Now in its Third Edition, this text presents essential pharmacology concepts in a streamlined, user-friendly fashion. Organized by body system, the book methodically explains the rationale for each drug class's therapeutic actions, contraindications, and adverse effects, ensuring that students fully understand this important content.

Each chapter includes drug summary tables (with dosages), Drug Therapy Across the Lifespan boxes, all-inclusive nursing care guides based on a typical case study with critical thinking tips and patient teaching checklists. Each chapter ends with NCLEX®-style questions and other questions to form a mini-study guide.

New to this edition are Prototype Drug boxes with details on prototype drugs; Focus on the Evidence boxes promoting evidence-based practice; mid-chapter Focus Points summaries of key content; Focus on Patient Safety emphasizing the importance of delivering medications correctly to the patient; and increased pharmacokinetics information.

A bound-in CD-ROM contains more than 700 patient teaching printouts, Canadian drug regulations, a free video on medication administration, additional NCLEX®-style questions, and other learning tools.