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Chapter 01: Drug Regulation, Actions, and Responses

Workman & LaCharity: Understanding Pharmacology: Essentials for Medication Safety, 2nd

Edition

MULTIPLE CHOICE

BASIC CONCEPTS

1. Which health care professional has the major responsibility for dispensing prescribed

drugs under the direction of a pharmacist?

a. Physician

b

.

Nurse practitioner

c. Licensed nurse

d

.

Pharmacy technician

ANS: D

The physician and nurse practitioner have the major responsibility for prescribing drugs, not

dispensing them. The licensed nurse has the primary responsibility for administering drugs,

although under some circumstances a licensed nurse may dispense prescribed drugs but this is

not his or her major responsibility in drug therapy. The pharmacy technician has the major

responsibility of dispensing prescribed drugs under the direction of a licensed pharmacist.

DIF: Cognitive Level: Remembering REF: p. 3

2. Which term describes the effect of a drug that improves body function?

a. Side effect

b

.

Intended action

c. Adverse reaction

d

.

Idiosyncratic response

ANS: B

The purpose of drug therapy is to take a drug to prevent, reduce, or correct a health problem.

This response is any drug’s intended action also known as a therapeutic response.

DIF: Cognitive Level: Remembering REF: p. 3

3. Which type of drug name is “owned” by the company that manufactures it?

a. Generic name

b Chemical name

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.

c. Category name

d

.

Trade name

ANS: D

The chemical name is a drug’s exact chemical composition. The generic name is the name

assigned to the drug by the U.S. Adopted Names Council and is not owned by anyone. The

category name refers to the type of drug (what it does or what it is used for) and is not an actual

drug name. The trade name (brand name) is the name provided and owned by a specific drug’s

manufacturer.

DIF: Cognitive Level: Remembering REF: p. 4

4. Which drug or drug class is a “high alert” drug?

a. Penicillin

b

.

Insulin

c. NSAIDs

d

.

Calcium

ANS: B

A high alert drug is one in which harm is likely to result if given at the wrong dose, to the wrong

patient, or not given to the correct patient. Drugs classified as high alert drugs include potassium,

narcotics (opioids), insulin, cancer chemotherapy drugs, and heparin (or any drug that strongly

affects blood clotting). Penicillin, NSAIDs, and calcium are not considered high alert drugs.

DIF: Cognitive Level: Remembering REF: p. 4

5. What is the term for a drug that has the same action as a naturally occurring body

hormone or enzyme?

a. Agonist

b

.

Blocking agent

c. Chemical

d

.

Duplicator

ANS: A

A drug agonist is an extrinsic drug that activates the receptor sites of a cell and mimics the

actions of naturally occurring body substances (intrinsic drugs). A blocking agent is a drug

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antagonist. A chemical would not necessarily be a drug at all. A duplicator is not a pharmacologic

term.

DIF: Cognitive Level: Remembering REF: pp. 6-7

6. Which term describes how the body affects drug activity?

a. Drug potency

b

.

Pharmacodynamics

c. Therapeutic effect

d

.

Pharmacokinetics

ANS: D

The term pharmacokinetics refers to drug metabolism and how the body changes a drug.

Pharmacodynamics refers to how a drug works to change body function. Drug potency refers to

how strongly or to what degree a drug exerts its effects. The therapeutic effect is closer to

pharmacodynamics, meaning how a drug works to change body function.

DIF: Cognitive Level: Remembering REF: p. 10

7. In the United States, which group is responsible for enforcing established standards for

drug manufacturing?

a. U.S. Pharmacopeia

b

.

National Institutes of Health

c. Food and Drug Administration

d

.

Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers

ANS: C

The standards for drug manufacture are established by the U.S. Pharmacopeia. These standards

are enforced by the Food and Drug Administration. Neither the National Institutes of Health nor

the Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers has any authority to enforce drug standards.

DIF: Cognitive Level: Remembering REF: p. 5

8. Which factor is a major disadvantage of the transdermal drug delivery route?

a. Only a prescriber can administer drugs by the transdermal route.

b

.

Transdermal drugs must be sterile rather than clean.

c. First pass drug loss by this route is the most extensive.

d Drug absorption is dependent on adequate circulation.

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