01 / Reading Guide
Reading Guide
Who this book is for
Written for prelicensure practical and associate-degree nursing students, with applications to allied health study. The emphasis is on connecting medication classes to physiological effects and a structured nursing assessment. Readers seeking a medical-school account of medicinal chemistry or advanced prescribing should supplement this nursing-focused curriculum.
Prerequisites
Basic anatomy, physiology and introductory chemistry are useful. Review membrane transport, receptors, fluid balance and unit conversions; a prior specialist pharmacology course is not assumed.
What it covers
Foundational pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics lead into major medication classes organized around body systems. The text connects mechanisms with observations, communication and evaluation, and includes learning activities aligned with nursing education. Its cases provide opportunities to separate the expected action of a drug from patient-specific uncertainty.
How to use it
For each class, draw a chain from receptor or physiological target to the effect that would be observed in a fictional classroom case. Explain which background measurements make the explanation meaningful, then compare the reasoning with the chapter activity. Work through calculations with units visible at every step. Keep mechanisms, observations and administrative processes in separate columns. Discuss case answers with an instructor rather than treating a memorized example as a decision rule for a real patient.
Edition and sources
The complete Open RN second edition is copyright 2023 and available as web chapters and a downloadable PDF under CC BY 4.0, with stated exceptions. Its introduction explicitly describes a nursing curriculum and says the book is not a drug reference.
