Chap 1: Principles of Pharmacotherapy
Questions and Correct Answers
1. The nurses plan to teach a safety class to parents of toddlers about household
exposure to medication. What will the best plan of the nurse include? (Select all that
apply)
✓ ~~~ a. Keep all medications locked up and stored out of reach of the toddler
✓ b. Call the poison control center for guidance with any medication ingested
2. A nurse is planning to administer an intramuscular injection to a 3-month-old
infant. Which of the following sites should the nurse choose for the injection?
✓ ~~~ a. Vastus lateralis
3. A prototype drug is a single drug in a class and can be compared with all other
medications in the class. The benefit of studying the prototype drug is that the nurse
would be able to predict characteristics of other drugs in the same class, including
(Select all that apply)
✓ ~~~ a. Their therapeutic indication
b. Their adverse effects
c. Their actions
4. The nurse assesses the patient with diabetes mellitus prior to administering
medications. Which questions are important to ask the patient? (Select all that apply)
✓ ~~~ a. "Are you taking any herbal or over the counter medication"
b. "Are you allergic to any medication?"
,c. "what other medications are you currently taking?"
d. "will you please tell me about the kind of diet you follow"
5. The nursing instructor teaches the student nurses about how medication errors
can occur. What information will the nursing instructor include in the presentation?
(Select all that apply)
✓ ~~~ a. The nurse miscalculates the medication dose
b. The nurse misinterprets a physician's order
c. The nurse administers the incorrect drug
d. The nurse does not check the patient's identification band
6. A health care professional is speaking to a patient who is taking carbamazepine
and who reports drinking grapefruit juice. The health care professional explains the
grapefruit juice inhibits an enzyme in the liver that is used to metabolize certain
drugs such as carbamazepine. The health care professional should recognize the
patient's risk for which of the following?
✓ ~~~ a. Drug toxicity
7. Which of the following are good patient identifiers for medication administration in
an adult patient who can verbally communicate and is neurologically intact?
(moderate, comprehension)
✓ ~~~ a. Patients name and date of birth
, 8. Which organ is most responsible for the first pass effect?
✓ ~~~ liver
9. A nurse is preparing to administer medication to a 4-month-old infant. Which of the
following pharmacokinetics principles should the nurse consider when administrating
medication to his client? (Select all that apply)
✓ ~~~ a. Infants have immature liver function
b. Infants have an increased ability to absorb topical medications
c. Infants blood- brain barrier is poorly developed
10. While reading a medication package insert, the nurse notes the information
contained within the "black box". What is the significance of this information to the
nurse? (Select all that apply)
✓ ~~~ a. The drug can cause "special problems"
b. It identifies extreme adverse drug reactions
14. During pharmacology class, the student nurse asks the nursing instructor how
students will ever learn about the individual antibiotic drugs since there are so many?
What is the best response by the nursing instructor?
✓ ~~~ a. "You will learn a representative drug from each class"
15. The physician ordered a loading dose of medication for the patient; it is to be
followed by a lower dose. When the patient receives the lower dose, she says to the
Questions and Correct Answers
1. The nurses plan to teach a safety class to parents of toddlers about household
exposure to medication. What will the best plan of the nurse include? (Select all that
apply)
✓ ~~~ a. Keep all medications locked up and stored out of reach of the toddler
✓ b. Call the poison control center for guidance with any medication ingested
2. A nurse is planning to administer an intramuscular injection to a 3-month-old
infant. Which of the following sites should the nurse choose for the injection?
✓ ~~~ a. Vastus lateralis
3. A prototype drug is a single drug in a class and can be compared with all other
medications in the class. The benefit of studying the prototype drug is that the nurse
would be able to predict characteristics of other drugs in the same class, including
(Select all that apply)
✓ ~~~ a. Their therapeutic indication
b. Their adverse effects
c. Their actions
4. The nurse assesses the patient with diabetes mellitus prior to administering
medications. Which questions are important to ask the patient? (Select all that apply)
✓ ~~~ a. "Are you taking any herbal or over the counter medication"
b. "Are you allergic to any medication?"
,c. "what other medications are you currently taking?"
d. "will you please tell me about the kind of diet you follow"
5. The nursing instructor teaches the student nurses about how medication errors
can occur. What information will the nursing instructor include in the presentation?
(Select all that apply)
✓ ~~~ a. The nurse miscalculates the medication dose
b. The nurse misinterprets a physician's order
c. The nurse administers the incorrect drug
d. The nurse does not check the patient's identification band
6. A health care professional is speaking to a patient who is taking carbamazepine
and who reports drinking grapefruit juice. The health care professional explains the
grapefruit juice inhibits an enzyme in the liver that is used to metabolize certain
drugs such as carbamazepine. The health care professional should recognize the
patient's risk for which of the following?
✓ ~~~ a. Drug toxicity
7. Which of the following are good patient identifiers for medication administration in
an adult patient who can verbally communicate and is neurologically intact?
(moderate, comprehension)
✓ ~~~ a. Patients name and date of birth
, 8. Which organ is most responsible for the first pass effect?
✓ ~~~ liver
9. A nurse is preparing to administer medication to a 4-month-old infant. Which of the
following pharmacokinetics principles should the nurse consider when administrating
medication to his client? (Select all that apply)
✓ ~~~ a. Infants have immature liver function
b. Infants have an increased ability to absorb topical medications
c. Infants blood- brain barrier is poorly developed
10. While reading a medication package insert, the nurse notes the information
contained within the "black box". What is the significance of this information to the
nurse? (Select all that apply)
✓ ~~~ a. The drug can cause "special problems"
b. It identifies extreme adverse drug reactions
14. During pharmacology class, the student nurse asks the nursing instructor how
students will ever learn about the individual antibiotic drugs since there are so many?
What is the best response by the nursing instructor?
✓ ~~~ a. "You will learn a representative drug from each class"
15. The physician ordered a loading dose of medication for the patient; it is to be
followed by a lower dose. When the patient receives the lower dose, she says to the
