NZQA Expiring unit standard
23672 version 4
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Title
Demonstrate knowledge, as a pharmacy technician, of drug dosing,
action, adverse effects, and misuse and dependence
Level
4
Credits
Purpose
5
This unit standard is intended for pharmacy technicians or
people working towards a pharmacy technician qualification.
People credited with this unit standard are able to demonstrate
knowledge of: how the body handles drugs; how drugs act on
the body; drug use and action in different patient groups;
adverse drug effects; and drugs of misuse and dependence.
Classification
Pharmacy > Pharmacy Services
Available grade
Achieved
Entry information
Critical health and
safety prerequisites
Open.
Explanatory notes
This unit standard is
expiring
1
The following requirements are relevant to this unit standard:
World Anti-doping Agency Prohibited List, available from Drug Free Sport NZ or World
Anti-doping Agency, http://www.wada-ama.org/en/;
World Anti-doping Agency International Standard for Therapeutic Use Exemption,
available from World Anti-doping Agency, http://www.wada-ama.org/en/;
Any requirement superseding any of the above will apply, pending review of this unit
standard.
2
Access to appropriate reference resources in accordance with Medsafe audit
requirements is required for completion of assessment against this unit standard.
Evidence presented by the candidate must be in accordance with reference resources.
Outcomes and evidence requirements
Outcome 1
Demonstrate knowledge of how the body handles drugs.
Evidence requirements
Pharmacy Industry Training Organisation
SSB Code102150
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
NZQA Expiring unit standard
23672 version 4
Page 2 of 5
1.1
How the body handles drugs is described according to sites and mechanisms of
absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion.
1.2
The time course of drugs in the body after single and multiple doses is
described according to plasma concentration-time profile for first order kinetics,
single compartment model.
Range
includes but is not limited to – dosing interval, peak concentration,
trough (minimum) concentration, steady-state.
1.3
Clearance, volume of distribution, and half-life are described according to drug
plasma concentrations and significance in selecting drug dose and/or frequency
of administration.
1.4
Factors affecting absorption from the gastrointestinal tract are identified and
described
Range
1.5
includes but is not limited to – characteristics of the drug,
formulation, and patient; presence of other substances in the
gastrointestinal tract.
Factors affecting metabolism and excretion of drugs are identified and
described.
Range
may include but is not limited to – age, diet and alcohol, disease,
genetics, gender, smoking, time of day.
Outcome 2
Demonstrate knowledge of how drugs act on the body.
This unit standard is
Drug action is described according to physicochemical interaction between the
drug and functionally important
molecules in the body, and the dose-response
expiring
relationship.
Evidence requirements
2.1
Range
2.2
Drug-receptor interactions are described according to mechanism.
Range
2.3
includes but is not limited to – non-specific drug action,
combination with ions or molecules, drug-receptor interaction.
includes but is not limited to – receptor, agonist, partial agonist,
antagonist (competitive, non-competitive), specificity, selectivity.
Factors affecting individual drug response are identified and described.
Range
includes but is not limited to – age, organ function;
may include but is not limited to – weight, gender nutritional status,
pregnancy, lactation, genetics, tolerance.
Pharmacy Industry Training Organisation
SSB Code102150
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
NZQA Expiring unit standard
23672 version 4
Page 3 of 5
Outcome 3
Demonstrate knowledge of drug use and action in different client groups.
Evidence requirements
3.1
Drug use and action in pregnancy and lactation are described according to
diffusion of drugs across the placenta and into milk, and associated risks and
benefits.
3.2
Drug use and action in elderly clients are described according to changes in
physiology, use of multiple drugs, and client adherence issues.
3.3
Factors affecting drug use and action in paediatric clients are identified and
described.
3.4
Drug use and action in clients with renal and hepatic disease are described
according to need for dosage adjustment.
Outcome 4
Demonstrate knowledge of adverse drug effects.
Evidence requirements
4.1
Dose-related adverse effects are described according to therapeutic range.
Range
4.2
evidence is required of a minimum of three examples of narrow
therapeutic range drugs.
Non dose-related adverse effects are described according to idiosyncratic
reaction.
This
unit
is of drugs
evidence
is requiredstandard
of a minimum of three examples
associated with these reactions.
Adverse drug effects areexpiring
described according to contributory factors.
Range
4.3
Range
4.4
may include but is not limited to – anomalies in patient response
(allergy, genetic factors, physiological factors, age, pregnancy);
acquired patient abnormalities (associated or concurrent disease);
anomalies of drug and administration (overdosage, changed
formulation, substitution of new product, inappropriate route,
method or dose, medication errors); interaction of drugs; indirect
action causing an effect on foetus, breast-fed baby, or bacterial
flora.
Adverse effects on the foetus are described according to effects on growth and
development.
Range
evidence is required of a minimum of three examples of drugs
associated with adverse foetal effects.
Pharmacy Industry Training Organisation
SSB Code102150
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
NZQA Expiring unit standard
4.5
Drug withdrawal reactions are described according to adaptive changes.
Range
4.6
evidence is required of a minimum of three examples of drugs
associated with withdrawal reactions.
Drug interactions are described according to type of clinical effect and
mechanism.
Range
4.7
23672 version 4
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clinical effect includes but is not limited to – potentiation,
antagonism;
mechanism includes but is not limited to – pharmaceutical
incompatibility, pharmacodynamic (additive, antagonistic),
pharmacokinetic (absorption, distribution, metabolism,
elimination).
Foods that may be associated with clinically significant food-drug interactions
are described according to interactions involved.
Range
includes but is not limited to – alcohol, caffeine-containing
beverages, grapefruit, vitamin K, tyrosine-containing foods.
Outcome 5
Demonstrate knowledge of drugs of misuse and dependence.
Evidence requirements
5.1
Drugs of misuse and dependence are described according to physiological
effects and risk of dependency.
5.2
Drug therapy used in drug dependency is described in terms of its action and
effect.
This
standard
isreplacement,
includesunit
but is not limited
to – methadone, nicotine
drugs used in alcohol dependency.
expiring
Classes of drugs that are prohibited in sports are identified according to the
Range
5.3
World Anti-doping Agency prohibited list.
5.4
The World Anti-doping Agency International Standard for Therapeutic Use
Exemption is described according to its purpose.
This unit standard is expiring. Assessment against the standard must take place by
the last date for assessment set out below.
Pharmacy Industry Training Organisation
SSB Code102150
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
NZQA Expiring unit standard
23672 version 4
Page 5 of 5
Status information and last date for assessment for superseded versions
Process
Version Date
Last Date for Assessment
Registration
1
23 April 2007
31 December 2017
Revision
2
24 August 2007
31 December 2017
Review
3
21 November 2008
31 December 2017
Review
4
16 April 2015
31 December 2017
Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMR) reference
0128
This CMR can be accessed at http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/framework/search/index.do.
Please note
Providers must be granted consent to assess against standards (accredited) by NZQA,
before they can report credits from assessment against unit standards or deliver courses
of study leading to that assessment.
Industry Training Organisations must be granted consent to assess against standards by
NZQA before they can register credits from assessment against unit standards.
Providers and Industry Training Organisations, which have been granted consent and
which are assessing against unit standards must engage with the moderation system that
applies to those standards.
Requirements for consent to assess and an outline of the moderation system that applies
to this standard are outlined in the Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMR). The
CMR also includes useful information about special requirements for organisations wishing
to develop education and training programmes, such as minimum qualifications for tutors
and assessors, and special resource requirements.
This unit standard is
expiring
Pharmacy Industry Training Organisation
SSB Code102150
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016