NR565 MIDTERM STUDY GUIDE: KEY TOPICS &
EXAM PREP STRATEGIES | 2026 COMPLETE
SOLUTIONS ~ CHAMBERLAIN UNIVERSITY.
NR565 Midterm Study Guide
This study guide covers content for the question bank for this course. There are 100 questions on
the exam and more content in the exam study bank than will be seen on any given exam.
Therefore, you may note more than 100 topic items noted in this study guide. However, there
may also be more than one question for a topic listed so you should know each one well. Some
items listed are more specific than others. If the item listed seems vague, if it’s a more general
question and to be more specific would be to risk the integrity of the question itself.
Number of Questions on Exam: 100
Styles of Questions of Exam: Multiple Choice Only
Knowledge Levels: Various (remember, understand, apply)
Time Limit: 150 minutes
Number of Attempts: 1
Use of Support Materials: Not Allowed
Platform Used for Exam: ExamSoft/Examplify
Exam Expectations: Review Exam Expectations in Course
Announcements
Tips on Using this Study Guide
1. Review the topics each week to take notes as you move through the course and focus
your reading and content review in the course.
2. You can make notes directly on each tab for the respective week or print out and hand
write your notes.
3. If you choose to print, you will want to adjust the size of columns so the table width will fit
on a printed page.
4. Re-write your notes if you type them to connect the content to your memory more readily
as the activity of writing and saying it again as you write it creates repetition that helps
commit the content to memory.
5. Create your own practice questions that are clinical scenario based to move the content
from a memorization (Remember) level of learning to an application type of learning. Much
of your exam will be at the application level so it's not enough to memorize your notes.
6. Review your study guide and notes as often as you can. Read them out loud so you hear
the words externally as well as internally. The more senses you can engage while studying,
the more likely you are to remember it.
, Week One
Section I.01 Chapter 1
1. State laws impact on prescriptive authority
o Prescriptive Authority is the legal right to prescribe drugs
o Prescriptive authority is determined by state law
o Regulation of prescriptive authority is under jurisdiction of a health professional
board (Ex: State Board of Nursing)
o Two components of prescriptive authority:
▪ Right to prescribe independently
▪ Right to prescribe without limitation (dependent upon contract)
2. Full Practice Authority
o Depends on their legal right to prescribe without a supervisory or collaborative
requirement
3. Role: Prescriptive Authority
o Affords the legal right to prescribe independently and without limitation.
Section I.02 Chapter 2
1. Assessing Drug Interactions
o Polypharmacy increases the risk for interactions
▪ Adverse drug reactions are 7x more prevalent in older adults and contribute
to 16% of all hospitalizations and half of all medication related fatalities.
o Always check for interactions when adding new medications
o Ask patients about side effects after initiating, stopping, or changing dosages
o Risk vs Benefit
2. Prescription Writing
o Ethical prescribing requires informed decision making, considering drug
interactions, side effects, and individual needs of the patient
o Off label prescribing means it is not approved by FDA
o Only 50% of patients take their medications as prescribed.
Section I.03 Chapter 3
1. Generic vs Brand Name: Value of Knowing
o Knowing the generic name of your medication empowers the patient to catch
medication errors in the event that two different prescribers prescribe the same
generic drug name under different brand names
o Knowing the reason the medication is prescribed helps the patient to follow
, through with the medication plan because the patient is aware that this action
helps achieve the therapeutic goal.
2. Duration of Therapy
o Duration of therapy: short term vs long term therapy (abx vs thyroid meds)
o Failure to recognize the need for prolonged therapy is a common reason patients
stop medications prematurely when a prescription runs out
3. Role of Formularies
o Every facility and pharmacy provide drugs according to a formulary
o A formulary is a list of prescription medications that a health insurance plan
covers
o Formularies are selected by a panel of pharmacists and providers and may be
subject to following guidelines created by regulatory agencies (Ex: Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS))
o Often there are substitutes or similar medications you can order in place of what
you originally intended.
o Formularies ensure patients receive the safest and most effective medications at
a reasonable cost
4. Blood Flow Impact on Absorption
o More blood flow can help the body absorb medication faster and more effectively.
, Section I.04 Chapter 4
Pharmacokinetics: Study of drug movement throughout the body
Pharmacokinetics
o Study of drug movement throughout the body
o 4 Processes: Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion
Pharmacodynamics
o Describes how drugs influence the response in the body at the site of action
4. Absorption Process
o The process in which a drug moves from administration site into the blood stream.
Determines how quickly a drug enters the blood stream.
o Two other terms associated with absorption are chemical equivalence and
bioavailability.
o Factors affecting Absorption:
▪ Rate of Dissolution of the Drug
▪ Before a drug can be absorbed it must first dissolve. The rate of
dissolution helps determine the rate of absorption.
▪ Different formularies: immediate release IR, extended-release ER
▪ Surface Area
▪ Larger surface area = faster absorption
▪ Absorption of oral drugs is greater in the small intestine than in
stomach because the surface area is larger in the small intestine
compared to the stomach.
▪ Microvilli in small intestine leads to extremely large surface area
▪ Blood Flow
▪ Drugs are absorbed more rapidly from sites where blood flow is high
because blood containing a newly absorbed drug will be replaced
rapidly by drug-free blood, thereby maintaining a large gradient
between the concentration of drug outside the blood and the
concentration of drug in the blood.
▪ The greater the concentration gradient, the more rapid absorption
will be” p.15
▪ Lipid Solubility
EXAM PREP STRATEGIES | 2026 COMPLETE
SOLUTIONS ~ CHAMBERLAIN UNIVERSITY.
NR565 Midterm Study Guide
This study guide covers content for the question bank for this course. There are 100 questions on
the exam and more content in the exam study bank than will be seen on any given exam.
Therefore, you may note more than 100 topic items noted in this study guide. However, there
may also be more than one question for a topic listed so you should know each one well. Some
items listed are more specific than others. If the item listed seems vague, if it’s a more general
question and to be more specific would be to risk the integrity of the question itself.
Number of Questions on Exam: 100
Styles of Questions of Exam: Multiple Choice Only
Knowledge Levels: Various (remember, understand, apply)
Time Limit: 150 minutes
Number of Attempts: 1
Use of Support Materials: Not Allowed
Platform Used for Exam: ExamSoft/Examplify
Exam Expectations: Review Exam Expectations in Course
Announcements
Tips on Using this Study Guide
1. Review the topics each week to take notes as you move through the course and focus
your reading and content review in the course.
2. You can make notes directly on each tab for the respective week or print out and hand
write your notes.
3. If you choose to print, you will want to adjust the size of columns so the table width will fit
on a printed page.
4. Re-write your notes if you type them to connect the content to your memory more readily
as the activity of writing and saying it again as you write it creates repetition that helps
commit the content to memory.
5. Create your own practice questions that are clinical scenario based to move the content
from a memorization (Remember) level of learning to an application type of learning. Much
of your exam will be at the application level so it's not enough to memorize your notes.
6. Review your study guide and notes as often as you can. Read them out loud so you hear
the words externally as well as internally. The more senses you can engage while studying,
the more likely you are to remember it.
, Week One
Section I.01 Chapter 1
1. State laws impact on prescriptive authority
o Prescriptive Authority is the legal right to prescribe drugs
o Prescriptive authority is determined by state law
o Regulation of prescriptive authority is under jurisdiction of a health professional
board (Ex: State Board of Nursing)
o Two components of prescriptive authority:
▪ Right to prescribe independently
▪ Right to prescribe without limitation (dependent upon contract)
2. Full Practice Authority
o Depends on their legal right to prescribe without a supervisory or collaborative
requirement
3. Role: Prescriptive Authority
o Affords the legal right to prescribe independently and without limitation.
Section I.02 Chapter 2
1. Assessing Drug Interactions
o Polypharmacy increases the risk for interactions
▪ Adverse drug reactions are 7x more prevalent in older adults and contribute
to 16% of all hospitalizations and half of all medication related fatalities.
o Always check for interactions when adding new medications
o Ask patients about side effects after initiating, stopping, or changing dosages
o Risk vs Benefit
2. Prescription Writing
o Ethical prescribing requires informed decision making, considering drug
interactions, side effects, and individual needs of the patient
o Off label prescribing means it is not approved by FDA
o Only 50% of patients take their medications as prescribed.
Section I.03 Chapter 3
1. Generic vs Brand Name: Value of Knowing
o Knowing the generic name of your medication empowers the patient to catch
medication errors in the event that two different prescribers prescribe the same
generic drug name under different brand names
o Knowing the reason the medication is prescribed helps the patient to follow
, through with the medication plan because the patient is aware that this action
helps achieve the therapeutic goal.
2. Duration of Therapy
o Duration of therapy: short term vs long term therapy (abx vs thyroid meds)
o Failure to recognize the need for prolonged therapy is a common reason patients
stop medications prematurely when a prescription runs out
3. Role of Formularies
o Every facility and pharmacy provide drugs according to a formulary
o A formulary is a list of prescription medications that a health insurance plan
covers
o Formularies are selected by a panel of pharmacists and providers and may be
subject to following guidelines created by regulatory agencies (Ex: Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS))
o Often there are substitutes or similar medications you can order in place of what
you originally intended.
o Formularies ensure patients receive the safest and most effective medications at
a reasonable cost
4. Blood Flow Impact on Absorption
o More blood flow can help the body absorb medication faster and more effectively.
, Section I.04 Chapter 4
Pharmacokinetics: Study of drug movement throughout the body
Pharmacokinetics
o Study of drug movement throughout the body
o 4 Processes: Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion
Pharmacodynamics
o Describes how drugs influence the response in the body at the site of action
4. Absorption Process
o The process in which a drug moves from administration site into the blood stream.
Determines how quickly a drug enters the blood stream.
o Two other terms associated with absorption are chemical equivalence and
bioavailability.
o Factors affecting Absorption:
▪ Rate of Dissolution of the Drug
▪ Before a drug can be absorbed it must first dissolve. The rate of
dissolution helps determine the rate of absorption.
▪ Different formularies: immediate release IR, extended-release ER
▪ Surface Area
▪ Larger surface area = faster absorption
▪ Absorption of oral drugs is greater in the small intestine than in
stomach because the surface area is larger in the small intestine
compared to the stomach.
▪ Microvilli in small intestine leads to extremely large surface area
▪ Blood Flow
▪ Drugs are absorbed more rapidly from sites where blood flow is high
because blood containing a newly absorbed drug will be replaced
rapidly by drug-free blood, thereby maintaining a large gradient
between the concentration of drug outside the blood and the
concentration of drug in the blood.
▪ The greater the concentration gradient, the more rapid absorption
will be” p.15
▪ Lipid Solubility
