NR 293 PHARMACOLOGY | COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE, PRACTICE
QUESTIONS, ANSWERS & RATIONALES 2026/2027
A nurse is caring for a client who has multiple medication allergies. During which of the following steps
of the nursing process should the nurse identify the client's allergies?
A. Planning
B. Evaluation
C. Data Collection
D. Implementation - ANS ✔✔C. Data Collection
A nurse is caring for a client and realizes after administering the 0900 medications that she gave digoxin
0.25 mg PO to the client instead of the prescribed dose of digoxin 0.125 mg PO. Which of the following
actions should the nurse take first?
A. notify the provider
B. contact the nursing supervisor
C. check the client's apical pulse
D. complete an incident report - ANS ✔✔C. check the client's apical pulse
A nurse is preparing to administer medication to a client. Which of the following abbreviations indicates
the greatest frequency of medication administration?
A. BID
B. TID
C. QID
D. Q8h - ANS ✔✔C. QID
A nurse is reviewing the medication administration record of a client who has impaired swallowing. The
nurse should crush the medication when administering which of the following prescriptions?
A. Aspirin EC 80 mg PO daily
B. Levothyroxine 75 mcg PO q AM before breakfast
C. Metformin XR 500 mg PO daily
D. Nitroglycerin 0.3 mg SL PRN chest pain, can repeat q 5 min for 2 additional doses. - ANS ✔✔B.
Levothyroxine 75 mcg PO q AM before breakfast
EC = enteric coated, XR = extended release, SL = sublingually
A nurse is caring for a client who is receiving cefotetan 1 g via intermittent IV bolus every 12 hours to
treat a postoperative infection. Which of the following manifestations should the nurse monitor for as an
adverse effect of the medication?
A. disorientation
B. epistaxis
C. constipation
D. jaundice - ANS ✔✔B. Epistaxis
Cefotetan is an antibiotic that affects vitamin K levels, which can result in bleeding and epistaxis. It is a
second generation cephalosporin.
,A nurse is assisting with the care of a client who is postoperative. The client reports a pain level of 8 on a
scale of 0 to 10 and has a prescription for meperidine. Which of the following routes of administration
will deliver the medication with the shortest time of onset?
A. oral
B. Intravenous
C. intramuscular
d. subcutaneous - ANS ✔✔B. Intravenous
nurse is monitoring a client with pneumonia who has received penicillin G intramuscularly. Which of the
following findings should the nurse plan to evaluate first?
A. pain at the injection site
B. prolonged motor dysfunction
C. laryngeal edema
D. temperature of 99.7 F - ANS ✔✔C. laryngeal edema
this can indicate an allergic reaction, possibly anaphylaxis
A nurse is reviewing the laboratory results of a client who is taking a medication and notes that the
client's blood tests show an elevated level of the enzymes aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine
aminotransferase (ALT). The nurse should recognize that these findings are potential indications of which
of the following conditions?
a. renal dysfunction
b. myelotoxicity
c. hepatic toxicity
d. cardiac dysrhythmia - ANS ✔✔c. hepatic toxicity
A nurse is reviewing the laboratory data for a client who has Alzheimer's disease and a new prescription
for memantine. The nurse should identify that which of the following findings increases the risk for
reduced clearance of the medication?
A. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) 60 international units.
B. Creatinine clearance 35 mL/min
C. HbA1c 5%
D. BMI 31 - ANS ✔✔B. Creatinine clearance 35 mL/min
A nurse is preparing to administer albuterol syrup 0.1 mg/kg/day to a school-aged child who weights 44
pounds. The amount available is albuterol syrup 2 mg/5 mL. How many mL should the nurse administer?
(Round your answer to the nearest tenth. Use a leading zero if applicable but do not use a trailing zero.) -
ANS ✔✔5 mL
A nurse is assisting with the administration of an IV injection to a client. For which of the following
reasons should the nurse inject the medication slowly?
A. to reduce toxicity risk
B. to improve the absorption pattern
C. to prevent medication dilution
D. to protect against embolism - ANS ✔✔A. to reduce toxicity risk
A nurse is reinforcing teaching with a client who has atrial fibrillation and a new prescription for
amiodarone. Which of the following items should the nurse instruct the client to avoid while taking this
medication?
, A. green leafy vegetables
B. grapefruit juice
C. garlic
D. salt substitutes - ANS ✔✔B. grapefruit juice
A nurse is caring fora client who has developed MRSA in a surgical incision. Which of the following
medications should the nurse expect the provider to prescribe?
A. ceftriaxone
B. vancomycin
C. ketoconazole
D. ciprofloxacin - ANS ✔✔B. vancomycin
A nurse is caring for a client who is experiencing severe cancer pain. Which of the following medications
should the nurse expect the provider to prescribe?
A. buprenorphine
B. tramadol
C. hydromorphone
D. oxycodone - ANS ✔✔C. hydromorphone
Hydromorphone is an opioid antagonist. It is used for the treatment of moderate to severe pain
management in clients who have cancer.
A nurse is collecting data from a client who is experiencing chest pain. Which of the following
medications should the nurse expect to administer to suppress the aggregation of platelets?
A. nitroglycerin
B. Aspirin
C. Morphine
D. Metoprolol - ANS ✔✔B. Aspirin
A nurse is caring for a client who takes gentamicin IM and has a prescription to obtain a blood sample to
measure a trough level. At which of the following times should the nurse draw the blood sample?
A. within 15 minutes prior to the next medication dose
B. 3 hours prior to administering a dose.
C. Within 15 minutes following the next medication dose
D. 2 hours after administering a dose. - ANS ✔✔A. within 15 minutes prior to the next medication dose
A nurse is reinforcing teaching with a client who has a new prescription for sertraline. The client asks the
nurse if he should containue to take St. John's wort for depression. Which of the following instructions
should the nurse give the client?
A. take the medication and herbal supplement together.
B. stop taking the herbal supplement while taking the medication.
C. take the herbal supplement and the medication at least 2 hours apart.
D. take an antacid with both the herbal supplement and the medication. - ANS ✔✔B. stop taking the
herbal supplement while taking the medication.
Taking the antidepressant sertraline and St. John's wort together puts the client at risk for serotonin
syndrome.
A nurse is preparing to administer meperidine 100 mg IM to a client who has a BMI of 23. Which of the
following needle lengths should the nurse use to administer the medication?
QUESTIONS, ANSWERS & RATIONALES 2026/2027
A nurse is caring for a client who has multiple medication allergies. During which of the following steps
of the nursing process should the nurse identify the client's allergies?
A. Planning
B. Evaluation
C. Data Collection
D. Implementation - ANS ✔✔C. Data Collection
A nurse is caring for a client and realizes after administering the 0900 medications that she gave digoxin
0.25 mg PO to the client instead of the prescribed dose of digoxin 0.125 mg PO. Which of the following
actions should the nurse take first?
A. notify the provider
B. contact the nursing supervisor
C. check the client's apical pulse
D. complete an incident report - ANS ✔✔C. check the client's apical pulse
A nurse is preparing to administer medication to a client. Which of the following abbreviations indicates
the greatest frequency of medication administration?
A. BID
B. TID
C. QID
D. Q8h - ANS ✔✔C. QID
A nurse is reviewing the medication administration record of a client who has impaired swallowing. The
nurse should crush the medication when administering which of the following prescriptions?
A. Aspirin EC 80 mg PO daily
B. Levothyroxine 75 mcg PO q AM before breakfast
C. Metformin XR 500 mg PO daily
D. Nitroglycerin 0.3 mg SL PRN chest pain, can repeat q 5 min for 2 additional doses. - ANS ✔✔B.
Levothyroxine 75 mcg PO q AM before breakfast
EC = enteric coated, XR = extended release, SL = sublingually
A nurse is caring for a client who is receiving cefotetan 1 g via intermittent IV bolus every 12 hours to
treat a postoperative infection. Which of the following manifestations should the nurse monitor for as an
adverse effect of the medication?
A. disorientation
B. epistaxis
C. constipation
D. jaundice - ANS ✔✔B. Epistaxis
Cefotetan is an antibiotic that affects vitamin K levels, which can result in bleeding and epistaxis. It is a
second generation cephalosporin.
,A nurse is assisting with the care of a client who is postoperative. The client reports a pain level of 8 on a
scale of 0 to 10 and has a prescription for meperidine. Which of the following routes of administration
will deliver the medication with the shortest time of onset?
A. oral
B. Intravenous
C. intramuscular
d. subcutaneous - ANS ✔✔B. Intravenous
nurse is monitoring a client with pneumonia who has received penicillin G intramuscularly. Which of the
following findings should the nurse plan to evaluate first?
A. pain at the injection site
B. prolonged motor dysfunction
C. laryngeal edema
D. temperature of 99.7 F - ANS ✔✔C. laryngeal edema
this can indicate an allergic reaction, possibly anaphylaxis
A nurse is reviewing the laboratory results of a client who is taking a medication and notes that the
client's blood tests show an elevated level of the enzymes aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine
aminotransferase (ALT). The nurse should recognize that these findings are potential indications of which
of the following conditions?
a. renal dysfunction
b. myelotoxicity
c. hepatic toxicity
d. cardiac dysrhythmia - ANS ✔✔c. hepatic toxicity
A nurse is reviewing the laboratory data for a client who has Alzheimer's disease and a new prescription
for memantine. The nurse should identify that which of the following findings increases the risk for
reduced clearance of the medication?
A. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) 60 international units.
B. Creatinine clearance 35 mL/min
C. HbA1c 5%
D. BMI 31 - ANS ✔✔B. Creatinine clearance 35 mL/min
A nurse is preparing to administer albuterol syrup 0.1 mg/kg/day to a school-aged child who weights 44
pounds. The amount available is albuterol syrup 2 mg/5 mL. How many mL should the nurse administer?
(Round your answer to the nearest tenth. Use a leading zero if applicable but do not use a trailing zero.) -
ANS ✔✔5 mL
A nurse is assisting with the administration of an IV injection to a client. For which of the following
reasons should the nurse inject the medication slowly?
A. to reduce toxicity risk
B. to improve the absorption pattern
C. to prevent medication dilution
D. to protect against embolism - ANS ✔✔A. to reduce toxicity risk
A nurse is reinforcing teaching with a client who has atrial fibrillation and a new prescription for
amiodarone. Which of the following items should the nurse instruct the client to avoid while taking this
medication?
, A. green leafy vegetables
B. grapefruit juice
C. garlic
D. salt substitutes - ANS ✔✔B. grapefruit juice
A nurse is caring fora client who has developed MRSA in a surgical incision. Which of the following
medications should the nurse expect the provider to prescribe?
A. ceftriaxone
B. vancomycin
C. ketoconazole
D. ciprofloxacin - ANS ✔✔B. vancomycin
A nurse is caring for a client who is experiencing severe cancer pain. Which of the following medications
should the nurse expect the provider to prescribe?
A. buprenorphine
B. tramadol
C. hydromorphone
D. oxycodone - ANS ✔✔C. hydromorphone
Hydromorphone is an opioid antagonist. It is used for the treatment of moderate to severe pain
management in clients who have cancer.
A nurse is collecting data from a client who is experiencing chest pain. Which of the following
medications should the nurse expect to administer to suppress the aggregation of platelets?
A. nitroglycerin
B. Aspirin
C. Morphine
D. Metoprolol - ANS ✔✔B. Aspirin
A nurse is caring for a client who takes gentamicin IM and has a prescription to obtain a blood sample to
measure a trough level. At which of the following times should the nurse draw the blood sample?
A. within 15 minutes prior to the next medication dose
B. 3 hours prior to administering a dose.
C. Within 15 minutes following the next medication dose
D. 2 hours after administering a dose. - ANS ✔✔A. within 15 minutes prior to the next medication dose
A nurse is reinforcing teaching with a client who has a new prescription for sertraline. The client asks the
nurse if he should containue to take St. John's wort for depression. Which of the following instructions
should the nurse give the client?
A. take the medication and herbal supplement together.
B. stop taking the herbal supplement while taking the medication.
C. take the herbal supplement and the medication at least 2 hours apart.
D. take an antacid with both the herbal supplement and the medication. - ANS ✔✔B. stop taking the
herbal supplement while taking the medication.
Taking the antidepressant sertraline and St. John's wort together puts the client at risk for serotonin
syndrome.
A nurse is preparing to administer meperidine 100 mg IM to a client who has a BMI of 23. Which of the
following needle lengths should the nurse use to administer the medication?
