PHARMACOLOGY in

NURSING
 INTRODUCTION
TO NURSING
PHARMACOLOGY
PHARMACOLOG
Y • study of the biological effects of chemicals.

DRUGS
• chemicals that are introduced into the body to cause
some sort of change.
PHARMACOTHERAPEUTIC
S
• Also known as CLINICAL
PHARMACOLOGY
• The branch of pharmacology that uses
drugs to treat, prevent, and diagnose
disease.
• Addresses two key concerns: the drug’s
effects on the body and the body’s response
to the drug.
NURSING
RESPONSIBILITIES
• Administering drugs
• Assessing drug effects
• Intervening to make the drug regimen more tolerable
• Providing patient teaching about drugs and the
drug regimen
• Monitoring the overall patient care plan to
prevent medication errors
SOURCES OF
DRUGS
Natural Synthetic
DRUG EVALUATION
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
• Drugs must pass through several
stages of development
DRUG
NAMES
• 4 names
1.GENERIC NAME
- name given before a drug becomes official
2. OFFICIAL NAME
- name under which it is listed in one of the official publications (US
Pharmocopeia)
3. CHEMICAL NAME
- name by which a chemist knows it
4. TRADEMARK, BRAND NAME
- name given by a drug manufacturer
REMEMBE
R
• Generic drugs are drugs no longer protected by
patent and can be produced by companies other than
the one that developed it.
• OTC drugs are available without a prescription and
are deemed safe when used as directed.
• Orphan drugs are drugs that have been discovered but
that are not financially viable because they have a
limited market or a narrow margin of safety. These
drugs may have then been adopted for development by
a drug company in exchange for tax incentives.
The Nursing Process in
Drug
Therapy and
Patient Safety
Safe Medication
Administration
REPORTING MEDICATION
ERROR
TOXIC EFFECT
OF DRUGS
 DRUG
•S
These are chemicals, and the human body operates by
a vast series of chemical reactions.
THERAPEUTIC
-EFFECT
Desired effect
- Primary effect intended
- The reason the drug is prescribed

SIDE EFFECT
- Secondary effect
- Usually predictable and may either be harmless or
potentially harmful
ADVERSE
- More severe side effects
EFFECT
-May justify the discontinuation of a drug

DRUG TOXICITY
- Deleterious effect of a drug on an organism or tissue
- Results from over dosage, ingestion of a drug intended for
external use, and build up of the drug in the blood because of
impaired metabolism or excretion
DRUG
-ALLERGY
An immunologic reaction to a drug
- When the client is first exposed to a foreign substance
(antigen) the body may react by producing antibodies
– allergic reaction may develop-
- May either be mild or severe
- Mild – skin rashes to diarrhea
ANAPHYLACTIC
-REACTION
Severe allergic reaction that occurs immediately
after the administration of the drug
- Response can be fatal if symptoms are not noticed
immediately and treatment is not obtained
promptly
- S/Sx: SOB, acute hypotension, tachycardia
DRUG
TOLERANCE
- Exist in a person who has unusually low physiologic
response to a drug and who requires increases in the
dosage to maintain a given therapeutic effect
- examples: opiates, barbiturates

CUMULATIVE EFFECT
- Increasing response to a repeated doses of a drug that
occurs when the rate of administration exceeds the rate of
metabolism or excretion
IDIOSYNCRATIC
- Is unexpected and individual
EFFECT
-Different effect from the individual to another

DRUG INTERACTION
- Occurs when the administration of one drug before, at the same
time as, or after another drug alters the effect of one or both
drugs
- The effect of one or both drugs may either be INCREASED
(potentiating or synergistic effect) or DECREASED
(inhibiting effect)
IATROGENIC
DISEASE
- Disease caused unintentionally by medical therapy
- Hepatic toxicity resulting in biliary obstruction, renal
damage and malformations of fetus during
pregnancy
PHARMACOLOG
Y