Course Summary

Expiration Date: 07/16/2028

Understanding the foundational principles of pharmacology is crucial for nurses and nurse practitioners responsible for administering, monitoring, and educating patients on medications. Core concepts of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics — how the body affects drugs and how drugs affect the body, with an emphasis on real-world clinical applications — are explored. Drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination, drug–receptor interactions, therapeutic index, and adverse drug reactions are discussed. Attention is given to pharmacologic variability across populations, polypharmacy, drug interactions, and safe medication use in special groups, such as geriatric, pediatric, and people with organ impairment. Clinical monitoring strategies, decision-making tools, and interprofessional collaboration are highlighted to help nurses optimize therapeutic outcomes and minimize risk. Practical and patient-centered, this course bridges pharmacologic science with frontline nursing practice.

Course Format

Homestudy

Course Syllabus

  • Introduction
  • Core Pharmacologic Principles
    • Pharmacokinetics: What the Body Does to the Drug
    • Absorption
    • Distribution
    • Metabolism
    • Elimination
  • Pharmacodynamics: What the Drug Does to the Body
  • Clinical Monitoring Parameters
  • Special Populations and Variability
  • Drug Interactions and Polypharmacy
  • Adverse Drug Reactions and Safety
  • Integrating Pharmacology into Clinical Practice
  • Journal Club: Integrating Artificial Intelligence Into Pharmacokinetic Prediction
    • Introduction
    • Objective
    • Methods
    • Results
    • Role of AI to Date
    • Limitations
  • Summary

Authors

Richard Daniels, PharmD, BCPS

Richard “Cole” Daniels earned his Doctor of Pharmacy(PharmD) from the Skaggs School of Pharmacy at the University of Montana in 2018. Throughout pharmacy school he completed a 3-year internship at Community Medical Center in Missoula, Montana in which he gained valuable experience in an acute care setting. Cole currently serves as a psychiatric clinical staff pharmacist at the Montana State Hospital. He has over 11 years of pharmacy experience having worked in several settings including retail, acute care, and inpatient psychiatric care. Cole has a diverse set of interests. However, acute care medicine, infectious disease, pain management, and asthma/COPD are a primary focus of his at the Montana State Hospital. He obtained board certification as a certified pharmacotherapy specialist in the Spring of 2022.

Elisabeth Gordon, BScPharm, RPh

Elisabeth Gordon earned her BSc(Pharm) from the University of British Columbia in 2004. After graduation, she worked in community retail pharmacies on Vancouver Island, before returning to her rural hometown of Salmon Arm. In 2016 and 2017, Elisabeth trained with Pallium Canada and Victoria Hospice to enhance her knowledge of end-of-life-care and palliative services. She is a volunteer medical supervisor for T1DOutreach, a peer support platform for adults living with type 1 diabetes, and a member of a Canadian peer support group for adults living with Birdshot Uveitis. Elisabeth enjoys working in a small, fast-paced rural pharmacy where she brings compassion and empathy to her everyday practice.

Susan Depasquale, MA, MSN, PMHNP-BC

Susan DePasquale is a board certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Her current practice is with families, youth and adults who have mental illnesses in both inpatient and outpatient settings, including telepsychiatry for Montana, Washington and Wisconsin communities. She completed her Masters of Art in Political Science at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Masters of Science in Nursing at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Washington with a focus in neurogastroenterology and the Post-Masters of Science in Nursing at the Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana with a focus in psychiatry. She has worked with small and rural healthcare teams in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, Canada, and in teaching and research hospitals such as Providence Health and Virginia Mason Medical Center Digestive and Liver Disease Departments in Seattle. Since 2012, she has been actively involved in online continuing education program development for nurses and health teams.