NURS 711
FINAL EXAM
(Pharmacotherapies for Nursing Practice)
Actual Questions w/Correct Answers
(NCLEX / Advanced Practice Style)
University of South Carolina
What you Will Get:
• 100 verified questions
• Correct answers with Rationales.
• Ideal for exam preparation and concept
reinforcement.
,Question 1. A patient asks a nurse why drugs that have been approved by the
FDA still have unknown side effects. What will the nurse tell the patient?
A. “The FDA only requires testing on healthy young adults before approval.”
B. “Subjects in drug trials do not always represent the full spectrum of possible
patients.”
C. “Side effects are only discovered after a drug has been on the market for at least five
years.”
D. “The FDA does not require post-marketing surveillance for newly approved drugs.”
Correct Answer: B
Rationale:
Clinical trials use selected populations that may not include pregnant patients, children,
older adults with multiple comorbidities, or diverse genetic backgrounds. Therefore, rare
or population-specific adverse effects may only appear after wider post-marketing use.
• Option A: Incorrect. The FDA requires testing across various phases, but the
limitation is representativeness, not restriction to healthy young adults.
• Option C: Incorrect. Side effects can emerge at any time; five years is not a
regulatory threshold.
• Option D: Incorrect. The FDA does require post-marketing surveillance
(MedWatch, Phase IV trials).
Question 2. A nurse is reviewing a patient’s medical record before administering a
medication. Which factors can alter the patient’s physiologic response to the
drug? (Select all that apply.)
A. Age
B. Gender
C. Genetic factors
D. Time of day
E. Room temperature
Correct Answers: A, B, C
Rationale:
Age affects organ function and receptor sensitivity; gender influences body composition
,and hormone-mediated metabolism; genetic factors (pharmacogenomics) determine
enzyme activity and receptor variants.
• Option D: Incorrect. While chronopharmacology exists, time of day is not a core
physiologic factor altering drug response in standard nursing pharmacology.
• Option E: Incorrect. Environmental temperature is external, not a physiologic
patient factor.
Question 3. A nurse is teaching a group of nursing students about antihistamines.
Which statement by a student indicates an understanding of the mechanism of
action of the antihistamines?
A. “Antihistamines increase the release of histamine from mast cells.”
B. “Antihistamines block H1 receptors to prevent actions of histamine at these
receptors.”
C. “Antihistamines stimulate H2 receptors to decrease gastric acid secretion.”
D. “Antihistamines destroy histamine molecules in the bloodstream.”
Correct Answer: B
Rationale:
First- and second-generation antihistamines are H1-receptor antagonists; they
competitively block histamine from binding to H1 receptors, thereby reducing
vasodilation, capillary permeability, and itching.
• Option A: Incorrect. Antihistamines do not increase histamine release; mast cell
stabilizers (e.g., cromolyn) prevent release.
• Option C: Incorrect. H2 blockers (e.g., famotidine) reduce gastric acid; this is not
the mechanism of antihistamines used for allergy.
• Option D: Incorrect. Antihistamines do not destroy histamine; they antagonize its
receptor binding.
Question 4. Which of the following statements about disulfiram [Antabuse] are
true? (Select all that apply.)
A. Disulfiram has no applications outside the treatment of alcohol dependence.
B. Acetaldehyde syndrome may occur from drinking less than an ounce of alcohol.
C. In the absence of alcohol, disulfiram rarely causes significant adverse effects.
D. Acetaldehyde syndrome symptoms can last 2 weeks after ingesting alcohol.
, Correct Answers: A, B, C
Rationale:
Disulfiram inhibits aldehyde dehydrogenase, causing acetaldehyde accumulation if
alcohol is consumed. Even minute amounts of alcohol trigger the reaction. Without
alcohol, side effects are generally mild (headache, drowsiness, dermatitis). The reaction
typically lasts hours, not weeks.
• Option D: Incorrect. Acetaldehyde syndrome (flushing, vomiting, throbbing
headache, hypotension) usually resolves within several hours, not two weeks.
Question 5. A nurse is giving an enteral medication. The patient asks why this
method is preferable for this drug. How will the nurse reply?
A. “This route avoids first-pass metabolism entirely.”
B. “This route is safer, less expensive, and more convenient than parenteral routes.”
C. “This route provides immediate onset of action.”
D. “This route is necessary because you cannot tolerate any other route.”
Correct Answer: B
Rationale:
Enteral (oral) administration is generally the safest, most cost-effective, and most
convenient route when the patient can absorb the drug and the clinical situation is not
emergent.
• Option A: Incorrect. Oral drugs undergo first-pass hepatic metabolism; they do
not avoid it.
• Option C: Incorrect. Oral administration has slower onset than IV or IM routes.
• Option D: Incorrect. Enteral is preferred for its inherent advantages, not solely
because other routes are contraindicated.
Question 6. A patient who is taking a first-generation antipsychotic (FGA) drug for
schizophrenia comes to the clinic for evaluation. The nurse observes that the
patient has a shuffling gait and mild tremors. The nurse will ask the patient’s
provider about which course of action?
A. Increasing the dose of the antipsychotic medication
B. Giving an anticholinergic medication
C. Discontinuing the antipsychotic immediately
D. Administering a beta-blocker
FINAL EXAM
(Pharmacotherapies for Nursing Practice)
Actual Questions w/Correct Answers
(NCLEX / Advanced Practice Style)
University of South Carolina
What you Will Get:
• 100 verified questions
• Correct answers with Rationales.
• Ideal for exam preparation and concept
reinforcement.
,Question 1. A patient asks a nurse why drugs that have been approved by the
FDA still have unknown side effects. What will the nurse tell the patient?
A. “The FDA only requires testing on healthy young adults before approval.”
B. “Subjects in drug trials do not always represent the full spectrum of possible
patients.”
C. “Side effects are only discovered after a drug has been on the market for at least five
years.”
D. “The FDA does not require post-marketing surveillance for newly approved drugs.”
Correct Answer: B
Rationale:
Clinical trials use selected populations that may not include pregnant patients, children,
older adults with multiple comorbidities, or diverse genetic backgrounds. Therefore, rare
or population-specific adverse effects may only appear after wider post-marketing use.
• Option A: Incorrect. The FDA requires testing across various phases, but the
limitation is representativeness, not restriction to healthy young adults.
• Option C: Incorrect. Side effects can emerge at any time; five years is not a
regulatory threshold.
• Option D: Incorrect. The FDA does require post-marketing surveillance
(MedWatch, Phase IV trials).
Question 2. A nurse is reviewing a patient’s medical record before administering a
medication. Which factors can alter the patient’s physiologic response to the
drug? (Select all that apply.)
A. Age
B. Gender
C. Genetic factors
D. Time of day
E. Room temperature
Correct Answers: A, B, C
Rationale:
Age affects organ function and receptor sensitivity; gender influences body composition
,and hormone-mediated metabolism; genetic factors (pharmacogenomics) determine
enzyme activity and receptor variants.
• Option D: Incorrect. While chronopharmacology exists, time of day is not a core
physiologic factor altering drug response in standard nursing pharmacology.
• Option E: Incorrect. Environmental temperature is external, not a physiologic
patient factor.
Question 3. A nurse is teaching a group of nursing students about antihistamines.
Which statement by a student indicates an understanding of the mechanism of
action of the antihistamines?
A. “Antihistamines increase the release of histamine from mast cells.”
B. “Antihistamines block H1 receptors to prevent actions of histamine at these
receptors.”
C. “Antihistamines stimulate H2 receptors to decrease gastric acid secretion.”
D. “Antihistamines destroy histamine molecules in the bloodstream.”
Correct Answer: B
Rationale:
First- and second-generation antihistamines are H1-receptor antagonists; they
competitively block histamine from binding to H1 receptors, thereby reducing
vasodilation, capillary permeability, and itching.
• Option A: Incorrect. Antihistamines do not increase histamine release; mast cell
stabilizers (e.g., cromolyn) prevent release.
• Option C: Incorrect. H2 blockers (e.g., famotidine) reduce gastric acid; this is not
the mechanism of antihistamines used for allergy.
• Option D: Incorrect. Antihistamines do not destroy histamine; they antagonize its
receptor binding.
Question 4. Which of the following statements about disulfiram [Antabuse] are
true? (Select all that apply.)
A. Disulfiram has no applications outside the treatment of alcohol dependence.
B. Acetaldehyde syndrome may occur from drinking less than an ounce of alcohol.
C. In the absence of alcohol, disulfiram rarely causes significant adverse effects.
D. Acetaldehyde syndrome symptoms can last 2 weeks after ingesting alcohol.
, Correct Answers: A, B, C
Rationale:
Disulfiram inhibits aldehyde dehydrogenase, causing acetaldehyde accumulation if
alcohol is consumed. Even minute amounts of alcohol trigger the reaction. Without
alcohol, side effects are generally mild (headache, drowsiness, dermatitis). The reaction
typically lasts hours, not weeks.
• Option D: Incorrect. Acetaldehyde syndrome (flushing, vomiting, throbbing
headache, hypotension) usually resolves within several hours, not two weeks.
Question 5. A nurse is giving an enteral medication. The patient asks why this
method is preferable for this drug. How will the nurse reply?
A. “This route avoids first-pass metabolism entirely.”
B. “This route is safer, less expensive, and more convenient than parenteral routes.”
C. “This route provides immediate onset of action.”
D. “This route is necessary because you cannot tolerate any other route.”
Correct Answer: B
Rationale:
Enteral (oral) administration is generally the safest, most cost-effective, and most
convenient route when the patient can absorb the drug and the clinical situation is not
emergent.
• Option A: Incorrect. Oral drugs undergo first-pass hepatic metabolism; they do
not avoid it.
• Option C: Incorrect. Oral administration has slower onset than IV or IM routes.
• Option D: Incorrect. Enteral is preferred for its inherent advantages, not solely
because other routes are contraindicated.
Question 6. A patient who is taking a first-generation antipsychotic (FGA) drug for
schizophrenia comes to the clinic for evaluation. The nurse observes that the
patient has a shuffling gait and mild tremors. The nurse will ask the patient’s
provider about which course of action?
A. Increasing the dose of the antipsychotic medication
B. Giving an anticholinergic medication
C. Discontinuing the antipsychotic immediately
D. Administering a beta-blocker
