Help me pass!

Nursing Students Student Assist

Published

  1. What pharmacological agent can be used to treat angina

    • 0
      Antidysrhythmic agent
    • 6
      Nitrates
    • 0
      Both

6 members have participated

Which of the following pharmacological agent is used to treat angina?

A. Nitrates

B. Antidysrhythmic agent

C. Sympathomimetics

D. Bypyridenes

On the test i had A first and changed it to B. Obviously I know not to change my gut instinct but I did. I know A is the correct answer but changed it to B because i thought that a certain class of Antidysrhythmic can treat angina. Please help. Am I wrong or right?? I just need one more to pass my class and move on.

For nursing questions, they often put several answers which could conceivably be at least partially correct. Like NCLEX questions, they want you to choose the BEST answer. In this case, nitrates would be FIRST LINE DRUG for angina. It's not that your answer is necessarily completely wrong, it's that it is not the best answer. If you were having angina, wouldn't you want the drug which is known to be the most likely to help you?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
For nursing questions, they often put several answers which could conceivably be at least partially correct. Like NCLEX questions, they want you to choose the BEST answer. In this case, nitrates would be FIRST LINE DRUG for angina. It's not that your answer is necessarily completely wrong, it's that it is not the best answer. If you were having angina, wouldn't you want the drug which is known to be the most likely to help you?

Exactly this. There will be many questions like the one in questions on the NCLEX & you will have to choose the most correct answer & you can't go back to fight for points.

You can still go to your teacher though just be prepared for this response or any response that isn't in your favor.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Don't argue. you're wrong. This old post explains why.

https://allnurses.com/nclex-discussion-forum/why-you-dont-902671.html

Step away from the piles of review questions, stickie notes, and scribbled scraps of paper for a minute, go get a nice cuppa tea, and take a deep breath. This is thinking time, not grab-the-highlighter time. Read on.

"Select all that apply" means that of the four choices given, more than one may be correct. This is in contrast to the "pick the best answer" that also bedevils new grads. However, the philosophy behind them is the same, and it goes to the heart of your chosen profession. Deep breath again.

In the "pick the best answer," there are usually two choices that just about anyone can discard out of hand. Of the other two, one is either loaded with at least one buzz-word to make it plausible to a guesser or someone who isn't clear on the concept, OR is also factually correct but not fully applicable to the full meaning of the question.

The classic example I use to explain this concept is the scenario of the abused wife who, back again after a beating, states she will not leave her husband, and you, the nurse, are counseling her. Of the two plausible correct answers, one is, "And yet you are here. Let's work on a plan to keep you safe." The other is, "You must leave him for your safety. Studies show that he will do it again."

While both are true, only the first is the correct answer. Why? Because the registered nurse knows that part of her responsibility is to lead the path down to better health, and it is always the patient's decision how to choose to do that. The first acknowledges the situation as it is without judgment, and offers a way for the patient to empower herself in a way that does not deny her choice. The second answer denies the patient's feelings and her expressed desire, and will turn her away from the nurse. The nurse who has a deeper understanding of her professional role will discern the difference. This isn't something you can memorize; it's part of your assuming, internalizing, the professional role.

SATA questions take this concept to the next step. They tend to look at more complex situations that require more knowledge and judgment than single-answer ones. This is because in nursing there are many, many situations in which more than one thing is going on (such as pain + fear + a pathophysiological issue). There may be interlocking aspects (such as looking at digoxin level + potassium level + diuretic use + assessing patient self-care management) that need to be seen as a whole rather than individual data points.

SATA situations test your ability to look at the forest, not just the trees. This is a critical skill for a new nurse, so it's clear why a form of question in the examination for initial licensure would include a lot of them.

Sometimes if you know the why of something, it helps you look at it in a way that leads you to better understanding. In the case of NCLEX, there are questions that test your memorization and understanding of single data points or concepts, and knowledge of how to do what students often call "skills" but are really manipulative (psychomotor) tasks.

But in SATA questions there are also items that look beyond these, focusing on your performance in the RN role you wish to assume. These are not to be feared but to be approached thoughtfully. You prepare for them not by looking at vocabulary, lists, and lab norms, but by reflecting on the meaning of nursing and the nursing process itself. This is where you take an evening to reread "Notes on Nursing, What It Is And What It Is Not," and pull out your nursing history and theory papers again. Yes, there was a good reason why you studied that. Here it is.

It takes knowledge and art to practice nursing. Looking at the rationale for SATA questions and reflecting in this way make you appreciate that in nursing, it's almost all "select all that apply." We're glad you're here.

I wish you well!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I took pharm a while back and loved every bit of it. Ended up with a 99 in the class actually.

Calcium channel blockers (diltizem and verapamil to be exact) can be used to help treat angina. But nitrates are the primary treatment for someone with angina. In this situation, you are not completely wrong, but your instructor was looking for the best answer, and the best answer was nitrates.

If you have a client who reports angina, would you want to give a CC blocker that takes some time to kick in, or a nitrate that kicks in within minutes?

Good luck and don't change your answers!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in cardiac ICU.

As previous posters already stressed, nitrates (1) and calcium channel blockers (2) would be the first line treatment of choice.

There are at least a couple of articles that point out to practical use of antidysrhythmic in treatment of unstable Angina, one being such as Amiodarone.

Here is one: [Drug therapy of angina pectoris]. - PubMed - NCBI

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment