ATI PHARMACOLOGY PROCTORED EXAM 2025
2026 ACTUAL EXAM 242 QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS
A nurse reviewing a client's health record notes a new prescription for Lisinopril 10 mg
PO once every day. The nurse should identify this as which of the following types of
prescription?
A. Single
B. Stat
C. Routine
D. Standing - ANSWER-C. Routine
(A routine or standard prescription identifies medications to give on a regular schedule
with or without a termination date or a specific number of doses. The nurse will
administer
this medication every day until the provider discontinues it.)
A nurse is reviewing a new prescription for Ondansetron 4 mg PO PRN for nausea and
vomiting for a client who has Hyperemesis Gravidarum. The nurse should clarify which
of the following parts of the prescription with the provider?
A. Name
B. Dosage
C. Route
D. Frequency - ANSWER-D. Frequency
(This prescription does not include the time or frequency of medication administration.
The nurse must clarify this with the prescribing provide)
A nurse is admitting a client and completing a preassessment before administering
medications. Which of the following data should the nurse include in the
preassessment? (Select all that apply.)
A. Use of herbal teas
B. Daily fluid intake
C. Current health status
D. Previous surgical history
E. Food allergies - ANSWER-A. Use of herbal teas
C. Current health status
E. Food allergies
(A. The nurse should inquire about the client's use of herbal products, which often
,contain caffeine, prior to medication administration because caffeine can affect
medication biotransformation
C. The nurse should review the client's current health status because new prescriptions
can cause alterations in current health status
E. The nurse should inquire about food allergies during the preassessment to identify
any potential reactions or interactions)
A nurse orienting a newly licensed nurse is reviewing the procedure for taking a
telephone prescription. Which of the following statements should the nurse identify as an
indication that the newly licensed nurse understands the process?
A. "A second nurse enters the prescription into the client's medical record."
B. "Another nurse should listen to the phone call."
C. "The provider can clarify the prescription when he signs the health record."
D. "I should omit the 'read back' if this is a one-time prescription - ANSWER-B.
"Another nurse should listen to the phone call."
(A second nurse should listen to a telephone prescription to prevent errors in
communication.)
A provider prescribes phenobarbital for a client who has a seizure disorder. The
medication has a long half-life of 4 days. How many times per day should the nurse
expect to administer this medication?
A. One
B. Two
C. Three
D. Four - ANSWER-A. One
(Medications with long half-lives remain at their therapeutic levels between doses for
long periods of time. The nurse should expect to administer this medication once a day.)
A staff educator is reviewing medication dosages and factors that influence medication
metabolism with a group of nurses at an in-service presentation. Which of the following
factors should the educator include as a reason to administer lower medication
dosages? (Select all that apply.)
A. Increased renal secretion
B. Increased medication-metabolizing enzymes
C. Liver failure
D. Peripheral vascular disease
E. Concurrent use of medication the same pathway metabolizes - ANSWER-C. Liver
failure
E. Concurrent use of medication the same pathway metabolizes
,C. Liver failure decreases metabolism and thus increases the concentration of a
medication. This requires decreasing the dosage.
E. When the same pathway metabolizes two medications, they compete for metabolism,
thereby increasing the concentration of one or both medications. This requires
decreasing the dosage of one or both
A nurse is preparing to administer eye drops to a client. Which of the following actions
should the nurse take? (Select all that apply.)
A. Have the client lie on her side.
B. Ask the client to look up at the ceiling.
C. Tell the client to blink when the drops enter her eye.
D. Drop the medication into the center of the client's conjunctival sac.
E. Instruct the client to close her eye gently after instillation - ANSWER-B. Ask the client
to look up at the ceiling.
D. Drop the medication into the center of the client's conjunctival sac.
E. Instruct the client to close her eye gently after instillation
(B. The client should look upward to keep the drops from falling onto her cornea.
D. The nurse should drop the medication into the center of the conjunctival sac to
promote distribution.
E. The client should close her eye gently to promote distribution of the medication)
A nurse is completing discharge teaching for a client who has a new prescription for
transdermal patches. Which of the following statements should the nurse identify as an
indication that the client understands the instructions?
A. "I will clean the site with an alcohol swab before I apply the patch."
B. "I will rotate the application sites weekly."
C. "I will apply the patch to an area of skin with no hair."
D. "I will place the new patch on the site of the old patch. - ANSWER-C. "I will apply
the patch to an area of skin with no hair."
(The client should apply the patch to a hairless area of skin to promote absorption of the
medication.)
A nurse reviewing a client's medical record notes a new prescription for verifying the
trough level of the client's medication. Which of the following actions should the nurse
take?
A. Obtain a blood specimen immediately prior to administering the next dose of
medication.
, B. Verify that the client has been taking the medication for 24 hr before obtaining a
blood specimen.
C. Ask the client to provide a urine specimen after the next dose of medication.
D. Administer the medication,and obtain a blood specimen 30 min late - ANSWER-A.
Obtain a blood specimen immediately prior to administering the next dose of medication.
(To verify trough levels of a medication, the nurse should obtain a blood specimen
immediately before administering the next dose of medication.)
A nurse is preparing a client's medications. Which of the following actions should the
nurse take in following legal practice guidelines? (Select all that apply.)
A. Maintain skill competency.
B. Determine the dosage.
C. Monitor for adverse effects.
D. Safeguard medications.
E. Identify the client's diagnosis - ANSWER-A. Maintain skill competency.
C. Monitor for adverse effects.
D. Safeguard medications.
(A.maintaining skill competency and using appropriate administration techniques are
legal responsibilities of the nurse
C. A nurse is legally responsible for monitoring for side and adverse effects of
medication
D. Safeguarding of medications, such as controlled substances, is a legal responsibility
of the nurse)
A nurse is preparing to administer vancomycin 1 g by intermittent IV bolus. Available is
vancomycin 1 g in 100 mL of dextrose 5% in water (D5W) to infuse over 45 min. The
drop factor of the manual IV tubing is 10 gtt/mL. The nurse should adjust the manual IV
infusion to deliver how many gtt/min? (Round the answer to the nearest whole number.
Do not use a trailing zero. - ANSWER- 22
A nurse is preparing to administer clindamycin 200 mg by intermittent IV bolus. The
amount available is clindamycin injection 200 mg in 100 mL 0.9% sodium chloride
(0.9% NaCl) to infuse over 30 min. The nurse should set the IV pump to deliver how
many mL/hr? (Round
the answer to the nearest whole number. Do not use a trailing zero. - ANSWER- 200
A nurse is preparing to administer furosemide 80 mg PO daily. The amount available is
furosemide oral
solution 10 mg/1 mL. how many mL should the nurse administer? (Round the answer to
the nearest whole number. Do not use a trailing zero.) - ANSWER-8
2026 ACTUAL EXAM 242 QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS
A nurse reviewing a client's health record notes a new prescription for Lisinopril 10 mg
PO once every day. The nurse should identify this as which of the following types of
prescription?
A. Single
B. Stat
C. Routine
D. Standing - ANSWER-C. Routine
(A routine or standard prescription identifies medications to give on a regular schedule
with or without a termination date or a specific number of doses. The nurse will
administer
this medication every day until the provider discontinues it.)
A nurse is reviewing a new prescription for Ondansetron 4 mg PO PRN for nausea and
vomiting for a client who has Hyperemesis Gravidarum. The nurse should clarify which
of the following parts of the prescription with the provider?
A. Name
B. Dosage
C. Route
D. Frequency - ANSWER-D. Frequency
(This prescription does not include the time or frequency of medication administration.
The nurse must clarify this with the prescribing provide)
A nurse is admitting a client and completing a preassessment before administering
medications. Which of the following data should the nurse include in the
preassessment? (Select all that apply.)
A. Use of herbal teas
B. Daily fluid intake
C. Current health status
D. Previous surgical history
E. Food allergies - ANSWER-A. Use of herbal teas
C. Current health status
E. Food allergies
(A. The nurse should inquire about the client's use of herbal products, which often
,contain caffeine, prior to medication administration because caffeine can affect
medication biotransformation
C. The nurse should review the client's current health status because new prescriptions
can cause alterations in current health status
E. The nurse should inquire about food allergies during the preassessment to identify
any potential reactions or interactions)
A nurse orienting a newly licensed nurse is reviewing the procedure for taking a
telephone prescription. Which of the following statements should the nurse identify as an
indication that the newly licensed nurse understands the process?
A. "A second nurse enters the prescription into the client's medical record."
B. "Another nurse should listen to the phone call."
C. "The provider can clarify the prescription when he signs the health record."
D. "I should omit the 'read back' if this is a one-time prescription - ANSWER-B.
"Another nurse should listen to the phone call."
(A second nurse should listen to a telephone prescription to prevent errors in
communication.)
A provider prescribes phenobarbital for a client who has a seizure disorder. The
medication has a long half-life of 4 days. How many times per day should the nurse
expect to administer this medication?
A. One
B. Two
C. Three
D. Four - ANSWER-A. One
(Medications with long half-lives remain at their therapeutic levels between doses for
long periods of time. The nurse should expect to administer this medication once a day.)
A staff educator is reviewing medication dosages and factors that influence medication
metabolism with a group of nurses at an in-service presentation. Which of the following
factors should the educator include as a reason to administer lower medication
dosages? (Select all that apply.)
A. Increased renal secretion
B. Increased medication-metabolizing enzymes
C. Liver failure
D. Peripheral vascular disease
E. Concurrent use of medication the same pathway metabolizes - ANSWER-C. Liver
failure
E. Concurrent use of medication the same pathway metabolizes
,C. Liver failure decreases metabolism and thus increases the concentration of a
medication. This requires decreasing the dosage.
E. When the same pathway metabolizes two medications, they compete for metabolism,
thereby increasing the concentration of one or both medications. This requires
decreasing the dosage of one or both
A nurse is preparing to administer eye drops to a client. Which of the following actions
should the nurse take? (Select all that apply.)
A. Have the client lie on her side.
B. Ask the client to look up at the ceiling.
C. Tell the client to blink when the drops enter her eye.
D. Drop the medication into the center of the client's conjunctival sac.
E. Instruct the client to close her eye gently after instillation - ANSWER-B. Ask the client
to look up at the ceiling.
D. Drop the medication into the center of the client's conjunctival sac.
E. Instruct the client to close her eye gently after instillation
(B. The client should look upward to keep the drops from falling onto her cornea.
D. The nurse should drop the medication into the center of the conjunctival sac to
promote distribution.
E. The client should close her eye gently to promote distribution of the medication)
A nurse is completing discharge teaching for a client who has a new prescription for
transdermal patches. Which of the following statements should the nurse identify as an
indication that the client understands the instructions?
A. "I will clean the site with an alcohol swab before I apply the patch."
B. "I will rotate the application sites weekly."
C. "I will apply the patch to an area of skin with no hair."
D. "I will place the new patch on the site of the old patch. - ANSWER-C. "I will apply
the patch to an area of skin with no hair."
(The client should apply the patch to a hairless area of skin to promote absorption of the
medication.)
A nurse reviewing a client's medical record notes a new prescription for verifying the
trough level of the client's medication. Which of the following actions should the nurse
take?
A. Obtain a blood specimen immediately prior to administering the next dose of
medication.
, B. Verify that the client has been taking the medication for 24 hr before obtaining a
blood specimen.
C. Ask the client to provide a urine specimen after the next dose of medication.
D. Administer the medication,and obtain a blood specimen 30 min late - ANSWER-A.
Obtain a blood specimen immediately prior to administering the next dose of medication.
(To verify trough levels of a medication, the nurse should obtain a blood specimen
immediately before administering the next dose of medication.)
A nurse is preparing a client's medications. Which of the following actions should the
nurse take in following legal practice guidelines? (Select all that apply.)
A. Maintain skill competency.
B. Determine the dosage.
C. Monitor for adverse effects.
D. Safeguard medications.
E. Identify the client's diagnosis - ANSWER-A. Maintain skill competency.
C. Monitor for adverse effects.
D. Safeguard medications.
(A.maintaining skill competency and using appropriate administration techniques are
legal responsibilities of the nurse
C. A nurse is legally responsible for monitoring for side and adverse effects of
medication
D. Safeguarding of medications, such as controlled substances, is a legal responsibility
of the nurse)
A nurse is preparing to administer vancomycin 1 g by intermittent IV bolus. Available is
vancomycin 1 g in 100 mL of dextrose 5% in water (D5W) to infuse over 45 min. The
drop factor of the manual IV tubing is 10 gtt/mL. The nurse should adjust the manual IV
infusion to deliver how many gtt/min? (Round the answer to the nearest whole number.
Do not use a trailing zero. - ANSWER- 22
A nurse is preparing to administer clindamycin 200 mg by intermittent IV bolus. The
amount available is clindamycin injection 200 mg in 100 mL 0.9% sodium chloride
(0.9% NaCl) to infuse over 30 min. The nurse should set the IV pump to deliver how
many mL/hr? (Round
the answer to the nearest whole number. Do not use a trailing zero. - ANSWER- 200
A nurse is preparing to administer furosemide 80 mg PO daily. The amount available is
furosemide oral
solution 10 mg/1 mL. how many mL should the nurse administer? (Round the answer to
the nearest whole number. Do not use a trailing zero.) - ANSWER-8
