NCLEX pharmacology practice questions
- questions
- 210 questions
- of the exam
- 13–19% of the exam
- test-plan category
- Pharmacological and parenteral therapies test-plan category
- last updated
- August 2026 last updated
Pharmacological and parenteral therapies is the largest single category on the NCLEX-RN test plan, at 13–19% of scored items. The 210 questions below are written against that category and weighted the way the plan weights it: more adverse effects and interactions than pure calculation, because that is what the exam asks. Five are free to answer right here.
Written and reviewed by Dana Whitfield, RN, MSN · Updated August 2026
Pharmacological and parenteral therapies
5 free pharmacology questions
Playable here, no account. Rationales expand in place.
Pharmacology · free set
1 of 5A client with heart failure is started on furosemide 40 mg PO daily. Which findings should the nurse report to the provider before administering the next dose? Select all that apply.
Rationale
Furosemide is a loop diuretic, so the two things you are watching are potassium and kidney function. A potassium of 2.9 mEq/L is below the 3.5–5.0 reference range and puts the client at risk for dysrhythmia — hold and report. Muscle cramps with palpitations are the clinical face of that same hypokalemia, so they are reported together, not separately. A creatinine that doubles signals the diuresis has outrun renal perfusion. A blood pressure of 132/78 and a 1 kg loss are the expected response to the drug working, not reasons to hold it.
Answer: A, D, E
The provider prescribes heparin 25,000 units in 250 mL of 0.9% sodium chloride to infuse at 1,000 units/hour. At what rate in mL/hour should the nurse set the pump?
Rationale
Find the concentration first: 25,000 units ÷ 250 mL = 100 units/mL. Then divide the ordered dose by that concentration: 1,000 units/hour ÷ 100 units/mL = 10 mL/hour. Dosage items almost always reduce to two steps like this, and the distractors are the answers you get from a single misplaced decimal — which is exactly what the item is testing.
Answer: B
Which tasks may the registered nurse delegate to unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP)? Select all that apply.
Rationale
Delegate tasks, never the nursing process. Vital signs on a stable client, ambulation of a stable client, and recording intake and output are standardized, predictable, and have a known outcome — all delegable. Teaching and assessment belong to the RN, and the word that gives it away is 'newly': a new inhaler and a new admission both require judgement the UAP is not licensed to make.
Answer: A, C, E
A client is admitted with diabetic ketoacidosis. Which findings does the nurse expect? Select all that apply.
Rationale
DKA is hyperglycemia plus ketosis plus metabolic acidosis, and four of these are that picture: Kussmaul respirations blowing off CO₂, ketones on the breath, a glucose well above 250 mg/dL, and dehydration showing as warm, flushed, dry skin. A bicarbonate of 30 mEq/L is above the reference range — in DKA bicarbonate is consumed and falls below 18. On a select-all, check each option against the pathophysiology on its own; there is no partial credit on the real exam.
Answer: A, B, D, E
Four hours after a cardiac catheterization via the right femoral artery, the nurse notes the client's right dorsalis pedis pulse is now faint and the foot is cool and pale. What is the nurse's priority action?
Rationale
A pulse that was present and is now faint, with a cool, pale extremity distal to the puncture site, is arterial occlusion until proven otherwise — a limb-threatening complication that needs the provider now. Documenting and rechecking wastes the window, warming treats the symptom and masks the change, and asking the client to move the ankle neither restores flow nor gives you new information.
Answer: C
Breakdown
What is tested in pharmacology
How the questions in this set are distributed, so you can see what you are buying before you buy it.
| Subtopic | Questions |
|---|---|
| Dosage calculation | 48 |
| Adverse effects and interactions | 62 |
| Blood products and IV therapy | 35 |
| Pain management | 31 |
| High-alert medications | 34 |
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