Author Description

This full-color pharmacology textbook is full of innovative, user-friendly features such as prototype drug charts, nursing process sections, and an extensive math/dosage calculations section. The 5th edition has been completely updated and includes a Companion CD-ROM that contains animations, NCLEX® examination-style review questions, printable IV therapy and medication safety checklists, drug calculation problems, and convenient electronic calculators. A separate drug calculations section - Medications and Calculations - features 65 pages of math review and step-by-step instructions for dosage calculations using the four primary methods - basic formula, ratio and proportion, dimensional analysis, and fractional equation. Nursing Process sections relate nursing care to drug therapy. Each step of the nursing process includes concise actions for the plan of care in relation to treatment for selected drug prototypes. A chapter on Principles of Drug Administration features comprehensive coverage of the procedures for administering drugs. It addresses all routes of administration and various settings. Unit openers for drug therapy chapters include an illustrated overview of normal anatomy and physiology, giving readers the foundation for understanding how the drug works in that body system. Herbal Alert boxes highlight various herbal products and their interactions with drugs. More than 100 detailed Prototype Drug Charts list the following information: dosage, indication, contraindication, drug-lab-food interactions, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic effects, side effects, and adverse reactions. Highlighted Client Teaching, Cultural Considerations, and Herbal Alerts are included in the Nursing Process sections to emphasize key implications for nurses. Client Teaching in the nursing process sections guide readers through instructions for teaching patients about