THE NURSING PROCESS IN DRUG
PHARMACOLOGY CHAPTER 4 COMPLETE
SOLUTIONS NEW UPDATE
GRADE A+
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
A 70-year-old patient has just received a drug that can cause sedation. What would be the
priority nursing diagnosis for this patient?
a. Noncompliance: Cost of the drug
b. Deficient knowledge: Unfamiliar with drug therapy
c. Risk for injury: Related to adverse effects of the drug
d. Ineffective health maintenance: Need for medication. ANSWER - c.
Because of the patient's age and that the medication causes sedation, the highest priority
nursing diagnosis is related to maintaining the patient's safety. Safety for the patient is the
nurse's number one concern. There is nothing indicated related to the cost of the drug or
the risk of noncompliance for this patient. Deficient knowledge will need to be addressed
but it is not the priority when compared with patient safety. There is no indication the
patient's need for this medication is related to an ineffective health maintenance issue.
What is the responsibility of the nurse related to the patient's drug therapy? (Select all that
apply.)
a. Teaching the patient how to cope with therapy to ensure the best outcome
b. Providing therapy as well as medications
c. Evaluating the effectiveness of therapy
d. Altering the drug regimen to optimize outcome
e. Recommending appropriate over-the-counter medications to treat adverse effects of
prescription drug therapy. ANSWER - a, b, c
,A nurse is, therefore, a key health care provider who is in a position to assess the whole
patient, to administer therapy as well as medications, to teach the patient how best to cope
with the therapy to ensure the most favorable outcome, and to evaluate the effectiveness of
the therapy. Nurses do not alter drug therapy or recommend over-the-counter medications
because prescribing is outside the nurse's scope of practice.
The nurse is gathering assessment data from a medication history of a 38-year-old man
with four children. What assessment information would be most important in providing
care for this patient?
a. The medication history of the patient's mother and/or father
b. The name of the patient's pharmacy
c. Insurance, financial support, and stability for the patient and his family
d. The last time the patient was hospitalized. ANSWER - c.
In this situation, insurance, financial support, and stability would be the most important
data and may determine compliance with future drug therapy. The medication history of
the patient's parents could indicate a pattern of overall attitude about drug therapy but is
not the priority concern. The last time the patient was hospitalized could indicate whether
the patient seeks medical care when appropriate or if he self-medicates, contributing to the
nurse's knowledge of this individual but this is not the priority concern. The name of the
pharmacy would be unnecessary unless the nurse anticipates having to call a prescription in
to the pharmacy for the prescriber.
During what phase of the nursing process would the nurse be required to consider the
efficacy of nursing interventions related to drug therapy?
a. Assessment
b. Nursing diagnosis
c. Interventions
d. Evaluation. ANSWER - d.
, Evaluation allows the nurse to review what has changed since intervening to determine
whether the nursing care has had a positive, therapeutic effect moving the patient toward a
more healthful life. If outcomes have not improved, the nurse begins again at the
assessment phase of the nursing process with the goal of changing the plan of care to
improve outcomes. The patient's response to the drug and occurrence of adverse drug
effects indicate the effectiveness of the nursing interventions related to drug therapy.
Assessment involves a systematic, organized collection of data concerning a patient. A
nursing diagnosis indicates actual or potential alterations in patient function based on the
assessment of the clinical situation. Interventions are actions taken to meet the patient's
needs, such as administration of drugs.
When the nurse reads in the drug handbook the section related to recommended dosage, it
is important to remember that this suggested dosage is based on what?
a. A 40-year-old man
b. An average-sized adult
c. A 150-pound adult male
d. A healthy young adult. ANSWER - c.
Drug studies base the therapeutic dosage, or that dose needed to reach a critical
concentration, on the physiology of a 150-pound healthy adult male. Testing is not
routinely done in women because of the potential for unknown effects on the ova. Testing
would not be done on an obese adult or older adult because of the potential for underlying
disease, altered metabolism, or reactions to the drug. Children and adolescents are never
used for testing due to ethical concerns.
A nurse is caring for a child on the pediatric unit. A drug is ordered for the child, but no
pediatric dose is listed for the drug. To make sure that the right dose has been ordered,
what will the nurse use to calculate the correct dose?
a. Surface area
b. Height
c. Birth date
d. Adult dosage. ANSWER - a.
PHARMACOLOGY CHAPTER 4 COMPLETE
SOLUTIONS NEW UPDATE
GRADE A+
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
A 70-year-old patient has just received a drug that can cause sedation. What would be the
priority nursing diagnosis for this patient?
a. Noncompliance: Cost of the drug
b. Deficient knowledge: Unfamiliar with drug therapy
c. Risk for injury: Related to adverse effects of the drug
d. Ineffective health maintenance: Need for medication. ANSWER - c.
Because of the patient's age and that the medication causes sedation, the highest priority
nursing diagnosis is related to maintaining the patient's safety. Safety for the patient is the
nurse's number one concern. There is nothing indicated related to the cost of the drug or
the risk of noncompliance for this patient. Deficient knowledge will need to be addressed
but it is not the priority when compared with patient safety. There is no indication the
patient's need for this medication is related to an ineffective health maintenance issue.
What is the responsibility of the nurse related to the patient's drug therapy? (Select all that
apply.)
a. Teaching the patient how to cope with therapy to ensure the best outcome
b. Providing therapy as well as medications
c. Evaluating the effectiveness of therapy
d. Altering the drug regimen to optimize outcome
e. Recommending appropriate over-the-counter medications to treat adverse effects of
prescription drug therapy. ANSWER - a, b, c
,A nurse is, therefore, a key health care provider who is in a position to assess the whole
patient, to administer therapy as well as medications, to teach the patient how best to cope
with the therapy to ensure the most favorable outcome, and to evaluate the effectiveness of
the therapy. Nurses do not alter drug therapy or recommend over-the-counter medications
because prescribing is outside the nurse's scope of practice.
The nurse is gathering assessment data from a medication history of a 38-year-old man
with four children. What assessment information would be most important in providing
care for this patient?
a. The medication history of the patient's mother and/or father
b. The name of the patient's pharmacy
c. Insurance, financial support, and stability for the patient and his family
d. The last time the patient was hospitalized. ANSWER - c.
In this situation, insurance, financial support, and stability would be the most important
data and may determine compliance with future drug therapy. The medication history of
the patient's parents could indicate a pattern of overall attitude about drug therapy but is
not the priority concern. The last time the patient was hospitalized could indicate whether
the patient seeks medical care when appropriate or if he self-medicates, contributing to the
nurse's knowledge of this individual but this is not the priority concern. The name of the
pharmacy would be unnecessary unless the nurse anticipates having to call a prescription in
to the pharmacy for the prescriber.
During what phase of the nursing process would the nurse be required to consider the
efficacy of nursing interventions related to drug therapy?
a. Assessment
b. Nursing diagnosis
c. Interventions
d. Evaluation. ANSWER - d.
, Evaluation allows the nurse to review what has changed since intervening to determine
whether the nursing care has had a positive, therapeutic effect moving the patient toward a
more healthful life. If outcomes have not improved, the nurse begins again at the
assessment phase of the nursing process with the goal of changing the plan of care to
improve outcomes. The patient's response to the drug and occurrence of adverse drug
effects indicate the effectiveness of the nursing interventions related to drug therapy.
Assessment involves a systematic, organized collection of data concerning a patient. A
nursing diagnosis indicates actual or potential alterations in patient function based on the
assessment of the clinical situation. Interventions are actions taken to meet the patient's
needs, such as administration of drugs.
When the nurse reads in the drug handbook the section related to recommended dosage, it
is important to remember that this suggested dosage is based on what?
a. A 40-year-old man
b. An average-sized adult
c. A 150-pound adult male
d. A healthy young adult. ANSWER - c.
Drug studies base the therapeutic dosage, or that dose needed to reach a critical
concentration, on the physiology of a 150-pound healthy adult male. Testing is not
routinely done in women because of the potential for unknown effects on the ova. Testing
would not be done on an obese adult or older adult because of the potential for underlying
disease, altered metabolism, or reactions to the drug. Children and adolescents are never
used for testing due to ethical concerns.
A nurse is caring for a child on the pediatric unit. A drug is ordered for the child, but no
pediatric dose is listed for the drug. To make sure that the right dose has been ordered,
what will the nurse use to calculate the correct dose?
a. Surface area
b. Height
c. Birth date
d. Adult dosage. ANSWER - a.
