PN Pharmacology
See correct answers immediately with detailed explanations after each question.
Answer all questions, then review your results with feedback at the end.
Timed simulation that mimics real exam conditions. No feedback until completion.
Below are sample questions from this exam to help you understand the content and format.
Q1: A nurse is preparing to administer aspirin 650 mg PO. Available is aspirin 325 mg tablets. How many tablets should the nurse administer? (Round to the nearest whole number. Use a leading zero if it applies. Do not use a trailing zero.)
Answer Choices:
Calculation Steps:
Answer: 2 tablets
Q2: Which life stage pertains to a 65-year-old patient?
Answer Choices:
✔️ The term "older adult" is the appropriate clinical classification for individuals aged 65 years and older, according to the CDC, WHO, and nursing developmental frameworks.
✔️ In nursing and health care settings, “older adult” is used to guide age-specific assessments, interventions, and safety considerations, including fall risk, polypharmacy, and cognitive changes.
✔️ This classification is relevant for applying geriatric care principles, such as screening for dementia, depression, and promoting age-appropriate health maintenance.
✔️ The term “older adult” promotes respectful, age-affirming language that avoids stereotypes or stigmatizing terms like “elderly.”
Educational Insight:
Developmental theorists like Erik Erikson describe the older adult stage (65+) as the time of integrity vs. despair, focused on life reflection and legacy. The term “older adult” is widely used in gerontological nursing to guide holistic care for this age group.
Incorrect Options:
“A. Aged”
⯈ This is a dated and non-clinical term, rarely used in professional nursing language and may be considered imprecise or stigmatizing.
“B. Elderly”
⯈ Though commonly used in lay language, “elderly” is often considered less respectful in healthcare and is being replaced with “older adult” in clinical practice and literature.
“C. Adult”
⯈ While technically true, "adult" is too broad and does not provide age-specific clinical guidance needed for someone 65 and older.
Q3: Which difference in pharmacokinetics does the nurse expect in the obese patient as compared with the thin patient with administration of a highly lipid-soluble drug?
Answer Choices:
✔️ Highly lipid-soluble drugs are stored in adipose (fat) tissue, and obese patients have increased fat stores, which act as reservoirs that retain drugs longer, delaying elimination.
✔️ The larger volume of distribution in obese individuals prolongs the drug’s half-life, meaning it takes longer to be cleared from the body.
✔️ The accumulation in fat tissue leads to a slower release of the drug into circulation, which in turn slows excretion via renal or hepatic routes.
✔️ Nurses must monitor for delayed therapeutic effects and prolonged toxicity, especially for lipophilic drugs like diazepam or propofol, which linger longer in obese patients.
✔️ Dosage adjustments or extended dosing intervals may be necessary in obese clients to prevent drug accumulation and adverse effects.
Educational Insight:
In pharmacokinetics, the volume of distribution (Vd) for lipid-soluble drugs is significantly higher in obese individuals. This alters elimination kinetics, making drug clearance slower despite normal liver or kidney function. Monitoring drug levels and effects is critical in obese patients to avoid overdose or subtherapeutic outcomes.
Incorrect Options:
“A. Drug distribution will be more rapid”
⯈ Distribution is typically slower, not faster, due to increased adipose tissue sequestering the drug.
“B. Drug metabolism will be incomplete”
⯈ Metabolism, especially hepatic, is not necessarily incomplete in obesity; it may even be increased in some cases due to liver enzyme induction.
“C. Drug absorption will be impaired”
⯈ Absorption is generally unchanged in obesity unless gastrointestinal disease is present; lipid-soluble drugs are typically well-absorbed.
Q4: Which terminology correctly identifies the NMDS classification system?
Answer Choices:
✔️ The Nursing Minimum Data Set (NMDS) is a standardized classification system used to collect essential nursing data for clinical, administrative, and research purposes.
✔️ It defines the minimum core data elements needed to describe nursing care across all healthcare settings, promoting consistency in documentation and comparison of outcomes.
✔️ NMDS supports nursing informatics by integrating nursing data into broader health information systems, aiding policy development and evidence-based practice.
✔️ This system helps to quantify the impact of nursing interventions, improve resource utilization, and enhance quality assurance in patient care.
✔️ NMDS also plays a key role in healthcare reimbursement systems by ensuring that nursing services are captured and valued in billing and reporting processes.
Educational Insight:
The NMDS was developed by Werley and Lang in the 1980s to ensure nursing contributions were documented in a structured way within electronic health records. It serves as the foundation for other systems like the International Nursing Minimum Data Set (i-NMDS) and supports the evolution of nursing informatics globally.
Incorrect Options:
“B. New Medicine Detail Service”
⯈ This is not a recognized term in nursing or pharmacology; unrelated to clinical documentation systems.
“C. National Medicine Details Set”
⯈ Incorrect terminology; no such national database exists under this title in relation to nursing data.
“D. Nursing & Medicine Data Service”
⯈ This misrepresents the nursing-specific focus of the NMDS, which is not a combined nursing-medicine system.
Q5: Which assessment finding is considered primary objective information?
Answer Choices:
✔️ This is considered primary objective data because it involves a specific, measurable physiological value — the temperature — even though it is self-reported.
✔️ While typically, objective data are collected directly by the nurse (e.g., via thermometer), if a client provides a quantitative and verifiable value, it can be categorized as objective, especially if it's documented or measured by a reliable device.
✔️ The exact numeric nature (e.g., “88.8°F”) makes it more verifiable and useful for comparison with standard clinical ranges.
✔️ This data can directly inform clinical decisions, such as assessing for hypothermia, and guides nursing interventions and monitoring.
✔️ Nurses can follow up by confirming the value and identifying potential factors affecting thermoregulation, especially in older adults or medication interactions.
Educational Insight:
In nursing, objective data are observable and measurable findings — vital signs, lab results, or physical assessments. While subjective data reflect a client’s feelings or experiences (e.g., pain, nausea), objective data like “88.8°F” can be independently verified, making them key to nursing diagnoses and outcomes evaluation.
Incorrect Options:
“A. The patient reports a sore throat after taking his regular medications”
⯈ This is subjective data because it reflects the patient’s personal sensation or complaint, which cannot be directly observed or measured by the nurse.
“B. The patient's daughter states her father often forgets to take his medication”
⯈ This is secondary subjective data — it’s reported by someone other than the patient and reflects a perception or interpretation, not an observable fact confirmed by the nurse.
“C. The patient states he feels dizzy whenever he takes his medication”
⯈ “Feeling dizzy” is a subjective experience — although it may prompt further objective assessment, the report itself is not measurable or observable by the nurse.
