ADVANCED PHARMACOLOGY EXAM 1 QUESTIONS WITH
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS | FROM QUESTION TO
PERFECTION| STUDY WITH CONFIDENCE!
Course Code:
Course Title:
Programme:
Academic Year: 2026/2027.
Duration: 2 Hours.
Total Marks: 70%.
Candidate Instructions:
1) Write your Registration Number on every answer booklet used.
2) Answer ALL questions in Section A and ANY TWO (2) questions in Section B.
3) Read each question carefully before answering.
4) Begin each question on a new page.
5) The marks for each question are indicated in brackets.
6) This paper consists of several printed pages, including this page.
7) Ensure your copy is complete before the examination begins.
8) Unauthorized materials and communication with other candidates are not permitted.
Turn Over.
APPHIA – Crafted with Care and Precision for Academic Excellence.
1
,Once you graduate from an NP program, in order to prescribe you'll need: Answer: -Advanced
nurse prescriber license
-DEA #
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
APPHIA – Crafted with Care and Precision for Academic Excellence.
2
, 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)
-Blood barriers (blood-brain-barrier can be problematic if we need to get drugs to the brain--will
need very high dosing since only a small amount of the drug will get through)
APPHIA – Crafted with Care and Precision for Academic Excellence.
3
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS | FROM QUESTION TO
PERFECTION| STUDY WITH CONFIDENCE!
Course Code:
Course Title:
Programme:
Academic Year: 2026/2027.
Duration: 2 Hours.
Total Marks: 70%.
Candidate Instructions:
1) Write your Registration Number on every answer booklet used.
2) Answer ALL questions in Section A and ANY TWO (2) questions in Section B.
3) Read each question carefully before answering.
4) Begin each question on a new page.
5) The marks for each question are indicated in brackets.
6) This paper consists of several printed pages, including this page.
7) Ensure your copy is complete before the examination begins.
8) Unauthorized materials and communication with other candidates are not permitted.
Turn Over.
APPHIA – Crafted with Care and Precision for Academic Excellence.
1
,Once you graduate from an NP program, in order to prescribe you'll need: Answer: -Advanced
nurse prescriber license
-DEA #
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
APPHIA – Crafted with Care and Precision for Academic Excellence.
2
, 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)
-Blood barriers (blood-brain-barrier can be problematic if we need to get drugs to the brain--will
need very high dosing since only a small amount of the drug will get through)
APPHIA – Crafted with Care and Precision for Academic Excellence.
3
