Pharmacology: A Patient-Centered Nursing Process Approach 9th Edition

Book Preface

The ninth edition of Pharmacology: A Patient-Centered Nursing Process Approach is written for nursing students who can benefit from presentation of the principles of pharmacology in a straightforward, student-friendly manner. It focuses on need-to-know content and helps students learn to administer drugs safely and eliminate medication errors through extensive practice of dosage calculations and evidence-based application of the nursing process.

Organization

Pharmacology: A Patient-Centered Nursing Process Approach is organized into 18 units and 55 chapters. Unit I is an introduction to pharmacology and includes thoroughly updated chapters on drug action, the drug approval process, cultural and pharmacogenetic considerations, drug interactions, over-the-counter drugs, drugs for substance use disorder, complementary and alternative therapies, lifespan issues, patient collaboration in community settings, and the role of the nurse in drug research.

Unit II focuses on patient care and safety, with completely revised and updated chapters on the nursing process in patient-centered pharmacotherapy, safety and quality in pharmacotherapy, and medication administration. Unit II features an introduction to the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) initiative, with special emphasis on patient-centered care and on the QSEN competencies of safety and quality. Unit II also features a comprehensive review of drug dosage calculations for adults and children and is a unique strength of this book. This unit, tabbed for quick reference, consists of five sections: Systems of Measurement with Conversion Factors, Calculation Methods: Enteral and Parenteral Drug Dosages, Calculation Methods: Drugs That Require Reconstitution, Calculation Methods: Insulin Dosages, and Calculation Methods: Intravenous Flow Rates. Five methods of dosage calculation are presented, with color coding for easy identification: basic formula, ratio and proportion/fractional equation, dimensional analysis, body weight, and body surface area. Integral to the sections on dosage calculations are clinical practice problems that feature actual drug labels in full color, which provides extensive practice in real-world dosage calculations. With this wide array of practice problems in a variety of health care settings, this unit eliminates the need to purchase a separate dosage calculations book.

Unit III addresses nutrition, fluids, and electrolytes with separate chapters that cover vitamin and mineral replacement, fluid and electrolyte replacement, and nutritional support.
Units IV through XVIII make up the core of Pharmacology: A Patient-Centered Nursing Process Approach and covers the drug classifications that students must understand to practice effectively.
Each drug family chapter includes a chapter outline, learning objectives, key terms, at least one prototype drug chart, a drug table, and an extensive nursing process section.

• The prototype drug charts are a unique tool that students can use to view the many facets of a prototype drug through the lens of the nursing process. Each prototype drug is one of the common drugs in its drug class. The charts include drug class, contraindications, dosage, druglab-food interactions, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic effects/uses, side effects, and adverse reactions. With these charts, students can see how the steps of the nursing process correlate with these key aspects of drug information and therapy.
• The drug tables provide a quick reference to routes, dosages, uses, and key considerations for the most commonly prescribed medications for a given class. They list the drug’s generic names, dosages, uses and considerations, pregnancy categories, and specific information on half-life and protein binding.
• The nursing process sections provide a convenient summary of patient assessments, potential nursing diagnoses, plan of care, and outcomes. These sections also include cultural content, nursing interventions, suggestions for patient teaching, and relevant herbal information.

Additional Features

Throughout this edition, we have retained, enhanced, and added a variety of features that teach students the fundamental principles of pharmacology and the role of the nurse in drug therapy:
• NCLEX study questions at the end of each chapter help prepare students for the NCLEX examination with its increasing emphasis on pharmacology; answers are listed upside down below the questions for quick feedback.
• Patient safety boxes include information on medication safety, complementary and alternative therapies, and more.
• Key terms include page numbers and are defined in the text to enhance this “built-in glossary” feature for students.
• Critical thinking case studies conclude most chapters. These clinical scenarios are followed by a series of questions that challenge students to carefully consider the scenario and apply their knowledge and analytical skills to respond to the situations.
• Complementary and alternative therapies appear throughout the text to provide students with a quick reference to information on popular herbs and their side effects, drug interactions, and more.
• Anatomy and physiology unit openers for all drug therapy chapters include illustrated overviews of normal anatomy and physiology. These introductions give students the foundation for understanding how drugs work in various body systems.
• High-alert drugs (denoted with the symbol ) and safety concerns (denoted with the symbol ) are identified within the text with distinctive icons that make it easy to find crucial information.

Teaching and Learning Resources

The ninth edition of Pharmacology: A Patient-Centered Nursing Process Approach is the core of a complete teaching and learning package for nursing pharmacology. Additional components of this package include resources for students, resources for faculty members, and resources for both students and faculty.

For Students

A comprehensive Study Guide, available for purchase separately, provides thousands of study questions and answers, including clinically based situational practice problems, drug calculation problems and questions (many with actual drug labels), and case studies to help students master textbook content. Answers are provided at the end of the Study Guide.

A completely updated Evolve website (http://evolve.elsevier.com/McCuistion/pharmacology) provides additional resources for students, including the following:
• Review questions for the NCLEX ® Examination organized by chapter
• Downloadable key points for content review on the go
• Pharmacology animations and videos
• Unfolding case studies with review questions

For Faculty Members
The updated faculty Evolve website (http://evolve.elsevier.com/McCuistion/pharmacology) includes all of the student resources mentioned previously plus the following instructor-only resources:
• TEACH for Nurses lesson plans focus on the most important content from each chapter and provide innovative strategies for student engagement and learning. The lesson plans include strategies for integrating nursing curriculum standards (QSEN, concept-based learning, and BSN essentials), links to all relevant student and instructor resources, and an original instructor-only case study in each chapter.
• ExamView Test Bank features more than 1000 NCLEX ® Examination–format questions that include alternate-item questions as well as rationales and page references for each question.
• PowerPoint Collection features customizable slides with images, integrated audience response system questions, and new unfolding case studies with questions.