NMC-CBT Medicines Management and Pharmacology Flashcards
7 cards from real NMC CBT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 NMC-CBT Medicines Management and Pharmacology flashcards as text
A patient is to receive 500 mL of 0.9% sodium chloride over 4 hours via a drip set that delivers 20 drops/mL. What is the correct drip rate in drops per minute?
Answer: 42 drops/min
(500 mL × 20 drops/mL) ÷ (4 hours × 60 minutes) = 10000 ÷ 240 = approximately 42 drops per minute.
A patient on long-term prednisolone therapy is to have it discontinued. Why must the dose be tapered rather than stopped abruptly?
Answer: To avoid adrenal insufficiency due to HPA axis suppression
Long-term corticosteroid use suppresses the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; abrupt withdrawal can cause life-threatening adrenal insufficiency.
Which of the following is the correct technique for administering a subcutaneous injection?
Answer: Insert the needle at 90° into a bunched skin fold without aspiration
Current evidence-based practice recommends subcutaneous injection at 90° into a lifted skin fold without aspiration, as aspiration is no longer recommended for SC injections.
A patient taking statins for high cholesterol reports muscle pain and weakness. Which complication should the nurse suspect and what test should be requested?
Answer: Rhabdomyolysis; serum creatine kinase (CK) level
Statins can cause myopathy and rhabdomyolysis; serum CK levels are checked to assess the degree of muscle damage.
What is the term for a medication that blocks a receptor without activating it, thereby preventing the natural ligand from binding?
Answer: Antagonist
An antagonist binds to a receptor and blocks it without producing a biological response, preventing the endogenous ligand or agonist from binding.
A nurse notices a patient's morphine prescription is handwritten and lacks the prescriber's signature. Under NMC standards, what is the correct action?
Answer: Contact the prescriber to obtain a valid, signed prescription before administering
An unsigned prescription is legally invalid; the nurse must not administer the medicine and must contact the prescriber to complete the prescription correctly.
Which of the following best describes the pharmacokinetic process of 'first-pass metabolism'?
Answer: Extensive drug metabolism by the liver before reaching systemic circulation after oral administration
First-pass metabolism occurs when orally administered drugs pass through the portal circulation and are significantly metabolized by the liver before entering systemic circulation, reducing bioavailability.