Pharmacology
Pharmacology Introduction
Renee Biedlingmaier, DNP, MNE, RN, FNP-BC
Pharmacotherapeutics is the study of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics. Pharmacodynamics is the effect medication has on the body; pharmacokinetics is the effect of the body on medication. Pharmacokinetics includes the concepts of absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. Application of these concepts allows nurse practitioners to safely consider the impact of management, including therapy goals, expected effects, monitoring adverse effects, drug-food interactions, and drug-drug interactions.
Pharmacotherapeutics is an essential skill for advanced practice registered nurses. The privilege of writing prescriptions to help manage chronic and acute health conditions also comes with great responsibility. Having a firm foundation of frequently used medications and staying abreast of new medications and new classes of medications is paramount.
You begin by developing a compilation of first-line medications for common chronic and acute medical conditions. You should be thinking about what to do when an allergy or other contraindication is present to first-line therapy. As a registered nurse, many of you have had the opportunity to educate patients about the medications ordered or even question an order from a medical provider when you did not feel it was safe for the patient. That base knowledge from your undergraduate studies is very helpful. However, everyone has different experiences as a registered nurse, so you may feel like pharmacotherapeutics is an area in which you feel like a beginner once again.
As you progress along the continuum of novice prescribers to expert prescribers, you will gain confidence. Ultimately, safety comes first. It is important to exercise metacognition and know when you need additional knowledge to manage a situation. Use reputable, evidence-based resources and maintain a robust continuing education practice. This is how we all progressed to being providers, and you will too.
Student Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you should be able to:
- Understand and apply the principles of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics to patient management scenarios.
- Appropriately select first-line medication treatments for common conditions.
- Identify serious and common adverse effects of medication therapy and appropriately educate patients about those effects.
Cases Included in This Section
Except where otherwise noted, all case studies in this section were authored by Renee Biedlingmaier.
Integrating principles of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics into your clinical practice supports evidence-based, safe patient management, and improves patient outcomes. We hope these cases help solidify your pharmacotherapy foundation.
References
Benner P., Hughes R. G., & Sutphen, M. (2008). Clinical reasoning, decisionmaking, and action: Thinking critically and clinically. In Hughes R. G., (Ed.). Patient safety and quality: An evidence-based handbook for nurses (Chapter 6). Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US). Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2643/
National Task Force. (2022). Standards for quality nurse practitioner education: A report of the national task force on quality nurse practitioner education, 6th edition. Retrieved from https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/0/PDFs/CCNE/NTFS-NP-Final.pdf
