Significance Of The Concept Of Pharmacology In Nursing

CONCEPT 5: PHARMACOLOGY IN NURSING This concept is taken from module 6 or block 7 entitled “General Nursing”.

5.1. Significance of the Concept Pharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action. It entirely embraces knowledge of the sources, chemical properties, biological effects and therapeutical uses of drugs (Olson, 2003). Nurses are licensed to administer medications to patients. Even though the doctor chose’s what medicines to be given to the patient, the nurse is responsible to know; how the medication works within the body, be able to explain to the patient how it works, side effects, how often to take and why, how much of each medicine is acceptable (if the doctor orders too much or too little,

Before any drug administration, I will first assess that the medication ordered is the correct medication. I will assess the patient’s ability to self-administer medications and determine whether a patient should receive a medication at a given time. I will administer the ordered medications correctly and closely monitor their side effects. I have to educate my patient and family about proper medication administration and monitoring. I will not delegate any part of the medication administration process to nursing assistive personnel. I have also learnt to apply nursing process to medication administration.

Before injecting a medication, I have to know the volume of the medication to administer, the characteristics and viscosity of the medication, and the location of anatomical structures underlying injection sites. Select an injection site in relation to anatomical landmarks and maintain stability of the needle and syringe unit. Aspirate the syringe before injecting an intramuscular medication as the medication may accidentally be injected directly into an artery or vein.

5.4. Usefulness of the Concept to the Current