Question: A client with a longstanding diagnosis of angina has been prescribed nitroglycerin and diltiazem. In addition to monitoring the client’s heart rate, the nurse should prioritize what assessment?
Answer Choices:
A. Blood pressure
B. Level of consciousness
C. Daily weights and abdominal girth
D. Respiratory status
Answer: A. Blood pressure
Question: A client has had an exacerbation of hemorrhoidal irritation. What drug should the nurse suspect as most likely to contribute to this adverse effect?
Answer Choices:
A. Bile acid sequestrants
B. Hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors
C. Cholesterol absorption inhibitor
D. Fibrates
Answer: A. Bile acid sequestrants
Question: A nurse is caring for a 4-year-old child who is receiving a barbiturate. What assessment should the nurse prioritize?
Answer Choices:
A. Cardiac monitoring
B. Assessment of deep tendon reflexes
C. Monitoring for agitation or restlessness
D. Hydration status
Answer: A. Cardiac monitoring
Question: A nurse is unfamiliar with a drug that a client in the community has recently been prescribed. What information source should the nurse consult?
Answer Choices:
A. Drug Facts and Comparisons
B. A nurse’s drug guide
C. The website www.drugs.com
D. The Physicians’ Drug Reference (PDR)
Answer: B. A nurse’s drug guide
Question: A resident of an extended-care facility has athlete’s foot. After applying the prescribed antifungal cream, what should the nurse do next?
Answer Choices:
A. Wipe away excess medication from the affected area.
B. Wrap a sterile rolled gauze dressing around both feet.
C. Elevate the client’s feet for 30 minutes.
D. Apply clean, dry socks.
Answer: D. Apply clean, dry socks.
Question: The nurse administers amoxicillin 500 mg. The half-life of this drug is approximately 1 hour. At what point would the drug level in the body be 62.5 mg if the drug was not administered again?
Answer Choices:
A. 1 hour after the original dose
B. 2 hours after the original dose
C. 3 hours after the original dose
D. 4 hours after the original dose
Answer: C. 3 hours after the original dose
Question: A client asks the nurse what cardiac glycosides do to relieve the symptoms of heart failure. What is the nurse’s best response?
Answer Choices:
A. “They make your heart contract more forcefully.”
B. “They increase your blood pressure by reducing your urine output.”
C. “They increase your heart rate.”
D. “They increase the velocity of electrical conduction in your heart.”
Answer: A. “They make your heart contract more forcefully.”
Question: A client is being discharged home on warfarin. The discharge teaching by the nurse should include a warning to avoid what?
Answer Choices:
A. St. John’s wort
B. Tarragon
C. Ginkgo
D. Saw palmetto
Answer: C. Ginkgo
Question: The nurse is caring for a diverse group of clients. In which client should the nurse assess for an alteration in drug metabolism?
Answer Choices:
A. A 35-year-old woman with cervical cancer
B. A 41-year-old man with kidney stones
C. A 50-year-old man with cirrhosis of the liver
D. A 32-year-old woman with urosepsis
Answer: C. A 50-year-old man with cirrhosis of the liver
Question: The nurse is caring for a client who has been taking a potassium-sparing diuretic. What assessment finding would suggest an adverse reaction?
Answer Choices:
A. Urine output of 1,500 ml/24 hours
B. Blood pressure of 98/60 mm Hg
C. Heart rate of 47 beats/min
D. Calcium level of 10.6 mg/dL (2.5 mmol/L)
Answer: C. Heart rate of 47 beats/min
Question: The nurse has administered a prescribed dose of ondansetron IV to a client. What assessment finding best indicates therapeutic effect?
Answer Choices:
A. Client’s vital signs are within reference ranges.
B. Client participates in activities.
C. Client requests food.
D. Client denies nausea.
Answer: D. Client denies nausea.
Question: The emergency department (ED) nurse is caring for a client who is experiencing pulmonary edema. The client is treated with furosemide. What will the nurse monitor most closely?
Answer Choices:
A. Sodium levels
B. Bone marrow function
C. Calcium levels
D. Potassium levels
Answer: D. Potassium levels
Question: At the completion of a pharmacology course, what should the nurse know about drug information?
Answer Choices:
A. At the completion of the course, the nurse will know everything necessary for safe and effective medication administration.
B. At the completion of the course, the nurse will know current pharmacologic therapy and will not require ongoing education for 5 years.
C. At the completion of the course, the nurse will know general drug information because the nurse can consult a drug guide for specific drug information.
D. At the completion of the course, the nurse will understand each drug action that is associated with each classification of medication.
Answer: C. At the completion of the course, the nurse will know general drug information because the nurse can consult a drug guide for specific drug information.
Question: A nurse working in radiology administers iodine to a client who is having a computed tomography (CT) scan. The nurse working on the oncology unit administers chemotherapy to clients who have cancer. At the Public Health Department, a nurse administers a measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine to a 14-month-old child as a routine immunization. Which branch of pharmacology best describes the actions of all three nurses?
Answer Choices:
A. Pharmacoeconomics
B. Pharmacotherapeutics
C. Pharmacodynamics
D. Pharmacokinetics
Answer: B. Pharmacotherapeutics
Question: A nurse is providing education to a client who has been experiencing unstable angina. What is the nurse’s best explanation of this condition?
Answer Choices:
A. “A coronary vessel has become completely plugged and is unable to deliver blood to your heart.”
B. “The pain is caused by a spasm of a blood vessel, not just from the vessel narrowing.”
C. “There is serious narrowing of a coronary artery that is causing a reduction in oxygen to the heart.”
D. “Your body’s response to a lack of oxygen in the heart muscle is pain.”
Answer: C. “There is serious narrowing of a coronary artery that is causing a reduction in oxygen to the heart.”
Question: What client is exhibiting an expected assessment finding after the administration of a sympathomimetic drug?
Answer Choices:
A. A mechanically ventilated client who is no longer “fighting” the ventilator
B. A client who had a bleeding duodenal ulcer, which has stopped bleeding
C. A client whose respiratory rate has changed from 9 to 18 breaths/min
D. A client who has completed cardiac catheterization with no complications
Answer: C. A client whose respiratory rate has changed from 9 to 18 breaths/min