Unit 1 Pharmacology

What’s the difference between brand name and generic drugs?

There is no difference. Generic & brand-name medicines have the same active ingredients, effectiveness & quality

What is a drug?

Any substance that is taken to prevent, cure, or reduce symptoms of a medical condition

What is pharmacology?

The study of medicines

What is pharmacotherapy?

The application of drugs for the purpose of disease prevention and treatment of suffering

What is the major role of the nurse in delivering drugs?

Design interventions that meet the desired health goals of the patients

What are the 11 rights of medication administration?

Right patient (use id like name/date of birth), right medication (check name), right dosage (how many units), right route (intramuscular, oral, rectal) , right time, right rationale (why you are taking the drug), right assessment data (every time you give a med you must do an assessment), right documentation, right reaction, right drug (educating patient why they need the medication), right to refuse (have to be okay with and document)

What are the patient factors that affect drugs?

age, gender, race, BMI, health status, genetics

What is the pharmaceutical classification?

The mechanism of the drug or how the drug produces its effects in the body AKA how the drug acts (ex: 4 different drugs can lower blood pressure but each differs in its mechanism of action)

What is more specific the pharmaceutical classification or the therapeutic classification?

pharmaceutical

What is a drug prototype?

A prototype drug is the agent to which all other medications in a class are compared, it is a representative drug

What does prototyping provide?

Detailed information with therapeutic effects, mechanism of action, adverse effects, contraindications, precaustions, and nursing responsibilites

What is a chemical name?

they are assigned using standard nomenclature established by the international union of pure and applied chemistry. A drug has only one chemical names. This name is helpful in predicting a drug’s physical and chemical properties

What are brand names?

Brand names are a challenge bc there may be dozens of product names containing the same drug

What are combination drugs?

Drugs with more than one active generic ingredient

What is bioavailability?

The rate and extent to which the active ingredients are absorbed and then available at the target or site of action. it may be different between trade and generic

What is onset time?

anything that affects the absorption of a drug or its travel to the target cells

When is something deemed bioequivalent?

If the trade in generic products have the same rate of absorption and have the same onset of therapeutic action

What is a nurses responsibility and what you should always know in pharm?

Name of the drug, intended use, effects on the body, contraindication and precautions

What is the FDA?

Food and drug administration and they are responsible for ensuring that drugs and medical devices are safe and effective

What phase uses drug trial placebos?

Phase 2

What are some effects of prescription drugs?

May be addictive, may be harmful for self-administration, treat complex conditions, may be harmful with other meds, requires skill to administer, may need authorization to receive drug

What are some effects of over the counter drugs?

Doesn’t require authorization from doctor, patients treat themselves, follow directions very carefully, no one is monitoring patients to keep them safe

It is important for a nurse to know everything a patient takes. With this being said, what type of things should a nurse know?

• herbals

• Prescription medications

• supplements (vitamins, herbals)

What are some things that supplements do/ don’t do?

• Supplements are not subjected to same regulator process of FDA

• Supplements can cause side effects and interact with prescribed or other OTC meds

What is a drug schedule?

System that classifies medications and substances based on usefullness and potential for abuse or addiction, sales are restricted

What should providers or prescriber with a drug schedule have?

Drug enforcement agency license (DEA license) to prescribed scheduled drugs. This is issued from a government after showing you took advanced certification

What should nurses teach patients that have a drug schedule/ over the counter medicine?

Follow the directions at the back of the box, and make sure that you read it to the patient. Teach adherence: directions, what it’s for, how long they should use it, what may occur as a side effect or adverse effect and how to call the emergency services if effects to occur

What is nonadherence?

• patient refuses to take meds

• Forget

• Take meds at wrong time

• Take wrong dose

Effects 50%-75% who take medications per year

What do the numbers on drug schedule mean?

• 1 = highest abuse potential

• 2 = high

• 3 = moderate

• 4 = low

• 5 = lowest abuse potential

For drug schedule 1, what is the therapeutic use and some examples?

No currently acceptable medical use and no prescriptions may be written. Some examples include Heroin, LSD, Marujuana, MDMA.

For drug schedule 2, what is the therapeutic use and some examples?

Have currently accepted medical use but use may be severely restricted, normally no refills are permitted but there are exceptions. Some examples include potent opiods (fentanyl, morphine, oxycodone), cocaine

For drug schedule 3, what is the therapuetic use and some examples?

Have currently accepted medical uses; less stringent controls than schedule 2 drugs; five refills allowed in a 6 month period. Some examples include anabolic steriods, buprenorphine ketamine and hydrocodone.

For drug schedule 4, what is the therapeutic use and some examples?

Have currently accepted medical use; similar controls to schedule 3 drugs; five refills allowed in a 6 month period. Some examples include benzo

For drug schedule 5, what is the therapuetic use and some examples?

Have currently accepted medical use; similar controls to schedule 3 and 4 drugs. Some examples include cough medicine with codeine, antidiarrheal medicines with small amounts of opiods

What are some rules with storage and expiration for drugs?

• do not use pills past expiration date

• Store at reg temperatures, low humidity, high cabinets

What does ASAP mean for giving drugs?

Give the drug within 30 minutes of perscriber writing order

What does stat mean for giving drugs?

Give it right away

What does a one-time order mean for giving drugs?

The patient only recieves a drug once

What does a routine order mean for giving drugs?

Interval bases (ex: twice a day, daily)

What does PRN mean for giving drugs?

As needed, if the patient has the symptom then the nurse may give the perscription that provider has order. It is usually placed on an interval time too

What are the rules for documentation?

• Always sign into a computer as yourself and not under anyone else

• Only sign that you have given a med right after it has been taken

• Document reason for refusal

• Educate patient or family before giving a med

• Always check to see if the drug worked so check for patient concerns or complaints after administration (route dependent)

Enteral route

Safest route, make sure that patient can swallow

Why are enteral drugs unique?

they must undergo the “first pass effect”

What do you do if you need medication to be crushed and it’s enteric-coated"?

call the provider and withhold the med

Extended release tablets

Most enteral medication that are extended tabs are absorbed in the small intestine. Initials are XL (extra long), XR (extended release), LA (long acting), SR (suspended release) and DUR (duration)

Why shoudln’t extended release tabs and caps not be crushed or chewed?

Because the stomach acid destroys the medication so it likely won’t be absorbed at all