SAFETY | AUTONOMIC DRUGS | CARDIOVASCULAR | ANTI-INFECTIVES | CALCULATIONS
NUR 2474 PHARMACOLOGY
EXAM 1 REVIEW
Nursing Pharmacology Question Bank
S-TIER UNIVERSAL MASTERY TEST BANK
60 Questions | Detailed Rationales | Distractor Analysis
PRELICENSURE NURSING | PHARMACOLOGY EXAM PREPARATION
,Table of Contents
1. Part I: The Preview
• The Intro
• The Critical Axioms Cheat Sheet
2. Part II: The Elite Test Bank
• Tier 1: Foundational Syntax and Application (Questions 1–20)
• Tier 2: Complex Application and Simulation (Questions 21–40)
• Tier 3: Grandmaster Synthesis (Questions 41–60)
Nursing Pharmacology Exam 1 Elite Test Bank | Page 2
, Part I: The Preview
Mastering this test bank turns drug facts into the safe medication practice nurses are accountable for:
verifying orders, calculating accurately, anticipating adverse effects, and teaching clients what matters.
Each question links a pharmacologic principle to a nursing action you can defend.
The Critical Axioms Cheat Sheet
• Medication safety: Verify the rights, clarify unclear orders, check allergies before the first dose,
double-check high-alert drugs (insulin, heparin, opioids, potassium chloride), document right after
giving, and never pre-chart. If an order seems unsafe, withhold and escalate.
• Pharmacokinetics and dynamics: IV is fastest; do not crush extended-release products; low albumin
raises free drug; hepatic or renal impairment slows clearance; 4 to 5 half-lives to eliminate; antagonists
block, agonists activate; trough levels are drawn just before the next dose.
• Autonomic and cardiovascular drugs: Beta-2 agonists dilate bronchi; avoid nonselective
beta-blockers in asthma; hold beta-blockers for a slow pulse or low pressure. ACE inhibitors: cough
and angioedema. Spironolactone spares potassium; hypokalemia raises digoxin toxicity. Warfarin:
bleeding precautions; HIT: falling platelets on heparin.
• Anti-infectives and analgesics: Finish the antibiotic course; question penicillins with a penicillin
allergy; aminoglycosides harm kidneys and ears; separate fluoroquinolones from antacids; infuse
vancomycin slowly. Hold opioids for slow breathing; plan a bowel regimen; only the client presses the
PCA button.
• Calculations: Volume = desired / have x quantity; rate = volume / hours; gtt/min = volume x drop factor
/ minutes; weight-based dose = mg/kg x kg; 1 g = 1,000 mg. Check the safe dose range and never give
a dose you cannot justify.
Rights of medication administration
1. Right client 2. Right drug 3. Right dose
4. Right route 5. Right time 6. Right reason
7. Right documentation 8. Right response 9. Right to refuse
Check the order three times: when retrieving, when preparing, and at the bedside.
Figure 1. Rights of medication administration
Nursing Pharmacology Exam 1 Elite Test Bank | Page 3
NUR 2474 PHARMACOLOGY
EXAM 1 REVIEW
Nursing Pharmacology Question Bank
S-TIER UNIVERSAL MASTERY TEST BANK
60 Questions | Detailed Rationales | Distractor Analysis
PRELICENSURE NURSING | PHARMACOLOGY EXAM PREPARATION
,Table of Contents
1. Part I: The Preview
• The Intro
• The Critical Axioms Cheat Sheet
2. Part II: The Elite Test Bank
• Tier 1: Foundational Syntax and Application (Questions 1–20)
• Tier 2: Complex Application and Simulation (Questions 21–40)
• Tier 3: Grandmaster Synthesis (Questions 41–60)
Nursing Pharmacology Exam 1 Elite Test Bank | Page 2
, Part I: The Preview
Mastering this test bank turns drug facts into the safe medication practice nurses are accountable for:
verifying orders, calculating accurately, anticipating adverse effects, and teaching clients what matters.
Each question links a pharmacologic principle to a nursing action you can defend.
The Critical Axioms Cheat Sheet
• Medication safety: Verify the rights, clarify unclear orders, check allergies before the first dose,
double-check high-alert drugs (insulin, heparin, opioids, potassium chloride), document right after
giving, and never pre-chart. If an order seems unsafe, withhold and escalate.
• Pharmacokinetics and dynamics: IV is fastest; do not crush extended-release products; low albumin
raises free drug; hepatic or renal impairment slows clearance; 4 to 5 half-lives to eliminate; antagonists
block, agonists activate; trough levels are drawn just before the next dose.
• Autonomic and cardiovascular drugs: Beta-2 agonists dilate bronchi; avoid nonselective
beta-blockers in asthma; hold beta-blockers for a slow pulse or low pressure. ACE inhibitors: cough
and angioedema. Spironolactone spares potassium; hypokalemia raises digoxin toxicity. Warfarin:
bleeding precautions; HIT: falling platelets on heparin.
• Anti-infectives and analgesics: Finish the antibiotic course; question penicillins with a penicillin
allergy; aminoglycosides harm kidneys and ears; separate fluoroquinolones from antacids; infuse
vancomycin slowly. Hold opioids for slow breathing; plan a bowel regimen; only the client presses the
PCA button.
• Calculations: Volume = desired / have x quantity; rate = volume / hours; gtt/min = volume x drop factor
/ minutes; weight-based dose = mg/kg x kg; 1 g = 1,000 mg. Check the safe dose range and never give
a dose you cannot justify.
Rights of medication administration
1. Right client 2. Right drug 3. Right dose
4. Right route 5. Right time 6. Right reason
7. Right documentation 8. Right response 9. Right to refuse
Check the order three times: when retrieving, when preparing, and at the bedside.
Figure 1. Rights of medication administration
Nursing Pharmacology Exam 1 Elite Test Bank | Page 3
