Minimum Course Hours: 60

Course Description

Learners are introduced to pharmacology principles for safe and professional medication administration, including dosage calculations. Learners will study various routes of medication administration as well as decision-making strategies, autonomy, the scope of the practical nurse, and responsibilities, including the practical nurse’s legal responsibilities associated with the administration of opioids. Learners will also discuss complementary, Indigenous, and alternative remedies, as well as polypharmacy across the lifespan.

Prerequisites: Admission to the Practical Nursing Program; completion of Human Anatomy and Physiology for Practical Nurses or equivalent course with a minimum grade of 65%

Corequisites: Professional Communication A; Integrated Nursing Practice A; Variations in Health A; Health Promotion A; Professional Practice A

Note: Learners must achieve an 80% average overall on the theory portion of Pharmacology A and have three attempts to achieve the required 100% in math calculations exams needed to pass the course.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, the learner will be able to:

1. Identify the current British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM) LPN Professional Standards, Practice Standards, and Entry-Level Competencies that define LPN responsibilities and accountabilities in medication administration.
   • 1.1 Explain the LPN’s responsibilities and accountabilities when administering medications within autonomous scope of practice (without an order) and when administering medications with a client-specific order.
   • 1.2 Explain how drug standards and legislation affect medication regulation in Canada.
   • 1.3 Explain the purpose of Canadian drug legislation, including the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the Food and Drugs Act, and their application to nursing practice.
   • 1.4 Discuss the legal and ethical considerations for the nurse when administering medications.
2. Describe the concepts of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics.
   • 2.1 Describe the principles of pharmacology as related to common drug actions and interactions.
   • 2.2 Describe commonly used drug classification systems in Canada.
   • 2.3 Identify basic terminology and abbreviations used in pharmacology.
3. Relate drug interactions, polypharmacy, and food-drug effects to medication used by clients across the lifespan, particularly older adults.
   • 3.1 Describe age-related changes and safe medication practices in the older adult.
   • 3.2 Discuss how age-related changes impact pharmacokinetics.
4. Describe medication classifications, actions, interactions and nursing implications relative to body systems, including endocrine, neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, genitourinary and musculoskeletal systems, and miscellaneous drug classification.
   • 4.1 Discuss how drug classifications can be grouped by body systems.
   • 4.2 Identify various classes of medications used to treat specific disorders and illness.
   • 4.3 Identify complementary, Indigenous, and alternative therapies.
   • 4.4 Discuss the implications of using herbal, vitamin, and Indigenous therapies with other medications.
   • 4.5 Describe the potential interactions between prescription medications and complementary, Indigenous, and alternative therapies, including herbal preparations.
   • 4.6 Describe the effects, uses, and indications for antimicrobials, as well as the relationship with drug resistance.
5. Conduct basic mathematical drug calculations correctly.
   • 5.1 Identify common unit conversion factors.
   • 5.2 Discuss the 24-hour clock and why this is important in medication administration.
   • 5.3 Examine the consequences of mathematical errors when calculating drug dosages.
6. Discuss opioid side effects, indications for use and the practical nurse’s legal responsibilities related to administration of opioids.
   • 6.1 Discuss the principles of pain management.
   • 6.2 Explore types of analgesics.
   • 6.3 Describe major classes of drugs that are substances of addiction.
7. Explain the principles of medication administration, including human and system errors that contribute to errors or near misses.
   • 7.1 Discuss the nurse’s role when administering medications.
   • 7.2 Identify commonly used drug distribution systems in Canada.
   • 7.3 Discuss types of drug orders.
   • 7.4 Describe the routes of medication administration.
   • 7.5 Review error prone medication abbreviations.
   • 7.6 Discuss factors that contribute to medication incidents or near misses.
   • 7.7 Identify the process in reporting and managing medication incidents.
8. Examine the LPN’s professional role within the interprofessional team in ordering, processing, dispensing, administering, and monitoring prescription medications and complementary and alternative therapies.
   • 8.1 Explore the BCCNM documents that guide the practical nurse’s role in relation to medication handling.
   • 8.2 Discuss legal, professional, and ethical considerations when ordering, processing, dispensing, administering, and monitoring medications.

Course Concepts

Course outcomes will be met through examination and exploration of the following:

• BCCNM LPN Professional Standards, Practice Standards, and documents that guide scope of practice
• Introduction to pharmacology
• The practical nurse role and legal responsibilities of medication administration
• Decision making and autonomy in medication administration (e.g., medications “as needed,” medications for asthma, anaphylaxis, and hypoglycemia)
• Pharmacodynamics
• Pharmacokinetics
• Drug actions and interactions
• Principles of medication administration
• Drug distribution systems
• Basic terminology used in pharmacology
• Nursing process and pharmacology
• Routes of medication administration:
• Oral
  • Rectal
  • Topical
  • Parenteral
  • Percutaneous
• Introduction to complementary, Indigenous, alternative, and traditional healing therapies
• Vitamin supplements
• Herbal preparations
• Homeopathy
• Basic medication dosage calculations
• Polypharmacy across the lifespan
• Drug classifications according to body systems:
  • Endocrine system
  • Nervous system, including effects on cognition and mental health (anti-depressants, anxiolytics, antipsychotics, sedatives and hypnotics, and anticonvulsants and antiepileptics)
  • Cardiovascular system
  • Respiratory system
  • Gastrointestinal system (not including medications used to treat constipation)
  • Genitourinary system
  • Musculoskeletal system
  • Sensory system
• Miscellaneous drug classifications (antineoplastics)
• Antimicrobial, antiviral, and antifungal agents
• Analgesics—opioid and non-opioid
• Drug resistance
• Interactions of prescription medications with complementary, Indigenous, and alternative therapies