NUR 622 ADVANCED PHARMACOLOGY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | COMPLETE
GRADUATE NURSING STUDY GUIDE 2026/2027
Define pharmacokinetics. - ✔✔Study of how drug concentrations change as it moves through the body
(what is the body doing to the drug?)
Define pharmacodynamics. - ✔✔Study of how the drug is exerting its effect on the body (receptor
interactions, potency, etc.)
What is absorption? - ✔✔process of the drug entering the systemic circulation
What is distribution? - ✔✔the process of the drug being circulated/disseminated through the body
True or False. Route of administration affects drug absorption. - ✔✔true
A drug moving from the vasculature to the extravascular space is part of what aspect of
pharmacokinetics? - ✔✔distribution
What is biotransformation performed by? - ✔✔enzymes
What is occuring when molecules are added to a drug to make it more polar to enhance removal from
the body? - ✔✔metabolism
Define pharmacobiophysics. - ✔✔The drug's concentration in the plasma and the effect site
What is concerned with the effect site concentration and clinical effect? - ✔✔pharmacodynamics
What is concerned with the plasma concentration and effect site concentration? -
✔✔pharmacobiophysics
What is concerned with the drug dose and plasma concentration? - ✔✔pharmacokinetics
What process depends on appropriate solubility in the cell membrane? - ✔✔passive diffusion
Which routes of drug administration bypass the first-pass metabolism of the liver? - ✔✔parenteral
What determines the concentration of a drug in the plasma or effect site? - ✔✔pharmacokinetics
What 4 things affect pharmacokinetics? - ✔✔patient variability
genetic modifications
drug interactions
liver or kidney disease
,What predicts the speed of recovery when discontinuing an infusion? - ✔✔context-sensitive half time
What dose is calculated by: peak concentration x Vd / bioavailability? - ✔✔loading dose
What dose is calculated by: peak concentration x clearance / bioavailability? - ✔✔maintenance dose
(give drug at same rate is it excreted)
When giving a loading dose followed by a maintenance dose in a renal impaired patient, which dose
should be changed? - ✔✔maintenance should be lowered, loading stays the same
What two things does volume of distribution (Vd) assume? - ✔✔the drug distributes instantly
elimination does not occur before it is distributed
True or false. The more soluble a drug is and the more it binds to peripheral tissues, the larger the Vd. -
✔✔true
What are causes of a small Vd? - ✔✔high protein binding and ionization
What are causes of a large Vd? - ✔✔high solubility and binding in tissues other than plasma
True or False. Protein-bound drugs have an exaggerated effect. - ✔✔False, they are inactive (only free
drugs are active)
What is the ultimate bioavailability of a drug? - ✔✔amount of drug actually used
What is the goal of metabolism? - ✔✔to make polar, water-soluble molecules
What are the phase 1 reactions in metabolism? - ✔✔oxidation
reduction
hydrolysis
What are the phase 2 reactions in metabolism? - ✔✔glucuronidation
acetylation
sulfation
conjugation
What drugs cause enzyme induction? - ✔✔ethanol
barbiturates
phenytoin
carbamazepine
benzodiazepines
What drugs inhibit hepatic enzymes which metabolize drugs? - ✔✔antibiotics
cimetidine
If plasma concentration is increased, clearence is _____? - ✔✔decreased
What part of a drug is usually active? (ionized or nonionized) - ✔✔nonionized
, A weak base is more or less ionized at a lower pH? - ✔✔more ionized
When is steady state achieved? - ✔✔after 5 half times
Clearance is indirectly proportional to what? - ✔✔half life and drug concentration
Clearance is directly proportional to what? - ✔✔blood flow to clearing organ and drug dose
What is zero order kinetics? - ✔✔constant elimination of a drug at a set rate
What is first order kinetics? - ✔✔dependent on concentration (more drug we have, the higher the
elimination
What does alpha distribution describe? - ✔✔drug distribution from the plasma to the tissues
When does beta distribution begin? - ✔✔begins as plasma concentration falls below tissue
concentration
What does beta phase describe? - ✔✔drug elimination from the plasma by the clearing organs
What are the 3 phases of the multicompartmental model of drug distribution? - ✔✔rapid distribution
slow distribution
terminal distribution
Define efficacy. - ✔✔measure of the intrinsic ability of a drug to cause a clinical effect
What is the therapeutic index? - ✔✔ratio between ED50 and LD50
What percentage of synthetic drugs are chiral? - ✔✔33%
1/3
Although most are used as racemic mixtures in clinical practice
What is the bioavailability of IV drugs? - ✔✔1; all of the drug is available
If drug concentration in central compartment is increased, then clearance is? - ✔✔decreased
What is minimum inhibitory concentration of antibiotics? - ✔✔the lowest concentration of a given
antimicrobial at which an organism's growth is inhibited.
When must prophylactic antibiotics be given? Discontinued? - ✔✔within 1 hour of incision
stop within 24 hours after surgery completed
In seriously ill or immunocompromized patients, should bactericidal or bacteriostatic agents be used? -
✔✔bactericidal
GRADUATE NURSING STUDY GUIDE 2026/2027
Define pharmacokinetics. - ✔✔Study of how drug concentrations change as it moves through the body
(what is the body doing to the drug?)
Define pharmacodynamics. - ✔✔Study of how the drug is exerting its effect on the body (receptor
interactions, potency, etc.)
What is absorption? - ✔✔process of the drug entering the systemic circulation
What is distribution? - ✔✔the process of the drug being circulated/disseminated through the body
True or False. Route of administration affects drug absorption. - ✔✔true
A drug moving from the vasculature to the extravascular space is part of what aspect of
pharmacokinetics? - ✔✔distribution
What is biotransformation performed by? - ✔✔enzymes
What is occuring when molecules are added to a drug to make it more polar to enhance removal from
the body? - ✔✔metabolism
Define pharmacobiophysics. - ✔✔The drug's concentration in the plasma and the effect site
What is concerned with the effect site concentration and clinical effect? - ✔✔pharmacodynamics
What is concerned with the plasma concentration and effect site concentration? -
✔✔pharmacobiophysics
What is concerned with the drug dose and plasma concentration? - ✔✔pharmacokinetics
What process depends on appropriate solubility in the cell membrane? - ✔✔passive diffusion
Which routes of drug administration bypass the first-pass metabolism of the liver? - ✔✔parenteral
What determines the concentration of a drug in the plasma or effect site? - ✔✔pharmacokinetics
What 4 things affect pharmacokinetics? - ✔✔patient variability
genetic modifications
drug interactions
liver or kidney disease
,What predicts the speed of recovery when discontinuing an infusion? - ✔✔context-sensitive half time
What dose is calculated by: peak concentration x Vd / bioavailability? - ✔✔loading dose
What dose is calculated by: peak concentration x clearance / bioavailability? - ✔✔maintenance dose
(give drug at same rate is it excreted)
When giving a loading dose followed by a maintenance dose in a renal impaired patient, which dose
should be changed? - ✔✔maintenance should be lowered, loading stays the same
What two things does volume of distribution (Vd) assume? - ✔✔the drug distributes instantly
elimination does not occur before it is distributed
True or false. The more soluble a drug is and the more it binds to peripheral tissues, the larger the Vd. -
✔✔true
What are causes of a small Vd? - ✔✔high protein binding and ionization
What are causes of a large Vd? - ✔✔high solubility and binding in tissues other than plasma
True or False. Protein-bound drugs have an exaggerated effect. - ✔✔False, they are inactive (only free
drugs are active)
What is the ultimate bioavailability of a drug? - ✔✔amount of drug actually used
What is the goal of metabolism? - ✔✔to make polar, water-soluble molecules
What are the phase 1 reactions in metabolism? - ✔✔oxidation
reduction
hydrolysis
What are the phase 2 reactions in metabolism? - ✔✔glucuronidation
acetylation
sulfation
conjugation
What drugs cause enzyme induction? - ✔✔ethanol
barbiturates
phenytoin
carbamazepine
benzodiazepines
What drugs inhibit hepatic enzymes which metabolize drugs? - ✔✔antibiotics
cimetidine
If plasma concentration is increased, clearence is _____? - ✔✔decreased
What part of a drug is usually active? (ionized or nonionized) - ✔✔nonionized
, A weak base is more or less ionized at a lower pH? - ✔✔more ionized
When is steady state achieved? - ✔✔after 5 half times
Clearance is indirectly proportional to what? - ✔✔half life and drug concentration
Clearance is directly proportional to what? - ✔✔blood flow to clearing organ and drug dose
What is zero order kinetics? - ✔✔constant elimination of a drug at a set rate
What is first order kinetics? - ✔✔dependent on concentration (more drug we have, the higher the
elimination
What does alpha distribution describe? - ✔✔drug distribution from the plasma to the tissues
When does beta distribution begin? - ✔✔begins as plasma concentration falls below tissue
concentration
What does beta phase describe? - ✔✔drug elimination from the plasma by the clearing organs
What are the 3 phases of the multicompartmental model of drug distribution? - ✔✔rapid distribution
slow distribution
terminal distribution
Define efficacy. - ✔✔measure of the intrinsic ability of a drug to cause a clinical effect
What is the therapeutic index? - ✔✔ratio between ED50 and LD50
What percentage of synthetic drugs are chiral? - ✔✔33%
1/3
Although most are used as racemic mixtures in clinical practice
What is the bioavailability of IV drugs? - ✔✔1; all of the drug is available
If drug concentration in central compartment is increased, then clearance is? - ✔✔decreased
What is minimum inhibitory concentration of antibiotics? - ✔✔the lowest concentration of a given
antimicrobial at which an organism's growth is inhibited.
When must prophylactic antibiotics be given? Discontinued? - ✔✔within 1 hour of incision
stop within 24 hours after surgery completed
In seriously ill or immunocompromized patients, should bactericidal or bacteriostatic agents be used? -
✔✔bactericidal
