications you are giving your clients".
Pharmacology Knowledge: Client Education
Nurses play an important role in educating clients about their medications. When
educating clients, it is important to give the client the following information:
1. The name of the drug and what it is for in simple terms
2. Dosage - how much to take with each dose
3. Dosing schedule - how often to take it
4. Route and technique of administration - PO versus sublingual versus
subcutaneous
5. What the expected response should be an when they should expect it
6. Nondrug measures to enhance their response (e.g. exercise for hypertension)
7. Duration of the treatment
8. How to store it
9. Symptoms of major adverse effect and how to cope with them
10. Major drug-drug and drug-food interactions
11. Who to call with issues
Module TWO:
• Levodopa - Dopaminergic Drugs
• Carbidopa - Dopaminergic Drugs
• Donepezil- Cholinesterase Inhibitors
