| Course | NSG 124 Pharmacology |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 1 |
| Paper type | Route and form comparison |
| Length | About 430 words, 4 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | BSN |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NSG 124 Unit 1
One Drug Family, Four Ways In: Nitrates as a Swallowed Tablet, Under the Tongue, Through the Skin, and Into a Vein, Held to the Same Four Questions
Student Name
Department of Nursing, Herzing University
NSG 124: Pharmacology
Instructor Name
January 15, 2026
One Drug Family, Four Ways In: Nitrates as a Swallowed Tablet, Under the Tongue, Through the Skin, and Into a Vein, Held to the Same Four Questions
Why Nitrates
Nitrates are a useful family for comparing routes because the same active idea, a nitric oxide donor that relaxes blood vessels, is given in very different forms, and each form behaves differently for reasons that belong to the route rather than to the drug. The four forms compared are an extended-release oral tablet of isosorbide mononitrate, a sublingual tablet of nitroglycerin, a transdermal nitroglycerin patch, and an intravenous nitroglycerin infusion. No doses, rates, or strengths appear in this comparison; those belong to the order and the product labeling.
The Grid
Rows hold the same questions for every column.
| Question | Oral tablet (isosorbide mononitrate, extended release) | Sublingual tablet (nitroglycerin) | Transdermal patch (nitroglycerin) | Intravenous infusion (nitroglycerin) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What must happen before the drug is available to the body | Swallowed, released slowly from the tablet in the gut, absorbed through the intestinal wall, and carried by the portal vein through the liver before reaching the general circulation | Dissolves under the tongue and is absorbed directly into the veins of the mouth, which drain into the general circulation without passing through the liver first | Moves from the patch reservoir through the outer layer of skin and into the small vessels beneath it, slowly and steadily | Enters the bloodstream directly; nothing stands between the drug and the circulation |
| What slows or speeds that | Food and gut transit time change release; the extended-release design deliberately slows it; crushing the tablet would destroy the design | A dry mouth slows dissolving; swallowing the tablet sends it through the liver, where most nitroglycerin is broken down before it can act | Skin that is thick, scarred, hairy, or cool absorbs more slowly; broken or warm skin may absorb faster | Only the infusion rate, set on the pump; the drug also binds to some plastic tubing, which the product labeling addresses |
| Where it tends to act once circulating | Veins more than arteries, reducing the blood returning to the heart | Same, with a rapid onset useful for an episode of chest pain | Same, with a steady effect over the hours the patch is on | Same, with an effect that can be turned up or down within minutes |
| What a nurse would therefore watch | Headache and lightheadedness in the first days; blood pressure; whether the tablet was swallowed whole | Blood pressure and pain relief within minutes; tingling or burning under the tongue; sitting the person down before use because of the risk of fainting | Patch site for irritation; rotation of sites; the patch-free interval ordered to prevent tolerance; removal before defibrillation or MRI per policy | Blood pressure and heart rate at close intervals; the pump rate; chest pain; headache; the correct nonabsorbing tubing |
Where the Differences Come From: The Route, Not the Drug
The largest single difference in the grid is the liver. Nitroglycerin swallowed as an ordinary tablet is mostly inactivated as the portal blood carries it through the liver, which is why the sublingual route exists: it lets the drug reach the heart's circulation before the liver can inactivate it (Burchum & Rosenthal, 2022). Isosorbide mononitrate is used orally because it is not broken down this way to the same extent. The row about what slows or speeds absorption therefore mostly describes where the drug enters the circulation relative to the liver.
The second difference is time. Sublingual and intravenous forms act within minutes, the patch over hours, and the extended-release tablet over most of a day. That difference in time course drives the monitoring row: the faster the onset, the closer and sooner the blood pressure is watched.
The third difference is tolerance. Continuous exposure to nitrates reduces their effect over time, which is why long-acting forms are usually given with a daily nitrate-free period, such as removing the patch overnight (Münzel et al., 2011). This is a feature of steady delivery, which the patch and extended-release tablet provide and the sublingual tablet does not.
What Stays the Same Across All Four Columns
The body's response is the same whichever way the drug arrives: dilation of veins and, to a lesser degree, arteries, with the same common adverse effects of headache, flushing, lightheadedness, and a fall in blood pressure (Thadani & Rodgers, 2006). The same important interaction applies to every form: nitrates must not be combined with phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors used for erectile dysfunction, because the combined fall in blood pressure can be severe. Asking about these medicines is part of the watch list in every column, even though it appears only once here.
References
Burchum, J. R., & Rosenthal, L. D. (2022). Lehne's pharmacology for nursing care (11th ed.). Elsevier.
Münzel, T., Daiber, A., & Gori, T. (2011). Nitrate therapy: New aspects concerning molecular action and tolerance. Circulation, 123(19), 2132-2144. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.110.981407
Thadani, U., & Rodgers, T. (2006). Side effects of using nitrates to treat angina. Expert Opinion on Drug Safety, 5(5), 667-674. https://doi.org/10.1517/14740338.5.5.667
Reading the NSG 124 Unit 1 instructions
Unit 1 asks you to compare how one drug or drug family behaves by different routes or forms. Expect to explain your choice, build a grid with the same questions for each route, explain where differences come from and name what stays the same. Many versions ask which pharmacokinetic terms to include and how many routes to compare. Check whether your section names the drug. Questions usually cover onset, peak, duration, first-pass metabolism, absorption factors and nursing checks. Explain differences by mechanism, such as the liver processing swallowed drugs before they reach the circulation. What stays the same, such as the drug's action and main side effects, matters as much as what changes. Cite the course text and one pharmacology source.
Inside the NSG 124 Unit 1 example
The comparison opens by explaining why nitrates suit the assignment. The grid places four routes in columns and the same questions in rows, which makes differences visible at a glance. The explanation section focuses on first-pass metabolism, showing why a swallowed tablet needs a larger dose and acts more slowly than a sublingual one. It also explains why patches need a nitrate-free interval to prevent tolerance. The section on what stays the same reminds the reader that every route causes vasodilation, so headache, dizziness and low blood pressure apply to all. Nursing checks, such as blood pressure before each dose, are listed for every route. The grid and explanation together show why route choice depends on the clinical goal.
Where the points sit in the NSG 124 Unit 1 rubric
Herzing's rubric for a route comparison usually covers the choice of drug, the grid, accuracy of pharmacokinetic terms, explanation of differences, what stays the same and nursing implications. Accuracy of terms such as onset, first-pass and bioavailability draws the closest reading. Grid points reward the same questions applied to every route. Explanation criteria look for mechanisms behind differences rather than lists. What stays the same earns credit because it shows the drug's action is constant. Nursing implication points go to checks for each route, such as blood pressure and patch rotation. Tolerance and the nitrate-free interval are often credited. Clear units help. The comparison relies on Lehne's text and Abrams's review of nitrate pharmacology.
NSG 124 Unit 1 help: mistakes that cost points
Route comparisons in Unit 1 often slip by listing facts for each route without explaining why they differ. Another frequent problem is misusing terms such as bioavailability and first-pass metabolism. Students often skip what stays the same. Nursing checks are generic or missing. Patch tolerance is not mentioned. Onset and duration are given without sources. The grid uses different questions for different columns. Sublingual instructions, such as not swallowing the tablet, are left out. Finally, explain differences by route, because graders reward a comparison that shows the liver and absorption site, not the drug, drive most of the changes.
Get a NSG 124 Unit 1 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 1 instructions and the rubric from your NSG 124 classroom, and tell us which forms the comparison has to cover. We write a custom example that asks the same questions of every column, keeps availability ahead of distribution, and ends each column in something a nurse would watch. First custom sample free, back in 24 to 48 hours.
More NSG 124 papers and BSN samples
- NSG 124 Unit 2: Dose calculation worksheet
- NSG 124 Unit 3: Administration rights walkthrough
- NSG 124 Unit 4: Pre-dose assessment record
- NSG 124 Unit 5: Monitoring and counseling brief
- NSG 124 Unit 6: Adverse effect escalation chart
- NSG 124 Unit 7: High alert medication file
- NSG 124 Unit 8: Drug classification table
- NSG 423 Unit 1: Regulation to practice trace
- NSG 633 Unit 1: Barrier to reporting analysis
- NSG 660 Unit 1: Practice question refinement
- NSG 120 Unit 1: Disease process summary
NSG 124 Unit 1 questions, answered
I have never given a medication. Can I still write this?
Yes. The comparison is a paper about properties, and nothing in it asks you to have handled a syringe. Your clinical hours, your skills check-offs and your medication passes stay yours to complete, and no sample stands in for them. What the example shows is the shape of the document: what belongs in each column, and where the marks concentrate.
Does the comparison need real drug information?
It needs the properties your course reading describes, cited where you use them. Drug references disagree with one another and are revised, so a figure remembered from a lecture is hard to defend when your instructor works from a different edition. Name the source in the row, and where two of your readings word a property differently, say so rather than choosing quietly.
How many forms should sit across the top?
Whatever your instructions specify, and where they leave it open, three columns worked properly beat five that thin out. Every column you add has to answer the whole list, and the rows where marks live are the ones comparing them, so a wide grid with half-filled cells usually scores below a narrow one carried through.
Where can I find a free NSG 124 Unit 1 sample paper?
The full NSG 124 Unit 1 nitrate route comparison is free on this page, four routes in one grid with the first-pass explanation. A comparison for another drug family can be written on request.
Why does sublingual nitroglycerin work faster than a tablet?
Under the tongue, the drug enters the bloodstream directly and avoids first-pass metabolism in the liver, so it acts within minutes. A swallowed tablet is partly broken down by the liver first, as this sample explains.