Pharmacology Fundamentals NURS 1060

Course Overview

• Focus on patient-centered, evidence-based nursing care for adults, guided by the Caritas philosophy.
• Emphasis on understanding professional, ethical, and legal guidelines in nursing practice.

Competencies

• Factors that create a culture of safety in medication administration are crucial.
• Understanding legal guidelines of nursing practice concerning medication is essential.

Conceptual Framework

• Safety: Aims to minimize risk of human harm through system effectiveness and individual performance.
• Legal Issues: Define nursing practice rights, responsibilities, scope according to state nurse practice acts, including criminal and civil laws.
• Clients have a right to expect competent nursing services.

Unit Outcomes

• Overview of pharmacology essentials including terminology: drug, pharmacology, clinical pharmacology, and therapeutics.
• Identification of three critical properties of drugs: effectiveness, safety, selectivity.
• Major objective of drug therapy is to maximize benefits while minimizing harms.
• Understanding the Controlled Substances Act and FDA Amendments Act is vital.
• Stages of new drug development and differentiation between generic and trade name products are also covered.
• Definition and implications of over-the-counter drugs emphasized.
• Continuous learning regarding medications is encouraged.

Pharmacology Basics

• Drug: Any chemical affecting living processes.
• Pharmacology: Study of drugs and their interactions with living organisms.
• Clinical Pharmacology: Study of drugs' effects in humans.
• Therapeutics: Use of drugs to diagnose, prevent, treat diseases, or prevent pregnancy.

Therapeutic Objective of Drug Therapy

• Aim to provide maximum benefit with minimal harm, ensuring drugs aid rather than exacerbate patient issues.

Characteristics of Ideal Drugs

• Effectiveness: Must elicit the desired therapeutic response.
• Safety: No drug is entirely safe; all have potential to cause harm.
• Selectivity: Ideally, drugs should target only intended effects without causing side effects; however, all medications have potential adverse effects.

Drug Response Factors

• Administration: Factors impacting drug response include dosage, route, timing, and patient adherence.
• Pharmacokinetics: Involves four processes: absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. Determines how drugs move through the body.
• Pharmacodynamics: Examines how drugs affect the body.

Sources of Individual Variation

• Physiological (age, gender, weight) and pathological (organ function) variables can influence drug response.
• Genetic factors may alter drug metabolism and interactions, leading to unique patient profiles.

Controlled Substances Act

• Established in 1970, created the DEA for drug abuse prevention and control.
• Regulates handling of controlled substances across healthcare providers.
• Drugs are categorized into five schedules (I-V) based on abuse risk, with Schedule I indicating highest risk (e.g., heroin) and Schedule V indicating lower risk (e.g., cough syrup with codeine).

Course Overview

• Focus on patient-centered, evidence-based nursing care for adults, guided by the Caritas philosophy.
• Emphasis on understanding professional, ethical, and legal guidelines in nursing practice.

Competencies

• Factors that create a culture of safety in medication administration are crucial.
• Understanding legal guidelines of nursing practice concerning medication is essential.

Conceptual Framework

• Safety: Aims to minimize risk of human harm through system effectiveness and individual performance.
• Legal Issues: Define nursing practice rights, responsibilities, scope according to state nurse practice acts, including criminal and civil laws.
• Clients have a right to expect competent nursing services.

Unit Outcomes

• Overview of pharmacology essentials including terminology: drug, pharmacology, clinical pharmacology, and therapeutics.
• Identification of three critical properties of drugs: effectiveness, safety, selectivity.
• Major objective of drug therapy is to maximize benefits while minimizing harms.
• Understanding the Controlled Substances Act and FDA Amendments Act is vital.
• Stages of new drug development and differentiation between generic and trade name products are also covered.
• Definition and implications of over-the-counter drugs emphasized.
• Continuous learning regarding medications is encouraged.

Pharmacology Basics

• Drug: Any chemical affecting living processes.
• Pharmacology: Study of drugs and their interactions with living organisms.
• Clinical Pharmacology: Study of drugs' effects in humans.
• Therapeutics: Use of drugs to diagnose, prevent, treat diseases, or prevent pregnancy.

Therapeutic Objective of Drug Therapy

• Aim to provide maximum benefit with minimal harm, ensuring drugs aid rather than exacerbate patient issues.

Characteristics of Ideal Drugs

• Effectiveness: Must elicit the desired therapeutic response.
• Safety: No drug is entirely safe; all have potential to cause harm.
• Selectivity: Ideally, drugs should target only intended effects without causing side effects; however, all medications have potential adverse effects.

Drug Response Factors

• Administration: Factors impacting drug response include dosage, route, timing, and patient adherence.
• Pharmacokinetics: Involves four processes: absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. Determines how drugs move through the body.
• Pharmacodynamics: Examines how drugs affect the body.

Sources of Individual Variation

• Physiological (age, gender, weight) and pathological (organ function) variables can influence drug response.
• Genetic factors may alter drug metabolism and interactions, leading to unique patient profiles.

Controlled Substances Act

• Established in 1970, created the DEA for drug abuse prevention and control.
• Regulates handling of controlled substances across healthcare providers.
• Drugs are categorized into five schedules (I-V) based on abuse risk, with Schedule I indicating highest risk (e.g., heroin) and Schedule V indicating lower risk (e.g., cough syrup with codeine).

This quiz covers the principles of safe and patient-centered nursing care in pharmacology at the basic level. It emphasizes the importance of ethical and legal guidelines in nursing practice, with a focus on creating a culture of safety in medication administration.