Advanced Pharmacology Exam 1 (2026) UPDATE Verified
Questions And Answers | GRADED A+ NURS 5334
S/No Question Answer
1. Once you graduate from an NP program, in • Advanced nurse prescriber license
order to prescribe you'll need • DEA
2. What is the purpose of a DEA • Needed to prescribed scheduled
drugs
3. Rules for prescribing Schedule II drugs • Written script needed
• 1 month supply only
• No refills
4. What is the PDMP • Prescription Drug Monitoring
Program
5. • Used to effectively track patient's
controlled substance uses across
different health facilities (in the
same state)
6. What are clinical practice guidelines • 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
7. Common causes of medication errors • Illegible writing
• Drug names that sound alike
• Medications that look alike
• Administering a drug with the
wrong route
8. What is pharmacokinetics? What are its 4 What the body does to the drug
categories? • Absorption
• Metabolism
• Distribution
• Excretion
9. Quickest route of absorption? Slowest? • IV = quickest
• IM = slowest
10. What is the most common way drugs pass • Passive diffusion
through cell membranes?
,11. What characteristics of a drug allow it to pass • Small, uncharged (unionized),
most quickly through cell membranes (usually lipid soluble--pass through
through passive diffusion)? membrane without any energy
12. What does it mean when a drug is ionized? • 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)
13. Where do weak acids absorb? • Stomach
14. Where do weak bases absorb? • Small intestine
15. PH of stomach: • 2-4
16. PH of small intestine: • 6-7
17. PH of large intestine: • 6-7
18. PH of bloodstream: • 7.35-7.45
19. PH of bladder: • 5-8
20. PH of breastmilk: • 7.1
21. Where will a drug absorb if it is a weak base • In the small intestine (since the
that ionizes at a pH of 4 and lower? 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)
22. How can we manipulate the urine pH in cases • Drugs that are weak acids (aspirin)
of overdose? 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.
23. What is distribution? • How a drug will be transported to
the tissues it needs to go to in
order for it to exert its effects
24. Drug factors related to distribution: • -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)
25. Body factors related to distribution: • -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)
• -Transport mechanisms
• -Plasma binding proteins
• -Disease states
• -Volume of distribution
• -Drug interactions
26. What is the key plasma protein involved with • Albumin
protein binding for medications?
27. Why do we monitor albumin? • Indicative of nutritional status and
how well protein-bound drugs will
be transported to their target
locations
28. What happens to the therapeutic effect of a • The drug does not bind to the
drug when the patient is elderly and has very protein (albumin) as much as
low levels of albumin? expected, so there is a lot of free
drug floating in the plasma; high
risk for drug toxicity
29. Protein bound means: • Inactive form of the drug; does not
have any therapeutic effect when
bound to a protein
30. Free drug means: • Active form of the drug (available
for therapeutic effect)
31. What happens when a patient is on two drugs • Category X
that are competing for the same protein
binding site on the albumin?
32. What is pharmacodynamics? • Some drug interactions can occur.
Drugs fight for binding position,
but both drugs do not get enough
as the usually would. Leads to
Questions And Answers | GRADED A+ NURS 5334
S/No Question Answer
1. Once you graduate from an NP program, in • Advanced nurse prescriber license
order to prescribe you'll need • DEA
2. What is the purpose of a DEA • Needed to prescribed scheduled
drugs
3. Rules for prescribing Schedule II drugs • Written script needed
• 1 month supply only
• No refills
4. What is the PDMP • Prescription Drug Monitoring
Program
5. • Used to effectively track patient's
controlled substance uses across
different health facilities (in the
same state)
6. What are clinical practice guidelines • 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
7. Common causes of medication errors • Illegible writing
• Drug names that sound alike
• Medications that look alike
• Administering a drug with the
wrong route
8. What is pharmacokinetics? What are its 4 What the body does to the drug
categories? • Absorption
• Metabolism
• Distribution
• Excretion
9. Quickest route of absorption? Slowest? • IV = quickest
• IM = slowest
10. What is the most common way drugs pass • Passive diffusion
through cell membranes?
,11. What characteristics of a drug allow it to pass • Small, uncharged (unionized),
most quickly through cell membranes (usually lipid soluble--pass through
through passive diffusion)? membrane without any energy
12. What does it mean when a drug is ionized? • 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)
13. Where do weak acids absorb? • Stomach
14. Where do weak bases absorb? • Small intestine
15. PH of stomach: • 2-4
16. PH of small intestine: • 6-7
17. PH of large intestine: • 6-7
18. PH of bloodstream: • 7.35-7.45
19. PH of bladder: • 5-8
20. PH of breastmilk: • 7.1
21. Where will a drug absorb if it is a weak base • In the small intestine (since the
that ionizes at a pH of 4 and lower? 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)
22. How can we manipulate the urine pH in cases • Drugs that are weak acids (aspirin)
of overdose? 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.
23. What is distribution? • How a drug will be transported to
the tissues it needs to go to in
order for it to exert its effects
24. Drug factors related to distribution: • -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)
25. Body factors related to distribution: • -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)
• -Transport mechanisms
• -Plasma binding proteins
• -Disease states
• -Volume of distribution
• -Drug interactions
26. What is the key plasma protein involved with • Albumin
protein binding for medications?
27. Why do we monitor albumin? • Indicative of nutritional status and
how well protein-bound drugs will
be transported to their target
locations
28. What happens to the therapeutic effect of a • The drug does not bind to the
drug when the patient is elderly and has very protein (albumin) as much as
low levels of albumin? expected, so there is a lot of free
drug floating in the plasma; high
risk for drug toxicity
29. Protein bound means: • Inactive form of the drug; does not
have any therapeutic effect when
bound to a protein
30. Free drug means: • Active form of the drug (available
for therapeutic effect)
31. What happens when a patient is on two drugs • Category X
that are competing for the same protein
binding site on the albumin?
32. What is pharmacodynamics? • Some drug interactions can occur.
Drugs fight for binding position,
but both drugs do not get enough
as the usually would. Leads to
