TEST BANK FOR Pharmacology and the
Nursing Process 9th Edition ISBN: 978-
0323529495
Course
Pharmacology and the Nursing
Question 1
A nurse is caring for a patient newly started on an antihypertensive medication. During follow
up, the nurse monitors vital signs and lab work, and notes whether the blood pressure is
improving without undue side effects. In which phase of the nursing process is the nurse
engaged?
A. Assessment
B. Planning
C. Implementation
D. Evaluation
Answer: D. Evaluation
Rationale: Evaluation is the phase in which the nurse determines whether the outcomes (goals)
have been met, assesses the patient’s response to the intervention (in this case, drug therapy), and
decides on adjustments. Monitoring therapeutic effectiveness and side effects fits evaluation.
Question 2
Which of the following is not one of the traditional “rights” of medication administration (as
expanded in modern practice)?
A. Right drug
B. Right assessment
C. Right response
D. Right diagnosis
Answer: D. Right diagnosis
Rationale: The traditional “rights” include right patient, right drug, right dose, right route, right
time. Modern expansions often add rights such as right assessment, right documentation, right
education, right response, right to refuse. “Right diagnosis” is not typically one of them.
Question 3
In pharmacokinetics, which term describes the time required for the drug’s concentration in the
plasma to decrease by half?
A. Onset
,B. Peak
C. Half-life
D. Duration
Answer: C. Half-life
Rationale: Half-life (t½) is the time required for the plasma concentration of a drug to drop to
50% of its initial value. Onset is when drug begins effect; peak is maximum concentration;
duration is how long effect persists.
Question 4
A 75-year-old patient is started on a new drug. Because of age-related changes (reduced renal
function, reduced hepatic metabolism), the nurse should expect which general approach to
dosing?
A. Use standard adult dose
B. Start low and go slow, with dose adjustments
C. Use double the standard dose
D. Avoid any monitoring
Answer: B. Start low and go slow, with dose adjustments
Rationale: In older adults, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics change (reduced hepatic
metabolism, reduced renal clearance, altered body composition), so drugs are often started at
lower doses and titrated upward carefully while monitoring.
Question 5
Which ethical principle requires the nurse to tell the truth and be honest with patients about their
drug therapy (including risks, benefits, alternatives)?
A. Autonomy
B. Justice
C. Veracity
D. Beneficence
Answer: C. Veracity
Rationale: Veracity is the principle of truthfulness. It obliges the nurse to tell the truth and not
withhold information. Autonomy refers to self-determination, beneficence to doing good, justice
to fairness.
Question 6
,A patient is to receive 7 mg of prednisone daily. Tablets are available in 2-mg strengths. How
many tablets should the nurse prepare?
Answer: 3 tablets
Rationale: To achieve 7 mg using 2 mg tablets, you need 3 tablets (3 × 2 mg = 6 mg) plus part
of another? Actually, strictly you can’t make exactly 7 mg using only 2 mg tablets, so often the
closest practical dose is 6 mg or rounding as per prescriber instructions. But in test context, 3
tablets is often assumed (or the question might assume 2-mg tablets are scored or that rounding is
allowed). The rationale tests dosage calculation skills and recognition of rounding or prescription
constraints.
Question 7
Which of the following statements is true regarding over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and herbal
supplements? (Select all that apply)
A. OTC drugs can delay treatment of serious diseases
B. OTC drug interactions with prescription drugs are rare
C. Herbal supplements are regulated as strictly as prescription drugs
D. Patients may misunderstand labeling and misuse OTCs
Answer: A and D
Rationale:
A is true: relying on OTC drugs can mask symptoms and delay diagnosis of serious
conditions.
D is true: patients may misinterpret packaging, dosage instructions, or timing.
B is false — interactions can and do occur.
C is false — herbal and dietary supplements are usually regulated more loosely (often as
dietary supplements) rather than held to the same rigorous efficacy, safety, and labeling
standards as prescription drugs.
Question 8
A nurse is teaching a patient how to self-inject insulin. After demonstrating, the nurse asks the
patient to perform the injection. The patient does it correctly. Which domain of learning does this
“return demonstration” best represent?
A. Cognitive
B. Affective
C. Psychomotor
D. Emotional
Answer: C. Psychomotor
Rationale: Psychomotor domain involves the learner performing a physical skill —
, coordination, motor activity. Return demonstration is a hands-on behavior, so it falls in
psychomotor. Cognitive is knowledge/thinking, affective is attitudes/values.
Question 9
During a clinical trial of a new drug, a placebo is used in one arm. Which is the primary purpose
of including a placebo group?
A. To give patients a benefit
B. To blind participants and reduce bias
C. To provide data for side effects only
D. To prolong the study duration
Answer: B. To blind participants and reduce bias
Rationale: Using a placebo control helps to reduce bias (both observer and subject bias),
establishing whether the drug effect is above the placebo effect. It allows for clearer attribution
of observed effects to the drug rather than expectations.
Question 10
A patient tells the nurse he’s been taking high doses of garlic supplements for heart health. The
nurse notes on his history that he is also on warfarin (an anticoagulant). What concern should the
nurse have?
A. Garlic might reduce warfarin levels
B. Garlic may potentiate bleeding risk
C. Garlic neutralizes warfarin action
D. No interaction is expected
Answer: B. Garlic may potentiate bleeding risk
Rationale: Garlic can have antiplatelet or anticoagulant effects and may increase bleeding risk
when combined with anticoagulants like warfarin. Nurses must assess for herb–drug interactions
and counsel patients accordingly.
Question 11
A nurse is preparing to administer digoxin. The patient’s serum potassium is 2.9 mEq/L. What
should the nurse do first?
A. Administer the drug as ordered
B. Hold the drug and notify the prescriber
C. Give the drug with extra fluids
D. Double-check the dose with another nurse
Nursing Process 9th Edition ISBN: 978-
0323529495
Course
Pharmacology and the Nursing
Question 1
A nurse is caring for a patient newly started on an antihypertensive medication. During follow
up, the nurse monitors vital signs and lab work, and notes whether the blood pressure is
improving without undue side effects. In which phase of the nursing process is the nurse
engaged?
A. Assessment
B. Planning
C. Implementation
D. Evaluation
Answer: D. Evaluation
Rationale: Evaluation is the phase in which the nurse determines whether the outcomes (goals)
have been met, assesses the patient’s response to the intervention (in this case, drug therapy), and
decides on adjustments. Monitoring therapeutic effectiveness and side effects fits evaluation.
Question 2
Which of the following is not one of the traditional “rights” of medication administration (as
expanded in modern practice)?
A. Right drug
B. Right assessment
C. Right response
D. Right diagnosis
Answer: D. Right diagnosis
Rationale: The traditional “rights” include right patient, right drug, right dose, right route, right
time. Modern expansions often add rights such as right assessment, right documentation, right
education, right response, right to refuse. “Right diagnosis” is not typically one of them.
Question 3
In pharmacokinetics, which term describes the time required for the drug’s concentration in the
plasma to decrease by half?
A. Onset
,B. Peak
C. Half-life
D. Duration
Answer: C. Half-life
Rationale: Half-life (t½) is the time required for the plasma concentration of a drug to drop to
50% of its initial value. Onset is when drug begins effect; peak is maximum concentration;
duration is how long effect persists.
Question 4
A 75-year-old patient is started on a new drug. Because of age-related changes (reduced renal
function, reduced hepatic metabolism), the nurse should expect which general approach to
dosing?
A. Use standard adult dose
B. Start low and go slow, with dose adjustments
C. Use double the standard dose
D. Avoid any monitoring
Answer: B. Start low and go slow, with dose adjustments
Rationale: In older adults, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics change (reduced hepatic
metabolism, reduced renal clearance, altered body composition), so drugs are often started at
lower doses and titrated upward carefully while monitoring.
Question 5
Which ethical principle requires the nurse to tell the truth and be honest with patients about their
drug therapy (including risks, benefits, alternatives)?
A. Autonomy
B. Justice
C. Veracity
D. Beneficence
Answer: C. Veracity
Rationale: Veracity is the principle of truthfulness. It obliges the nurse to tell the truth and not
withhold information. Autonomy refers to self-determination, beneficence to doing good, justice
to fairness.
Question 6
,A patient is to receive 7 mg of prednisone daily. Tablets are available in 2-mg strengths. How
many tablets should the nurse prepare?
Answer: 3 tablets
Rationale: To achieve 7 mg using 2 mg tablets, you need 3 tablets (3 × 2 mg = 6 mg) plus part
of another? Actually, strictly you can’t make exactly 7 mg using only 2 mg tablets, so often the
closest practical dose is 6 mg or rounding as per prescriber instructions. But in test context, 3
tablets is often assumed (or the question might assume 2-mg tablets are scored or that rounding is
allowed). The rationale tests dosage calculation skills and recognition of rounding or prescription
constraints.
Question 7
Which of the following statements is true regarding over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and herbal
supplements? (Select all that apply)
A. OTC drugs can delay treatment of serious diseases
B. OTC drug interactions with prescription drugs are rare
C. Herbal supplements are regulated as strictly as prescription drugs
D. Patients may misunderstand labeling and misuse OTCs
Answer: A and D
Rationale:
A is true: relying on OTC drugs can mask symptoms and delay diagnosis of serious
conditions.
D is true: patients may misinterpret packaging, dosage instructions, or timing.
B is false — interactions can and do occur.
C is false — herbal and dietary supplements are usually regulated more loosely (often as
dietary supplements) rather than held to the same rigorous efficacy, safety, and labeling
standards as prescription drugs.
Question 8
A nurse is teaching a patient how to self-inject insulin. After demonstrating, the nurse asks the
patient to perform the injection. The patient does it correctly. Which domain of learning does this
“return demonstration” best represent?
A. Cognitive
B. Affective
C. Psychomotor
D. Emotional
Answer: C. Psychomotor
Rationale: Psychomotor domain involves the learner performing a physical skill —
, coordination, motor activity. Return demonstration is a hands-on behavior, so it falls in
psychomotor. Cognitive is knowledge/thinking, affective is attitudes/values.
Question 9
During a clinical trial of a new drug, a placebo is used in one arm. Which is the primary purpose
of including a placebo group?
A. To give patients a benefit
B. To blind participants and reduce bias
C. To provide data for side effects only
D. To prolong the study duration
Answer: B. To blind participants and reduce bias
Rationale: Using a placebo control helps to reduce bias (both observer and subject bias),
establishing whether the drug effect is above the placebo effect. It allows for clearer attribution
of observed effects to the drug rather than expectations.
Question 10
A patient tells the nurse he’s been taking high doses of garlic supplements for heart health. The
nurse notes on his history that he is also on warfarin (an anticoagulant). What concern should the
nurse have?
A. Garlic might reduce warfarin levels
B. Garlic may potentiate bleeding risk
C. Garlic neutralizes warfarin action
D. No interaction is expected
Answer: B. Garlic may potentiate bleeding risk
Rationale: Garlic can have antiplatelet or anticoagulant effects and may increase bleeding risk
when combined with anticoagulants like warfarin. Nurses must assess for herb–drug interactions
and counsel patients accordingly.
Question 11
A nurse is preparing to administer digoxin. The patient’s serum potassium is 2.9 mEq/L. What
should the nurse do first?
A. Administer the drug as ordered
B. Hold the drug and notify the prescriber
C. Give the drug with extra fluids
D. Double-check the dose with another nurse
