ADVANCED PHARMACOLOGY
EXAMINATION STUDY GUIDE 2026
COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
◉ What is the purpose of a DEA #?.
Answer: Needed to prescribed scheduled drugs
◉ Rules for prescribing Schedule II drugs:.
Answer: -Written script needed
-1 month supply only
-No refills
◉ What is the PDMP?.
Answer: Prescription Drug Monitoring Program
Used to effectively track patient's controlled substance uses across
different health facilities (in the same state)
◉ What are clinical practice guidelines?.
,Answer: Recommendations that are intended to optimize patient
care that are informed by a systematic review of the evidence and an
assessment of the benefits/harms of alternative care practices
Ex: sepsis, CAP
◉ Common causes of medication errors:.
Answer: -Illegible writing
-Drug names that sound alike
-Medications that look alike
-Administering a drug with the wrong route
◉ What is pharmacokinetics? What are its 4 categories?.
Answer: What the body does to the drug
1. Absorption
2. Metabolism
3. Distribution
4. Excretion
◉ Quickest route of absorption? Slowest?.
Answer: IV = quickest
,IM = slowest
◉ What is the most common way drugs pass through cell
membranes?.
Answer: Passive diffusion
◉ What characteristics of a drug allow it to pass most quickly
through cell membranes (usually through passive diffusion)?.
Answer: Small, uncharged (unionized), lipid soluble--pass through
membrane without any energy
◉ What does it mean when a drug is ionized?.
Answer: It means that the drug is stuck in the compartment it was
ionized in and has to be moved to the next compartment (cannot be
absorbed into the bloodstream)
◉ Where do weak acids absorb?.
Answer: Stomach
◉ Where do weak bases absorb?.
Answer: Small intestine
◉ pH of stomach:.
, Answer: 2-4
◉ pH of small intestine:.
Answer: 6-7
◉ pH of large intestine:.
Answer: 6-7
◉ pH of bloodstream:.
Answer: 7.35-7.45
◉ pH of bladder:.
Answer: 5-8
◉ pH of breastmilk:.
Answer: 7.1
◉ Where will a drug absorb if it is a weak base that ionizes at a pH of
4 and lower?.
Answer: In the small intestine (since the stomach has a pH of 2-4, so
the drug will become ionized and move to the small intestine where
it will be able to absorb into the bloodstream)
EXAMINATION STUDY GUIDE 2026
COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
◉ What is the purpose of a DEA #?.
Answer: Needed to prescribed scheduled drugs
◉ Rules for prescribing Schedule II drugs:.
Answer: -Written script needed
-1 month supply only
-No refills
◉ What is the PDMP?.
Answer: Prescription Drug Monitoring Program
Used to effectively track patient's controlled substance uses across
different health facilities (in the same state)
◉ What are clinical practice guidelines?.
,Answer: Recommendations that are intended to optimize patient
care that are informed by a systematic review of the evidence and an
assessment of the benefits/harms of alternative care practices
Ex: sepsis, CAP
◉ Common causes of medication errors:.
Answer: -Illegible writing
-Drug names that sound alike
-Medications that look alike
-Administering a drug with the wrong route
◉ What is pharmacokinetics? What are its 4 categories?.
Answer: What the body does to the drug
1. Absorption
2. Metabolism
3. Distribution
4. Excretion
◉ Quickest route of absorption? Slowest?.
Answer: IV = quickest
,IM = slowest
◉ What is the most common way drugs pass through cell
membranes?.
Answer: Passive diffusion
◉ What characteristics of a drug allow it to pass most quickly
through cell membranes (usually through passive diffusion)?.
Answer: Small, uncharged (unionized), lipid soluble--pass through
membrane without any energy
◉ What does it mean when a drug is ionized?.
Answer: It means that the drug is stuck in the compartment it was
ionized in and has to be moved to the next compartment (cannot be
absorbed into the bloodstream)
◉ Where do weak acids absorb?.
Answer: Stomach
◉ Where do weak bases absorb?.
Answer: Small intestine
◉ pH of stomach:.
, Answer: 2-4
◉ pH of small intestine:.
Answer: 6-7
◉ pH of large intestine:.
Answer: 6-7
◉ pH of bloodstream:.
Answer: 7.35-7.45
◉ pH of bladder:.
Answer: 5-8
◉ pH of breastmilk:.
Answer: 7.1
◉ Where will a drug absorb if it is a weak base that ionizes at a pH of
4 and lower?.
Answer: In the small intestine (since the stomach has a pH of 2-4, so
the drug will become ionized and move to the small intestine where
it will be able to absorb into the bloodstream)
