Medication Classes

[tarheelchick3113]

Hello,

I feel like I'm asking a really dumb question, but here it goes..

My teacher uses terms like alpha 1 blocker, beta 2 agonist, cholinergic blocker, etc. I can't these terms in my textbook. It says adrenergic blocker, adrenergic antagonists, etc. Do these terms mean the same thing? Sorry I'm just really confused.

Thank you :)

[DolceVita, ADN, BSN, RN]

Hi there,

You should find these terms in the index of any pharmacology textbook. Are you actually taking pharmacology right now? You will find, when you start reading the sections/chapters on adrenergic and cholinergic medications (in your textbook) this will be much clearer to you. In those chapters they usually start with the difference between an agonist and antagonist. Also, they will explain the basics of the adrenergic systems (including things like alpha and beta receptors -- at least in the adrenergic chapter(s)).

If your instructor is talking about them already, and you aren't in pharmacology yet, perhaps he/she could do a simplistic outline of these drugs.

I know it sounds like I am deflecting your question back to you but I don't want to blow your mind with more info than you need.

This link (below) I thought did a very thorough job with adrenergic and cholinergic drugs:

http://faculty.weber.edu/ewalker/Medicinal_Chemistry/topoutline.htm

Or...you can google "linda self adrenergic" and it should bring up a link to an instructor called Linda Self who does really great powerpoints (they got me through pharm with an A and a level 3 in ATI.

Bit tired now...I am off to bed.

[tarheelchick3113]

Thanks. Yes, I am in Pharm right now, but I'm still really confused. My teacher just reads the powerpoints to us, and the book doesn't really explain the differences well. It's nothing new though. We had to teach ourselves drug calculations..

Thanks again!

[DolceVita, ADN, BSN, RN]

No disrespect to pharm instructors -- I do find that they are not great at explaining these classes of meds. I had to teach myself. Go to your school library and borrow a copy of "nursing pharmacology made incredibly easy". Read the sections in there. Also, you are correct that there are many different names that can mean the the same thing.

Honestly, this is the only section of pharm I had to go slower and read very carefully. Otherwise I got mixed up. But this section is extremely important and will come up again and again. Also, don't forget, you can ask for a meeting with your instructor -- we probably don't do this enough with our instructors.

I promise that you will be glad you spent an extra couple of hours on it.

[tarheelchick3113]

Thanks, I really appreciate it. For the most part, I have them straightened out. I just felt like she was using those terms interchangeably, and that confused me. Thanks again everyone.