McKenna's Pharmacology for Nursing, 2e

Preface

P harmacology is regarded by some as a difficult area to teach in standard nursing, midwifery and professional healthcare curricula, whether it be at the diploma, undergraduate or graduate level. Many related pharma- cology texts are large and burdensome, mainly because they need to cover not only the basic pharmacology, but also the particulars included in each area considered. Teachers are scarce, and time and money often dictate that the invaluable content is incorporated into other courses. As a result, the content is often lost. At the same time, changes in healthcare delivery— more outpatient and home-based care, shorter hospital stays and more self-care—have resulted in additional legal and professional responsibilities for nurses, mid­ wives and other health professionals, making them ever more responsible for the safe and effective delivery of drug therapy. Pharmacology should not be seen as such a formi- dable obstacle in nursing and professional healthcare curricula. The study of drug therapy incorporates physiology, pathophysiology, chemistry and clinical fun- damentals—subjects that are already incorporated into curricula in most schools. OUR PHILOSOPHY McKenna’s Pharmacology for Nursing and Health Pro- fessionals is a text for nursing and professional healthcare students that approaches pharmacology as an under- standable, teachable and learnable subject. It is based on the premise that students first need to have a solid and clearly focused concept of the principles of drug therapy before they can easily grasp the myriad details associated with individual drugs. Armed in advance with this fun- damental knowledge of pharmacology, the student can then appreciate and use the specific details that are so readily available in many annually updated and published drug guides, such as Wolters Kluwer Health’s McKenna’s Drug Handbook for Nursing and Midwifery . With this goal in mind, McKenna’s Pharmacology for Nursing and Health Professionals provides a concise and uncluttered text for today’s student, presenting the subject in a user-friendly and understandable manner. Because this text is designed to be used in conjunction with a handbook of current drug information, it remains streamlined.

Thoroughly revised and updated, the second edition of McKenna’s Pharmacology for Nursing and Health Professionals emphasises “need-to-know” concepts. The text reviews and integrates previously learned knowledge of physiology, chemistry and clinical fun- damentals into chapters focused on helping students to conceptualise what is important to know about each group of drugs. Illustrations and tables sum up concepts to enhance learning. Carefully designed pedagogical features further focus student learning on clinical application, critical thinking, safety, lifespan issues related to drug therapy, evidence-based practice, individual and family teaching, and case-study-based critical thinking exercises that incorporate clinical reasoning principles. Check your understanding sections at the end of each chapter provide review questions to help the student master the material and prepare for examinations. ORGANISATION McKenna’s Pharmacology for Nursing and Health Pro- fessionals is organised following a “simple-to-complex” approach, much like the syllabus for a basic pharma- cology course. Because students learn best “from the bottom up”, the text is divided into 11 distinct parts. Part 1 begins with an overview of basic pharmacol- ogy, including challenges such as street drugs, herbal therapies and information overload. Each of the other parts begins with a review of the physiology of the system affected by the specific drugs being discussed. This review refreshes the information for students and provides a quick and easy reference when they are reading about drug actions. Part 2 introduces the drug classes, starting with chemotherapeutic agents—both antimicrobial and antineoplastic drugs. Because the effectiveness of these drugs depends on their interference with the most basic element of body physiology—the cell—students can easily understand the pharmacology of this class. Mastering the pharmacotherapeutic effects of this drug class helps students to establish a firm grasp of the basic principles taught in Part 1. Once the easiest pharmaco- logical concepts are understood, students are enabled to move on to the more challenging physiological and pharmacological concepts.