Nurse Pharmacology Practice Questions Exam 1 with Answers, Exams of Pharmacology

Download Nurse Pharmacology Practice Questions Exam 1 with Answers and more Exams Pharmacology in PDF only on Docsity! Nurse pharmacology practice questions - Exam 1 with Answers A+ Guide 2024- 2025 A patient who was prescribed an oral medication to be taken four times per day returns to the clinic for a follow-up visit. The patient tells the nurse that he forgets to take two or three doses of the medication each day. What is the most appropriate action that the nurse can take? A. Arranging for the patient to have a home healthcare nurse B. Re-educating the patient about the medication and how it should be taken C. Determining whether the patient is experiencing any adverse effects D. Telling the patient to set an alarm as a reminder to take the drug - correct answer ✅✅Answer: B Rationale: To help minimize errors caused by poor adherence, patients should receive thorough instruction regarding their medications and how to take them. A nurse is caring for a patient who has an infection. The healthcare provider has ordered an antimicrobial drug for the patient. The nurse understands that which of the following is the most important characteristic of this drug? A. That the drug will kill the microorganism B. That the drug will be administered orally C. That the drug does not have any harmful effects D. That the drug does not interact with other drugs - correct answer ✅✅Answer: A Rationale: The three most important characteristics that any drug can have are effectiveness, safety, and selectivity. Effectiveness is the most important property that a drug can have. Nurse pharmacology practice questions - Exam 1 with Answers A+ Guide 2024- 2025 While preparing to administer medications to a patient, the nurse finds that he does not understand the rationale for the patient receiving one of the prescribed drugs. What should he do? A. Ask another nurse why the patient is getting this medication. B. Ask the patient why this medication has been ordered. C. Research the medication, focusing on its therapeutic uses. D. Verify with the prescribing healthcare provider the reason for the medication. - correct answer ✅✅Answer: D Rationale: A nurse should not administer a medication unless he or she understands the reason for its use. When the nurse reviews a medication order, it is not clear what route should be used for administration. Which action by the nurse is best? A. Use a current drug reference resource to determine the administration route. B. Administer the drug via the oral route. C. Contact the pharmacist for clarification. D. Call the prescriber to verify the route. - correct answer ✅✅Answer: D Rationale: If the medication order is unclear, the nurse should verify it with the prescriber. The nurse administered 2 mg of morphine intravenously to a postoperative patient. In addition to following the Rights of Drug Administration, what responsibility does the nurse have as a patient advocate? Nurse pharmacology practice questions - Exam 1 with Answers A+ Guide 2024- 2025 D. They need to be taken at regular intervals throughout the day. - correct answer ✅✅Answer: A Rationale: A capsule may cost more than a pill. Sustained-release formulations are capsules filled with tiny spheres that contain the actual drug; the individual spheres have coatings that dissolve at variable rates. Because some spheres dissolve more slowly than others, drug is released steadily throughout the day. These capsules should not be crushed. The primary advantage of sustained-release preparations is that they permit a reduction in the number of daily doses. These formulations have the additional advantage of producing relatively steady drug levels over an extended time (much like giving a drug by infusion). The major disadvantages of sustained-release formulations are their high cost and their potential for variable absorption. The nurse identifies which patient as being at highest risk for slow drug metabolism? A. A 2-year-old boy who is prescribed an oral antibiotic B. A 14-year-old girl who takes four prescription drugs C. A 56-year-old man who has chronic hepatic disease D. A 76-year-old woman who has an elevated temperature - correct answer ✅✅Answer: C Rationale: Drug metabolism, which is also known as biotransformation, is the enzymatic alteration of drug structure. Most drug metabolism takes place in the liver. Digoxin has a half-life of 36 to 48 hours. Because of the length of the half-life, the nurse expects dosing to occur how often? A. 4 times per day Nurse pharmacology practice questions - Exam 1 with Answers A+ Guide 2024- 2025 B. 3 times per day C. 2 times per day D. Once a day - correct answer ✅✅Answer: D Rationale: The concept of the half-life tells us that, no matter what the amount of drug in the body may be, half (50%) will leave during a specified period of time (i.e., the half-life). The actual amount of drug that is lost during one half-life depends on just how much drug is present: The more drug that is in the body, the larger the amount lost during one half-life. If a long dosing interval were used, drug levels would fall below the minimum effective concentration between doses, and therapeutic effects would be lost. Conversely, if a drug has a long half-life, a long time can separate doses without a loss of benefits. When teaching a patient who has a gastric ulcer about cimetidine (a histamine H2 antagonist) therapy, the nurse should include which information about antagonists? A. An antagonist causes a chemical reaction in the stomach. B. An antagonist activates receptors in the stomach lining. C. An antagonist prevents receptor activation in the stomach. D. An antagonist improves receptor sensitivity in the stomach. - correct answer ✅✅Answer: C Rationale: Antagonists produce their effects by preventing receptor activation by endogenous regulatory molecules and drugs. Antagonists have virtually no effects of their own on receptor function. Which statement about drug agonists does the nurse identify as being true? A. An agonist makes physiologic processes go faster. Nurse pharmacology practice questions - Exam 1 with Answers A+ Guide 2024- 2025 B. An agonist exerts effects by causing receptor activation. C. An agonist has moderate intrinsic activity. D. An agonist is a dynamic component. - correct answer ✅✅Answer: B Rationale: It is important to note that agonists do not necessarily make physiologic processes go faster; receptor activation by these compounds can also make a process go slower. Receptors are dynamic components of the cell. A partial agonist is an agonist that has moderate intrinsic activity. A patient is taking two prescription medications that both cause bradycardia. The nurse should monitor the patient for which type of effect? A. An increased therapeutic effect B. An increased adverse effect C. A reduced therapeutic effect D. A reduced adverse effect - correct answer ✅✅Answer: B Rationale: Both of the drugs have an adverse effect of bradycardia. Which individual is at the highest risk for a drug-drug interaction? A. A toddler who is prescribed two antibiotics for a serious infection B. An adolescent who takes over-the-counter medications for menstrual cramping C. An adult who takes eight prescription medications for a chronic condition D. An older adult who takes two prescription medications and a dietary supplement for anxiety - correct answer ✅✅Answer: C Nurse pharmacology practice questions - Exam 1 with Answers A+ Guide 2024- 2025 Rationale: The nurse should assess the liver function tests of patients who are taking hepatotoxic drugs. When liver cells are injured, two liver enzymes (aspartate aminotransferase [AST] and alanine aminotransferase [ALT]) will be elevated. The healthcare provider writes a medication order that the nurse cannot read. What should the nurse do? A. Consult with the charge nurse to verify the order. B. Discuss the order with the pharmacist. C. Check with the patient to determine the correct medication. D. Contact the prescriber to clarify the order. - correct answer ✅✅Answer: D Rationale: The nurse should contact the prescriber to clarify the order. The nurse reviews a patient's admission orders written by the healthcare provider. Which medication order should the nurse question? A. Cyanocobalamin 100 mcg intramuscularly every month B. MSO4 2.0 mg IV every 2 to 4 hours as needed for pain C. Levothyroxine 75 mcg orally every morning D. Enoxaparin 40 mg subQ every day for 7 days - correct answer ✅✅Answer: B Rationale: Miscommunication is a common cause of medication errors. To help reduce errors, a list of abbreviations, symbols, and dose designations that should not be used is available. "MSO4" should be written as "morphine sulfate," and a trailing zero should not be used after a final decimal point. The medication order should be written as "Morphine sulfate 2 mg IV every 2 to 4 hours as needed for pain." Nurse pharmacology practice questions - Exam 1 with Answers A+ Guide 2024- 2025 A patient with cancer is receiving morphine for pain control. The patient calls the nurse to report that the morphine is no longer controlling his pain. What is the most appropriate response by the nurse? A. "Increasing the dose of morphine will make you so sleepy that you will not be able to function." B. "This means that you have developed a psychological addiction to morphine." C. "You have developed a tolerance to morphine and will need a higher dose." D. "It is recommended that we wait to increase the morphine until the pain is more severe." - correct answer ✅✅Answer: C Rationale: Tolerance is a decreased responsiveness to a drug as a result of repeated drug administration. Patients who become tolerant to a drug require higher doses to produce effects equivalent to those that could be achieved with lower doses before the tolerance developed. The nurse is preparing to administer warfarin [Coumadin] to a patient. The nurse notes that the patient has altered CYP2D6 genes. It is most important for the nurse to do which of the following? A. Check for signs of a transient ischemic attack. B. Monitor for ST segment elevation or depression. C. Observe the patient's legs for symptoms of a blood clot. D. Examine the patient's stools for the presence of blood. - correct answer ✅✅Answer: D Rationale: Variants in the gene that codes for CYP2C9 can increase the risk of toxicity (i.e., bleeding) when taking warfarin [Coumadin], an anticoagulant Nurse pharmacology practice questions - Exam 1 with Answers A+ Guide 2024- 2025 with a narrow therapeutic index. The nurse should assess the patient for the presence of bleeding. A patient was discharged from the hospital with instructions to take an antibiotic for 7 days to treat a bladder infection. Twelve days later, a home care nurse visits the patient and finds that the symptoms have not resolved. What is the most important question for the nurse to ask? A. "Do you think you have another bladder infection?" B. "Have you taken all of the antibiotics as directed?" C. "How much water have you been drinking each day?" D. "What antibiotic do you usually take to treat an infection?" - correct answer ✅✅Answer: B Rationale: The failure to take medications as directed is a common cause of persistent infection.