Journal: The Use of Pharmacology in Advanced Practice

Journal: The Use of Pharmacology in Advanced Practice
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Institutional Affiliation
Journal: The Use of Pharmacology in Advanced Practice
How my knowledge of pharmacology changed?
My role in advanced practice requires that I provide the best evidence-based patient care, but the challenge has always been to bridge the gap between theory and practice-based understanding of pharmacology. Since I enrolled in this course, my knowledge of applying pharmacological concepts in practice has changed, and can now relate to how drugs interact with other medications. I have gained tacit knowledge, which may not be codified or transferred through focused training. In many cases, practitioners gain this knowledge through personal experience while in practice, and this form of knowledge is referred to as “know-how” instead of “know what.” It is due to this challenge that this form of knowledge is difficult to transfer since it is deeply engrained in professional organizations or culture. Nurses need knowledge in pharmacology that focuses on the common drugs they administer in clinical settings. I have increased my nursing knowledge and the confidence to administer safer drugs to patients by learning about drug interactions in pharmacology. Concepts in pharmacokinetics, drug allergy, management of drug intoxication, and major integrative systems in pharmacology such as cholinergic and adrenergic, serotonergic, histaminergic, dopaminergic, and NO-cGMP systems have been crucial in changing my way of thinking about drugs and their interactions.
Using medication in my current employment differently
In my current employment, I will use medications differently as I will be more careful about what the drugs do to the body or pharmacology and what the body does to the drugs or pharmacokinetics. These two concepts guide the kind of drug to administer to the patient as well as the dosage. In terms of pharmacokinetics, I will be keen to learn about the patient’s medical history to determine the dosage and metabolism of drugs among different patients to understand how differently they will react to treatment. The concept of pharmacokinetics aims is establishing the route the drug takes following administration. Drugs often follow specific routes from absorption, bioavailability, and distribution, until they are metabolized and excreted. It is also important to consider the pharmacogenetics of patients to provide individualized care because different patients will react differently to the same type of tr...