INTRODUCTION xv
you. It was part of standard nursing procedures used to administer medication.
You’ll learn about those procedures in this chapter so you too can wake up your
patients to give them medication.
CHAPTER 4: SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Drugs can wipe out microorganisms that attack our body. However, some drugs
can be abused resulting in an individual becoming dependent on the medica-
tion. Substance abuse is the most publicized aspect of pharmacology—and the
one least understood by patients and healthcare professionals. This chapter
explores drugs that are commonly abused and discusses how to detect sub-
stance abuse.
CHAPTER 5: PRINCIPLES OF MEDICATION
ADMINISTRATION
Administering medication can be downright dangerous unless you follow time-
tested procedures that assure that the patient receives the right drug in the right
dose at the right time using the right route. In this chapter, you’ll learn how this
is done and how to avoid common errors that could harm your patient.
CHAPTER 6: ROUTE OF ADMINISTRATION
The way a drug is administered to a patient is called a route. Your job is to
administer medication using the best route to achieve the desired therapeutic
effect. This depends on a number of factors that include the type of medication
and the patient’s condition. In this chapter, you’ll learn how to administer drugs.
CHAPTER 7: DOSE CALCULATIONS
Although a prescriber specifies a dose of a medication for a patient, a different
dose may be on hand requiring you to calculate the actual dose. With intravenous
medication, the prescriber usually orders a dose to be infused over a specific
period of time. You must calculate the drip rate to properly set the IV. This chap-
ter shows you how to calculate doses of medication.