NUR 521 ADVANCED PHARMACOLOGY
EXAM 3 UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
ACTUAL EXAMINATION 2026 QUESTIONS
WITH ANSWERS GRADED A+
⫸ 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)
, ⫸ How can we manipulate the urine pH in cases of overdose? Answer:
Drugs that are weak acids (aspirin) can be trapped and excreted through
the urine.
We raise pH of the urine (with sodium bicarb) to force the drug to ionize
and allow it to be excreted, not reabsorbed through the bloodstream.
⫸ What is distribution? Answer: How a drug will be transported to the
tissues it needs to go to in order for it to exert its effects
⫸ Drug factors related to distribution: Answer: -Lipid solubility
-Molecular size
-Degree of ionization
-Duration of action
-Cellular binding
-Therapeutic effects
-Toxic effects
(lipid soluble, small, and non-ionized drugs will distribute more quickly)
⫸ Body factors related to distribution: Answer: -Vascularity (poor
perfusion, disruption of blood flow due to trauma--difficulty
distributing)
EXAM 3 UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
ACTUAL EXAMINATION 2026 QUESTIONS
WITH ANSWERS GRADED A+
⫸ 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)
, ⫸ How can we manipulate the urine pH in cases of overdose? Answer:
Drugs that are weak acids (aspirin) can be trapped and excreted through
the urine.
We raise pH of the urine (with sodium bicarb) to force the drug to ionize
and allow it to be excreted, not reabsorbed through the bloodstream.
⫸ What is distribution? Answer: How a drug will be transported to the
tissues it needs to go to in order for it to exert its effects
⫸ Drug factors related to distribution: Answer: -Lipid solubility
-Molecular size
-Degree of ionization
-Duration of action
-Cellular binding
-Therapeutic effects
-Toxic effects
(lipid soluble, small, and non-ionized drugs will distribute more quickly)
⫸ Body factors related to distribution: Answer: -Vascularity (poor
perfusion, disruption of blood flow due to trauma--difficulty
distributing)
