Basic Concept of Pharmacology

• Pharmacology is the study of drugs that alter functions of living organisms.
• Pharmacy is the art of preparing, compounding, and dispensing drugs, and also refers to the place where drugs are prepared and dispensed.
• A pharmacist is a person licensed to prepare and dispense drugs to make up prescriptions.
• The earliest surviving “prescriptions” are on clay tablets from Babylonia, dating back to 3000 B.C.
• The Chinese recorded the Pen Tsao, a 40-volume compendium of plant remedies, dating back to 2700 B.C.
• The Egyptians archived remedies on a document known as Erb’s Papyrus in 1500 B.C.
• The term “pharmacology” was first recorded in the early 1800s.
• In the early 1800s, chemists isolated specific substances from complex mixtures.
• Pharmacologists then studied the effects of these substances in animals.
• Fredrich Serturner was the first to isolate morphine from opium and injected himself and three other friends with huge doses (100mg).
• Drugs are chemicals that alter physiochemical processes in body cells and can stimulate or inhibit normal cellular functions.
• Drugs are used interchangeably with medicines.
• Chemical name describes the atomic or chemical structure.
• Pharmacokinetics involves understanding how the body deals with medications.
• Animal sources of drugs include biologics, which are agents naturally produced in animal cell, by microorganisms, or by the body itself.
• Pharmacotherapeutics is the study of the therapeutic uses and effects of drugs.
• Pharmacovigilance is the practice of monitoring the effects of medical drugs after they have been licensed for use especially in order to identify and evaluate previously unreported adverse reactions.
• Toxicology is the branch of science concerned with the nature, effects, and detection of poisons, the measurement and analysis of potential toxins, intoxicating or banned substances, and prescription medications present in a person’s body.
• Pharmacokinetics is the study of drug movement throughout the body.
• Pharmacokinetics is derived from the Greek words 'pharmakon' meaning 'medicine' and 'kinesis' meaning 'movement'.
• Brand name or trade name is the name given by the manufacturer of the drug.
• Pharmacokinetics includes the actions and side effects of medications in patients.
• Pharmacognosy is the branch of knowledge concerned with medicinal drugs obtained from plants or other natural resources.
• Inorganic compounds are another source of drugs.
• Natural sources of drugs include plants.
• Generic or Nonproprietary Name is the name approved by the Medical or Pharmaceutical Associations in the original country of manufacture and is adopted by all countries.
• The right to educate requires that the client received accurate and thorough information about the medication and how it relates to his or her situation.
• The right to refuse means that the client can and do refuse to take medication, and it is the nurses responsibility to determine when possible the reason for refusal and to take reasonable measures to facilitate the client taking the medication.
• Client teaching includes therapeutic purpose, possible side effect of the drugs, any dietary restriction or requirements, skills administration, and laboratory monitoring.
• Correct identification of the patient can be done through ID band or ID bracelet, asking the patient's name, and avoiding calling the client in name.
• The right time is the time at which the prescribed dose should be administered.
• Parenteral medication includes intradermal, subcutaneous, and intramuscular routes, with different sites, gauges, lengths, and maximum doses.
• Oral medication is the most common route, with contraindications including client vomiting, intestinal or gastric suction, unconsciousness, and inability to swallow.
• The right documentation requires that the nurses immediately record the appropriate information about drug administered.
• The Ten Rights of Medication Administration include the right client, right medication, right dose, right time, right route, right client education, right documentation, right to refuse, right assessment, and right evaluation.
• The right client can be measured by checking the client identification bracelet and by having the client state his or her name.
• The right route is necessary for adequate or appropriate absorption.
• The right assessment requires the appropriate data be collected before administration of drugs.
• When error is made, assess the patient first and report to MD immediately.
• The right evaluation requires that the effectiveness of the medication be determined by the client response to medication.