Principles of Pharmacology
1.1 Pharmacology Introduction
Learning Objectives
- Identify and describe the processes of pharmacokinetics
- Apply principles of evidence-based practice to identify pertinent information related to drugs
- Consider pharmacodynamic differences across the lifespan
- Differentiate among prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, herbals, and dietary supplements
Key Terms
- absorption
- adverse effects
- affinity
- agonist
- antagonist
- bioavailability
- blood-brain barrier
- clients
- distribution
- dose-response
- drugs
- duration
- efficacy
- excretion
- first-pass effect
- half-life
- mechanism of action
- metabolism
- onset
- peak
- pharmacodynamics
- pharmacogenetics
- pharmacokinetics
- pharmacology
- pharmacotherapeutics
- potency
- selectivity
- side effect
- therapeutic index
- therapeutic window
- trough
Safe medication administration is a vital component of the nursing role. Each day it is common for nurses to make clinical judgments regarding the safety, appropriateness, and effectiveness of the medications administered to their clients.
Key Term: Clients
Examples of decisions that a nurse might make during client care include:
- Is my client’s heart rate within the correct range to receive this beta-blocker medication?
- Does my client have adequate renal function prior to administering this dose of antibiotic?
- Is this pain medication effective in controlling my client’s discomfort?
In order to make safe medication administration decisions, the nurse must have a strong understanding of pharmacology. Symptom management, physical recovery, and individual well-being can be strongly connected to the use of medications in a client’s treatment plan. Before a nurse reviews a medication order, checks a medication administration record, or administers a medication, it is important to have a foundational understanding of how medications work within the human body.
Nurses should understand the key components of pharmacology
- Pharmacotherapeutics: The clinical purpose or reason for the medication
- Pharmacokinetics: The movement of the drug through the body
- Pharmacodynamics: The physiological response of the body to the drug.
These next sections will introduce pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Future chapters of this textbook will focus on the pharmacotherapeutics of specific drug classifications.
- Health Information Management. (2021). Glossary of Terms - Client. http://www.himconnect.ca/meet-him/faqs/glossary-of-terms ↵
The first stage of pharmacokinetics: medications enter the body and travel from the site of administration into the body's circulation.
An unintended pharmacological effect that occurs when a medication is administered correctly.
The strength of binding between drug and receptor.
A drug which binds to its "receptor" and produces its characteristic effect.
A molecule that prevents the action of other molecules, often by competing for a cellular receptor; opposite of agonist.
The ability of a