What to learn for each NCLEX medication
If you tried to learn every single thing about each medication you studied, you’d still be
studying for the NCLEX five years later. Fortunately, you don’t need to do this to
prepare properly for the NCLEX.
Here’s a list of what you need to cover for each med:
1.
Medication classifications
2.
Medication prefixes and suffixes
3.
Generic names
4.
The indication
5. How the medication works (and
which bodily system it influences)
6. Side effects (the most common and
the serious, adverse reactions)
7.
Nursing considerations
If this still seems like a long list, that’s ok. The truth is that all of these factors relate to
each other, so learning one will help you learn others.
We’ll go into this in more detail next. As we go over the connections between each
factor, you’ll see how they connect to make your job easier.
1) Medication classifications
Here’s a list of the classifications you’ll need to learn:
1.
Amphetamines
2.
Anti Allergy drugs
3.
Anti Alzheimer’s
4.
Antibiotics
5.
Anticonvulsants
6.
Antidepressants
7.
Antidiarrheals
8.
Antiemetics
9.
Antigout
10. Antilipidemics
11. Antineoplastics
12. Antiosteoporotic
13. Antiparkinsonians
14. Antipsychotics
15. Antispasmodics
16. Anxiolytics
17. Bronchodilators
18. Corticosteroids
19. Diuretics
20. Erectile dysfunction drugs
21. H2 receptor blockers
22. Insulins
23. Laxatives
24. Muscle relaxers
25. NSAIDs
26. Opioids
27. Proton pump inhibitors
28. Stool softeners
29. Thrombolytics
Again, this may seem like a long list! (Welcome to the NCLEX). The good news is that if
you learn these over several weeks or months, it’s quite manageable. After all, if you
must build a house, you do it one nail and board at a time. And the best way we know of
to break all this learning into bite-sized chunks is by making use of flashcards.
So, one long list of diuretics and antidiarrheals down … time to move on.
2) Prefixes and suffixes
As a nurse, it’s important to know your LOLs (beta-blockers) from your NITRO
(antianginal). Learning the prefixes and suffixes for each classification of medication
helps in two ways:
Firstly, it reduces what you need to learn: just memorize the suffix or the suffix, and not
the whole medication name.
For example, beta-blockers all end in -lol. So when you’re learning a list of betablockers like:

Atenolol

Carvedilol

Metoprolol

Nebivolol
You’ll just need to learn “-lol means “beta-blockers.”
Secondly, learning the prefixes and suffixes gives you another hook to hang your
knowledge on.
For example, if a patient comes to you with unpleasant side effects from nebivolol, you
will know immediately from the suffix that nebivolol is a beta-blocker. So, even if you’ve
forgotten the exact particulars of the drug, your general knowledge of beta blockers will
help you understand why the patient may be having side effects.
3) Generic names
For every drug, there’s a generic name, which refers to its chemical make-up. And then
there’s the specific brand name developed and trademarked by a pharmaceutical
company.
For example, the generic name for a strong opioid analgesic is Fentanyl. Some of the
brand names for this drug are: Sublimaze, Actiq, Duragesic, Fentora, Abstral, Lazanda,
and (many) others.
You’ll need to learn only the generic names — and not all these brand names — for the
NCLEX.
4) The indication
The indication is what the drug is used for. For example, ACE inhibitors are used for
decreasing blood pressure and heart rate to prevent myocardial infarction.
Understanding what the different medications are used for (and how to safely use them)
is a baseline requirement of your nursing education. Nurses must safely administer
medications, answer patient questions, and identify side effects and adverse reactions.
This requires nurses to have a thorough working knowledge of the most common
medications prescribed.
5) How it works
How medication works is called the mechanism of action. In essence, it’s how the
medication works in the body at the cellular level. Knowing this provides a useful
scaffold for connecting the drug to the indication and the side effects.
For example, you know that ACE inhibitors treat hypertension – that’s the indication.
The way they do this, (the mechanism of action) is by preventing the conversion of
angiotensin I to angiotensin II. Angiotensin II is a potent vasoconstrictor. In other words,
ACE inhibitors help to enlarge blood vessels, which, therefore, decreases blood
pressure.
There are many ways to work on adding knowledge to your memory
inventory. Flashcards are an excellent way. Another complementary way is to have a
good understanding of how the facts you’re learning fit together. When you connect
cause and effect in a strong framework, you’re adding extra ‘hooks’ your brain can use
to retrieve information during your test.
Connecting facts together builds strong memory structures
Therefore, knowing the mechanism of action for medication is important, both to give
you a good knowledge base for using meds, and to help you memorize all the most
common uses and side effects.
6) Side effects and adverse reactions
Medication is a double-edged sword. It can save lives, but if it’s applied inappropriately,
it can cause harm or even death. It’s estimated that 125,000 Americans die each year
from prescription medications. Therefore, it’s so important for nurses to know the most
common side effects and adverse reactions for the medications the patient may be
taking.
Have you ever read the back of a pill bottle? Drug companies these days list every
possible side effect that can arise (and several that have been noted in only a single
patient).
Fortunately, you don’t need to memorize this whole list for the NCLEX. There’s a much
more strategic approach to take that will serve you well.
Side effects fall into two categories, and it’s a good idea to learn these for each med you
study.
Category 1: common side effects
You don’t have to learn every single side effect possible: just the most common ones.
Flashcards are good to use to memorize these. You may also find them by using a
nursing drug guide.
Category 2: KILLER side effects (adverse reactions)
In rare cases, medications can have severe adverse reactions such as anaphylaxis or
an extensive rash. These serious adverse reactions are highly likely to feature in the
NCLEX exam because a top priority of this test is to assess whether student nurses can
be safe and effective when caring for patients.
If one misses a killer side effect, the patient could die. Make it a priority to memorize
these.
7) Nursing considerations
Nursing considerations are the interventions you need to do when giving medication.
This includes things like labs to check before giving a med, assessments to make,
teaching the patient about med administration, and any contraindications.
For example: orthostatic hypotension can be a side effect of calcium channel blockers.
Therefore, a nursing consideration when administering them would be to check the
patient’s blood pressure to make sure it’s not too low (< 100/60) before administration.
Another example: beta-blockers can cause bronchoconstriction, so administering them
to a client with asthma could cause an increase in difficulty breathing.
Answering NCLEX practice questions is a great way to test your ability to combine your
knowledge of side effects and nursing considerations to make good decisions and ace
the NCLEX.