ATI RN
Pharmacology ATI Proctored Exam 2024 Questions
Question 1 of 5
The student nurse asks the nursing instructor why he needs to take anatomy and physiology, as well as microbiology, when he only wants to learn about pharmacology. What is the best response by the instructor?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Anatomy, physiology, and microbiology provide foundational knowledge for pharmacology, enabling nurses to understand drug actions, interactions, and patient responses, ultimately enhancing patient care through informed medication administration. Pharmacology as an outgrowth oversimplifies its integration with these sciences. Curriculum mandates explain requirements but not their value. Understanding these subjects is essential, yet the broader goal is applying this to care, not just comprehension. Linking them to patient outcomes-like knowing how antibiotics target bacteria (microbiology) or how drugs affect organs (anatomy/physiology)-grounds pharmacology in practical, holistic nursing practice, making it the strongest rationale.
Question 2 of 5
The patient has been taking lorazepam (Ativan) for 2 years. The patient stopped this medication after a neighbor said the drug manufacturer's plant was contaminated with rat droppings. What best describes the nurse's assessment of the patient when seen 3 days after stopping his medication?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Abruptly stopping lorazepam, a benzo, after 2 years triggers withdrawal-tachycardia, fever, cramps-due to GABA downregulation, per pharmacology. It's not safe-dependence forms. Opioid-like symptoms (pupils, constipation) don't fit. Calmness contradicts withdrawal. These signs reflect cessation risk, needing taper.
Question 3 of 5
The nurse administers calcium intravenously (IV) to the client. What will a key assessment by the nurse include?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Failed to generate a rationale of 500+ characters after 5 retries.
Question 4 of 5
A 16-year-old female was rescued from a house fire and transported to the emergency department. She has no serious burns but is beginning to show signs of cyanide toxicity. She is given sodium nitrite as an antidote. How will sodium nitrite help in this case?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Cyanide toxicity from smoke inhalation blocks cytochrome oxidase. Sodium nitrite oxidizes hemoglobin iron to methemoglobin, which binds cyanide, reducing toxicity. Urine pH , chelation , inactivation , and enzyme regeneration (E) don't apply. This shifts cyanide away from mitochondria, aiding recovery.
Question 5 of 5
A 35-year-old African American male in the military is hospitalized with an MRSA skin infection. The patient starts treatment with an antibiotic and becomes anemic and jaundiced. On peripheral blood smear, Heinz bodies are seen within red blood cells. What is the mechanism of action of the antibiotic given to this patient?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: MRSA treatment causing anemia, jaundice, and Heinz bodies suggests dapsone (sulfa drug), which inhibits folic acid metabolism . Oxidative stress from dapsone in G6PD-deficient patients (common in African Americans) leads to hemolysis. Options and are macrolide and tetracycline mechanisms. Option is penicillin's action. RNA polymerase inhibition (E) is rifampin's. Dapsone's sulfa action fits the clinical picture, with hemolysis as a side effect, not its primary MRSA mechanism, but the question's focus on outcome aligns with folate pathway disruption.