Medication Concept Map

To better understand basic pharmacology principles and how to apply them to individual medications, you will develop a concept map for one medication. To complete this evaluation it is expected that you will investigate the medication extensively in a variety of drug information sources, such as databases like: Micromedex, Lexi-comp, Clinical Pharmacology. You also may search the FDA and other reputable websites for drug information, as well as, the ISMP website specifically for safety-related issues.

We expect that you will identify and discuss safety implications of using the medication based on your knowledge of general pharmacology and medication safety principles. Finally, we expect you to synthesize the information you learn from your investigation to outline important nursing implications.

Please make sure these are summarized and not extensive paragraphs. Need to be concise and straight to the point. Please cite all sources in APA format.  prefer the use of micromedex and : ISMP.org, FDA.gov, PubMed. Do not use AI.

In this concept map, please include specific information in the following categories:.

List the drug, drug class and dosage form(s)

Pharmacodynamics
Describe the mechanism of action (MOA)
Pharmacokinetics
Absorption (e.g., extent of absorption for various routes, factors affecting absorption)
Distribution (e.g., plasma protein binding, cross BBB or Placenta/breast milk?)
Metabolism (e.g., 1st pass effect, type of metabolism, , etc)
Excretion (e.g., how the drug is eliminated from the body)
Individual Variation in drug response (e.g., dose reductions for organ dysfunction; use in pregnancy or other at risk populations, any genetic considerations, etc.)

Adverse effects (3 or 4 most important from each category below)
Common:
Serious:

Nursing Implications (focus on elements listed below)
Assessment/monitor for effectiveness
Assessment/monitor for toxicity

Patient education

Medication Safety issues

Medication safety issues are problems that result from inappropriate or incorrect medication use. You can determine whether there are potential medication safety issues by assessing the general pharmacology principles, but it requires thought and analysis on your part. For example, ampicillin can cause seizures when it is given by the IV route too rapidly. When you look in drug references under “administration” a notation regarding this will likely appear. While it doesn’t say explicitly that it is a “safety issue” you should be able to recognize that giving it too quickly and inducing seizures is a “safety issue”. Additionally, known safety issues may also be reported as such in the drug information references, your textbook, and on reputable websites, such as: ISMP.org, FDA.gov, PubMed and others. It is expected that you will search these sites in addition to the drug reference sites to determine if there are any nationally reported safety issues associated with the medication.

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