Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: As an aspiring nurse, it is important to understand the fundamental principles, goals, and ethics that guide the nursing profession. This section provides a comprehensive overview of…
Figure 1.1 The role of comprehensive nursing care is to provide holistic and patient-centered care that addresses the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of patients, families, and communities. (credit: modification of work “Day in the Life: Labor and Delivery Nurse” by…
A sample of raw opium. Opioids are among the world’s oldest known drugs. Use of the opium poppy for medical, recreational, and religious purposes can be traced to the 4th century BCE, when Hippocrates wrote about it for its analgesic properties, stating, “Divinum…
Divisions related to bodily systems study the effects of drugs in different systems of the body. These include neuropharmacology, in the central and peripheral nervous systems; immunopharmacology in the immune system. Other divisions include cardiovascular, renal and endocrine pharmacology.
A basic formula, solving for x, guides us in the setting up of an equation: D/H x Q = x, or Desired dose (amount) = ordered Dose amount/amount on Hand x Quantity.
The goal is to generate new knowledge and tools that can lead to better treatments for devastating human medical problems including cancer, addiction, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and infectious disease.
The first drugs were likely discovered through accident and observation. As early humans tried different plant, animal, and mineral substances, they realized that some substances produced specific effects.
Pharmacology has two major branches:
In addition, Bernhard Naunyn and Oswald Schmiedeberg, together with Rudolf Buchheim, were the very founders of pharmacology. The birth of pharmacology took place in Tartu (Dorpat), Estonia.
This field generally examines these four main parameters: absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME).