Week 1 - Medication Flashcards

1
Q

What is medicines?

A
  • Medicines are substances that help our bodies – physically or mentally – to prevent, treat or cure diseases.
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2
Q

Who is involved in medications?

A
  • Doctors
  • Pharmacists
  • Dentists
  • Allied health professionals
  • Physiotherapist, dieticians, speech pathologists, occupational therapists)
  • Nurses
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3
Q

What are the different types of medicines?

A
  • Prescription medicines - Antibiotics (e.g. Amoxicillin)
  • Non-Prescription medicines - Paracetamol
  • Vaccines - Influenza, Covid-19, Hepatitis B, Polio, Diptheria, Tetanus, Whooping Cough
  • Biological medicines - Insulin e.g. Optisulin® (glargine insulin) and Toujeo (glargine insulin)
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4
Q

What is the difference between generic and brand name medicines?

A
  • Generic versus Brand name medicines - Paracetamol instead of Panamax or Panadol
  • Generic and brand name medication are the same thing
  • Same dosage form, safety, strength, route of administration, quality, performance characteristics, and intended use.
  • Generic brands are cheaper
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5
Q

What is 1 to 5 for Poison Schedule?

A
  • 1 - Blank - Not currently in use
  • 2 - Pharmacy medicine
  • 3 - Pharmacist only medicine
  • 4 - Prescription only medicine
  • 4 R/D - Subset of prescription only medicines
  • 5 - Caution (commonly used for domestic purposes e.g. acetone)
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6
Q

What is 6 to 10 for Poison Schedule?

A
  • 6 - Poison (substances used in agricultural, industry, photography eg rodent baits)
  • 7 - Dangerous poison (eg arsenic)
  • 8 - Controlled drug (eg morphine)
  • 9 - Prohibited substances (eg heroin)
  • 10 - Substances of such danger to health at to warrant
    prohibition of supply and use (e.g. lead)
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7
Q

Who can prescribe medications?

A
  • Prescriptions are a legal document
  • ONLY doctors, dentists, optometrists, nurse practitioners and midwife practitioners.
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8
Q

How can we know a prescription is a valid medication order?

A
  • Date
  • Full patient name
  • DOB
  • URN/MRN (if inpatient)
  • Drug generic name (active ingredient)
  • Dose
  • Route
  • Frequency
  • Prescriber signature
  • Prescriber name
  • Contact number
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9
Q

What are the different types of medication orders?

A
  • Regular order
  • Stat order – give immediately and only once
  • PRN order – ‘as needed’; the nurse uses good judgment about
    whether the medication is needed & when it can be safely administered.
  • Single order – one-time order, at the specified time
  • Standing order – permits nurses to administer medication in certain circumstances without a prior written order; protocols in place; must be signed by MO within 24hrs
  • Emergency telephone (electronic/facsimile) order
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10
Q

What are the different medication names?

A
  • Generic name - Active ingredient and Often a chemical name
  • Trade name - Brand name and used for marketing
  • The Generic name is required on all prescriptions
  • Generic brands of medications are the same as the famous name brands, just cheaper for consumers
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11
Q

What are the various factors which influences the type of
medication prescribed?

A
  • Primary diagnosis & co-morbidities such as Parkinson’s Disease, breast cancer etc.
  • Allergy status
  • Current status - symptoms, signs
  • Medication literacy and safety
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12
Q

What is tall man lettering?

A
  • Typographic technique:
  • Using selective capitalisation
    to help make look-alike,
    Sound-alike (LASA) medicine
    Pairs easier to differentiate.
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13
Q

What is the medicines framework?

A
  • Legislation & policy
  • Pharmacological knowledge
  • Adopting best practice guidelines‘
  • Rights’ & ‘checks’
  • Administration techniques
  • Clinical reasoning
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14
Q

Why is legislation, policy and scope of practice important for nurses?

A
  • Have an understanding of
    the laws that direct, define
    and limit your scope of
    practice and professional
    responsibilities.
  • Recognise the limits to
    your knowledge & skills.
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15
Q

What are the best practice approaches?

A
  • Use plain English, write clearly
  • Use plain words or numbers,
  • Use a leading zero in front of a decimal point for a dose less than 1
  • No trailing zeros in decimals
  • Use 24 hour time
  • Use safe terms, abbreviations
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16
Q

What is Pharmacodynamics

A

How the drug affects the body

17
Q

What is Pharmacokinetics?

A

The study of the movement of drugs in the body: absorption, distribution, metabolism & excretion.

18
Q

What are the unintended effects of medicines?

A
  • Side effects - Known or secondary reactions to the medication,
  • e.g. nausea, dizziness, constipation
  • Adverse effects - Unexpected or undesired effects of a medication,
  • e.g. allergy, neutropenia
19
Q

What is Anaphylaxis?

A
  • Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction which occurs immediately the drug is administered
  • Presentation includes swelling in the mouth & tongue, acute respiratory distress, tachycardia & hypotension.
20
Q

What is the 6 rights of medication checks?

A
  • Medication/Drug
  • Dose
  • Time
  • Route
  • Patient
  • Documentation
21
Q

What is the 3 checks of medication?

A
  • 1st check: On initial location of medication in patient medication drawer, drug trolley or medication room
  • 2nd check: At the time of preparing the medication
  • 3rd check: Before administering to the patient (and before putting the medication container away)