LPN Pharmacology Exam

ATI LPN Pharmacology Exam

Total Questions : 76

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Question 1: View

After administering a medication to a client, the nurse realizes that the client was given another client's drug. What must the nurse do next?

Explanation

Choice A reason: While documentation and supervisor notification are crucial, immediate action involving the health care provider ensures timely response to potential adverse effects from the medication error.

Choice B reason: Relying solely on the absence of drug allergies is insufficient and may jeopardize patient safety. Errors require immediate communication and reporting for appropriate interventions.

Choice C reason: Timely provider notification prioritizes patient safety and enables corrective measures. Completing an incident report supports institutional transparency and learning to prevent future errors.

Choice D reason: Administering additional drugs risks compounding harm. The priority is addressing the initial error and ensuring patient safety without introducing further interventions.


Question 2: View

When preparing medications for delivery to an assigned patient, the nurse should check each medication for accuracy of drug and dose:

Explanation

Choice A reason: Checking medications only once increases the likelihood of errors. Safe practice requires multiple verification steps.

Choice B reason: While better than a single check, verifying only twice may still miss potential discrepancies in drug or dosage accuracy.

Choice C reason: The three-check system (when retrieving, preparing, and administering medication) minimizes errors, ensuring patient safety through consistent validation at each step.

Choice D reason: Excessive verification may delay administration, reducing practicality without significantly improving safety beyond three checks.


Question 3: View

The nurse is reviewing medication errors. Which situation is an example of a medication error?

Explanation

Choice A reason: Allergic reactions are adverse drug effects, not necessarily medication errors. Documentation of allergies before administration prevents such events.

Choice B reason: Administering a double dose results directly from improper preparation, constituting a clear medication error requiring immediate reporting and corrective action.

Choice C reason: Patient refusal is not a medication error but a decision. Nurses must document refusals and provide education on medication importance.

Choice D reason: Persistent pain indicates ineffective medication, which is an issue of treatment efficacy, not an error in administration.


Question 4: View

The nurse notes that the patient is scratching and has hives 2 hours after receiving a dose of antibiotic medication. The patient soon starts having difficulty breathing and his blood pressure drops. What is the correct analysis of the patient's condition?

Explanation

Choice A reason: Moderate reactions don't cause breathing difficulty or hypotension. Severe symptoms indicate anaphylaxis, requiring emergency intervention.

Choice B reason: Symptoms align with anaphylaxis, not food poisoning. Assuming an unrelated cause delays life-saving treatment.

Choice C reason: Mild reactions lack systemic effects like hypotension and breathing difficulties. Antihistamines alone are insufficient for anaphylaxis.

Choice D reason: Anaphylaxis involves systemic reactions such as hypotension, airway constriction, and skin symptoms. Immediate interventions prevent progression and save lives.


Question 5: View

A nurse is administering a dose of insulin to a patient. To practice nursing safely and effectively, the nurse should:

Explanation

Choice A reason: Administering insulin at proper timing correlates with mealtimes. However, this alone doesn't ensure safe practice.

Choice B reason: Confirming the injection site prevents lipodystrophy but does not address dose accuracy, which is vital for safety.

Choice C reason: Insulin is injected subcutaneously, not in the deltoid muscle. Using incorrect sites disrupts absorption.

Choice D reason: Double-checking insulin dose prevents administration errors, ensuring compliance with medication safety protocols.


Question 6: View

How will the nurse administer a nitroglycerin sublingual tablet to the patient?

Explanation

Choice A reason: Positioning the tablet next to the cheek alters absorption and delays onset. Sublingual placement ensures rapid effect.

Choice B reason: Swallowing bypasses sublingual absorption, reducing efficacy. The route is critical for desired therapeutic outcomes.

Choice C reason: Crushing and dissolving disrupts integrity, compromising rapid sublingual absorption. Proper administration maintains efficacy.

Choice D reason: Sublingual placement allows rapid dissolution and absorption via mucous membranes, ensuring swift therapeutic action.


Question 7: View

The nurse administering medications to a client is aware that the primary reason that most drugs are administered orally is because the oral route:

Explanation

Choice A reason: While reliability exists, the oral route is less predictable than IV administration due to variability in absorption caused by digestive factors, making it less reliable for rapid or consistent onset.

Choice B reason: Convenience is the primary advantage of oral administration. It allows ease of self-administration, enabling clients to manage their medications without healthcare provider intervention, making it the most frequently used route.

Choice C reason: While many clients tolerate oral medications well, others may face challenges, such as difficulty swallowing or gastric irritation, meaning tolerability varies and is not a universal advantage of this route.

Choice D reason: The oral route does not ensure fast action due to time required for digestion, absorption, and metabolism, making it slower compared to routes like IV or sublingual administration.


Question 8: View

When the nurse brings pills to the patient, the patient is unable to hold the paper cup with the medications. What should the nurse do?

Explanation

Choice A reason: Crushing pills can alter drug efficacy and safety, especially for medications with controlled-release properties, making this inappropriate without specific provider instructions.

Choice B reason: Requesting a liquid form accommodates the patient’s physical limitations, maintaining therapeutic integrity and ensuring safe and effective medication administration.

Choice C reason: Introducing pills directly into the patient’s mouth risks aspiration and violates safe administration practices, emphasizing the need for alternative methods.

Choice D reason: If the patient struggles to hold the cup, self-administration becomes impractical. Assistance through appropriate alternative forms ensures compliance and safety.


Question 9: View

A nurse has prepared the 9:00 AM client medications for administration but is called off the unit briefly. Who can distribute these medications to clients?

Explanation

Choice A reason: Pharmacy technicians are not authorized to administer medications. Their scope involves preparation and dispensing under supervision, ensuring safety and compliance.

Choice B reason: Safe practice standards dictate that the preparing nurse administers the medications to ensure accuracy and accountability, minimizing potential errors.

Choice C reason: Delegating to the head nurse violates medication administration protocols, as accountability rests with the nurse who prepared the medications.

Choice D reason: Allowing other licensed nurses to distribute medications increases the risk of errors due to lack of firsthand knowledge of preparation specifics.


Question 10: View

Why does the nurse administer lorazepam intramuscularly (IM) to the patient rather than into the subcutaneous tissue?

Explanation

Choice A reason: Body fat levels influence subcutaneous absorption but are not the primary reason for choosing IM over SC injection in this scenario.

Choice B reason: Needle size varies by medication and patient factors, but this is not the defining reason for selecting IM over SC injection.

Choice C reason: IM injections deliver medication directly to muscle tissue with a rich vascular supply, ensuring faster absorption and onset compared to subcutaneous administration.

Choice D reason: IM injections are not inherently safer for patients at risk of bleeding; they carry similar risks and require proper assessment before administration.


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