Drug Basics
This term refers to any unwanted or negative effect of a drug.
Answer: What are adverse effects?
This agency approves drugs for safety and effectiveness before they can be sold.
Answer: What is the FDA?
The “A” in ADME stands for this first step in drug movement.
Answer: What is absorption?
Drugs that mimic or stimulate natural chemicals in the body are called this.
Answer: What are agonists?
This Right ensures the patient is receiving the medication that was intended for them.
Answer: What is the Right patient?
These medications can be purchased without a prescription.
Answer: What are over-the-counter drugs?
This agency enforces laws related to controlled substances.
Answer: What is the DEA?
This organ is the primary site of drug metabolism.
Answer: What is the liver?
These drugs block receptor sites so other chemicals can’t bind.
Answer: What are antagonists?
This term refers to discrepancies that can cause errors during transitions of care.
Answer: What is medication reconciliation?
This name of a drug is NOT the brand name, but the official medical name.
Answer: What is the generic name?
This drug schedule has no accepted medical use and a high abuse potential (e.g., heroin).
Answer: What is Schedule I?
This is the term for the time it takes for half of a drug to be removed from the body.
Answer: What is half-life?
This term describes the minimum amount of drug needed to cause a therapeutic effect.
Answer: What is critical concentration?
This error-prevention rule states you should never write a dose like 1.0.
Answer: What is "no trailing zero"?
True or False: OTC drugs are always safe and require no nursing consideration.
Answer: What is false?
This drug schedule contains medications with the lowest abuse potential, often including small amounts of narcotics used in cough suppressants or antidiarrheals, and some can be purchased without a prescription.
Answer: What is Schedule V?
This value is measured just before giving the next dose of a medication.
Answer: What is the trough level?
This type of toxicity refers to drugs that specifically target foreign cells, like bacteria.
Answer: What is selective toxicity?
These drugs require special supervision because they carry a higher risk of major harm if misused.
Answer: What are high-risk medications?
This term refers to the study of drugs and their effects on the body.
Answer: What is pharmacology?
Prescription providers must be registered with this federal agency to prescribe controlled substances.
Answer: What is the DEA?
This protective system prevents many drugs from entering the central nervous system.
Answer: What is the blood–brain barrier?
These agents interfere with the functioning of foreign cells and are used to kill microorganisms or cancer cells.
Answer: What are chemotherapeutic agents?
This term refers to the use of many medications at the same time, increasing the risk for adverse effects.
Answer: What is polypharmacy?