CMT - Certified Medication Technician Pharmacology Basics Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following is one of the 'Five Rights' of medication administration that a Certified Medication Technician must always verify?
- Right Documentation
- Right Reason
- Right Time (Correct answer)
- Right to Refuse
Correct answer: Right Time
The 'Five Rights' of medication administration are a fundamental safety checklist for healthcare professionals. They consist of: Right Patient, Right Drug, Right Dose, Right Route, and Right Time. While other 'rights' like Right Documentation are also crucial, they are considered additions to the core five.
Question 2: A resident is prescribed an oral tablet to be taken once daily. The process by which the tablet is broken down in the liver into a form that can be eliminated from the body is known as:
- Absorption
- Distribution
- Excretion
- Metabolism (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Metabolism
Metabolism, also called biotransformation, is the process where the body, primarily the liver, chemically alters a drug to make it easier to excrete. Absorption is the drug entering the bloodstream, distribution is its movement throughout the body, and excretion is its removal.
Question 3: A CMT is administering a new medication to a resident. The resident suddenly develops hives and difficulty breathing. This type of reaction is best described as:
- A side effect
- An allergic reaction (Correct answer)
- An adverse event
- A toxic effect
Correct answer: An allergic reaction
An allergic reaction involves an immune system response to a medication and can range from mild (like hives) to severe and life-threatening (like difficulty breathing). Side effects are known, predictable reactions that do not involve the immune system.
Question 4: When administering a sublingual medication, the Certified Medication Technician should place the tablet:
- Between the cheek and gum
- Under the tongue (Correct answer)
- On top of the tongue to be swallowed with water
- In a nasogastric tube
Correct answer: Under the tongue
The sublingual (SL) route involves placing medication under the tongue where it dissolves and is absorbed rapidly into the bloodstream through the mucous membranes.
Question 5: Pharmacokinetics is the study of how the body affects a drug. Which of the following correctly lists the four main processes of pharmacokinetics in the correct order?
- Distribution, Metabolism, Absorption, Excretion
- Metabolism, Distribution, Excretion, Absorption
- Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion (Correct answer)
- Excretion, Absorption, Metabolism, Distribution
Correct answer: Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion
Pharmacokinetics describes the journey of a drug through the body, commonly remembered by the acronym ADME: Absorption (into the blood), Distribution (throughout the body), Metabolism (breakdown), and Excretion (removal).
Question 6: A resident is ordered a medication 'PRN for pain'. What does the abbreviation 'PRN' mean?
- Give immediately
- Give with meals
- As needed (Correct answer)
- At bedtime
Correct answer: As needed
PRN is a medical abbreviation from the Latin phrase 'pro re nata,' which means 'as needed.' This indicates the medication should be administered only when the resident requires it for the specified condition, within the parameters of the order.
CMT - Certified Medication Technician Pharmacology Basics Questions and Answers
Which of the following is one of the 'Five Rights' of medication administration that a Certified Medication Technician must always verify?