University	Manukau Institute Of Technology (MIT)
Subject	722.544 Introduction to Pharmacology

722.544 Assessment Brief

Course Code & Name:	722.544 Introduction to Pharmacology
Title & Nature of Assessments:	Pharmacological Principles and Safe Medication Administration in Aged Care Essay
Weighting:	50%	Word Limit:	2000 +/- 10%
Due Date:	11/05/2026	Level:	5
Learning Outcomes Assessed:	LO 1- Apply pharmacological principles to support safe, evidenceinformed nursing practice. LO 4- Discuss the mechanisms of action, therapeutic uses and potential side effects of selected drug classes relevant to nursing practice.

Assessment Task

Write an academic essay based on the provided scenario that discusses the pharmacological principles, mechanisms of action, therapeutic uses, and potential side/adverse effects and drug interactions of two medications from major drug classes commonly used in aged care nursing practice. Your discussion should also demonstrate your understanding of how pharmacological principles and nursing considerations (i.e. the

5+ Rights of Medication Administration) are applied to support safe medication administration, with reference to evidence-informed sources.

Scenario

A student nurse is completing a clinical placement in an aged care facility under the supervision of a Registered Nurse (RN), learning how to apply pharmacological knowledge and professional responsibilities to practice. One of the residents, Mrs. T, is an 82-year-old woman with a history of osteoarthritis and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), and she currently has a dental abscess underneath one of her dentures. She is prescribed oral medications from three drug classes: Ibuprofen (a non-steroidal antiinflammatory drug), Omeprazole (a proton-pump inhibitor), and Amoxicillin (an antibiotic). The RN is responsible for ensuring safe medication administration and nursing practice standards.

Assignment Guideline

1. Select two (2) medications from those prescribed to Mrs. T in the scenario. For both selected medications, with application to the aged care setting:

Explain the pharmacokinetics.
Discuss the mechanism of action.
Discuss the therapeutic uses.
Identify and discuss common side/adverse effects, and potential drug interactions.

2. Describe at least eight (8) Rights of Medication Administration that will be applied when the RN administers the medication to Mrs. T.

3. Choose two (2) of these Rights of Medication Administration, and discuss them in depth, highlighting their application in aged care.

Use current nursing-relevant, Aotearoa NZ-relevant, evidence-based sources to support your explanation and discussion. Course-recommended sources are preferred, e.g.:

Frotjold, A., & Bloomfield, J. (2026). Chapter 19: Ensuring medication safety. In C. Douglas, G. Rebeiro, D. Waters, T. Moroney, J. Crisp, P. A. Potter, A. G. Perry, P.
Stockert, A. M. Hall, & W. R. Ostendorf (Eds.), Potter & Perry’s fundamentals of nursing: ANZ edition (7th ed., pp. 477–511). Elsevier.
Knights, K., Rowland, A., Darroch, S., & Bushell, M. (2023). Pharmacology for health professionals (6th ed.). Elsevier.
Ministry of Health. (2011). Medicines Care Guides for Residential Aged Care.
New Zealand Nurses Organisation. (2024). Guidelines for nurses on the administration of medicines.
Nursing Council of New Zealand. (2012). Code of conduct for nurses.
Nursing Council of New Zealand. (2025). Standards of competence for registered nurses.
And preferred medication information sources, such as nzformulary.org and www.medsafe.govt.nz

Assignment Structure

Structure your assignment using the following template

Next to each heading is an indicative word count in italics (this is a guide only, you may write more or less). Your total essay must remain within 2000 words ±10%

Under each heading below you are provided prompts in italics. Remove these prompts from your academic essay before submitting

Introduction (Approximate word count = 150 words)

Concisely summarise the scenario in 1-2 sentences.

Identify the two selected medications. The same two medications must be used throughout your essay.

Outline what will be covered in the essay.

Selected medication one (Approximate word count = 500 words)

Name the medication

Pharmacokinetics: Your explanation should consider absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion, linked to older adults.

Mechanism of action: Discuss how the medication works in the body.

Therapeutic uses: Discuss the uses of this medication, and why Mrs T is prescribed it.

Common side/adverse effects: Discuss the common adverse effects associated with this medication, and whether this differs in the older person.

Potential drug interactions: Discuss any important medication/drug interactions that may occur with this medication.

Your discussion must explicitly consider and explain how the pharmacology of each medication applies to older adults in aged residential care.

Selected medication two (Approximate word count = 500 words)

Name the medication

Pharmacokinetics: Your explanation should consider absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion, linked to older adults.

Mechanism of action: Discuss how the medication works in the body.

Therapeutic uses: Discuss the uses of this medication, and why Mrs T is prescribed it.

Common side/adverse effects: Discuss the common adverse effects associated with this medication, and whether this differs in the older person.

Potential drug interactions: Discuss any important medication/drug interactions that may occur with this medication.

Your discussion must explicitly consider and explain how the pharmacology of each medication applies to older adults in aged residential care.

Rights of Medication Administration (Approximate word count = 300 words)

Briefly describe at least eight (8) Rights of Medication Administration (e.g. Right patient) which will be applied by the Registered Nurse.

Discussion of Two Rights of Medication Administration (Approximate word count = 400 words)

Choose two of the Rights of Medication Administration described above and discuss them both in depth. Consider why these two rights are important in Aged Care, provide examples, and use Aotearoa-relevant evidence and/or guidelines to support each major point in your discussion.

Conclusion (Approximate word count = 150 words)

Summarise main points with no new material included.

Assignment Formatting

Use academic writing style. Please see MIT Library guides for Writing:

https://library.manukau.ac.nz/Academic-skills/Writing, including the guide ‘Features of Academic Writing’: https://library.manukau.ac.nz/ld.php?content_id=49122378

Word document formatting:

o Use font: Arial, Size 11 or 12
o Use spacing: 1.5 lines, with space between paragraphs
o Add your student ID number in the footer
o Add page number to all pages

Citations and Referencing: APA 7^th You can find referencing help here:

https://library.manukau.ac.nz/apareferencing

Submit your essay via Canvas as a Word document

Turnitin

Use Turnitin to check your work for similarity (plagiarism). You can submit your assessment to Turnitin an unlimited number of times prior to the submission date.

(Please note that you will receive an instant Turnitin report for the first 3 submissions, however, for any subsequent submissions it will take 24 hours to receive the report)

Your work should have an overall similarity below 30% with no more than 5% from any one source.
See Student Regulations about Misconduct in Assessment if unsure

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The use of GenAI (Generative Artificial Intelligence) in this assessment is not permitted. This includes Quill Bot, among others. Any suspected use of GenAI tools may result in an investigation into Academic Misconduct in accordance with the MIT Ākonga Policy.
Grammarly is permitted for checking grammatical errors only. Check with the lecturer if unsure.
Your kaiako (lecturer) has the right to ask you questions about your work or to ask you to explain your work to check your understanding. Your kaiako has the right to ask you to recreate any part of the work in front of them. Receiving full marks for any questions may be subject to a full and clear explanation from the ākonga (student)
Ākonga are recommended to review their similarity score prior to final submission AND to check their submission against an AI detector tool, prior to final submission
Ākonga are recommended to always keep a draft copy of all unedited work

Essay Criteria Table

Criteria	Weighting
For two selected medications, explain the pharmacokinetics with application to the aged care context	10%
For two selected medications, discuss the mechanisms of action, therapeutic uses, side/adverse effects & potential drug interactions, with application to the aged care context	30%
Description of at least eight (8) Rights of Medication Administration	20%
In-depth discussion of two (2) of these Rights of Medication Administration, highlighting their application in aged care	25%
Use of current nursing-relevant, Aotearoa NZ-relevant, evidence-based references	5%
Presentation and structure as per Assignment Guideline: Includes Introduction, body and conclusion. ID number in footer, pages numbered, Arial 11/12 font, 1.5 spacing, paragraph spacing, APA (7th ed.) citations and reference list, AI use acknowledged. Within 10% of word limit. Submitted on time or approved extension	10%

722.544 Assessment Rubric

	Excellent	Good	Poor	Unsatisfactory	Total
Select two (2) medications from the scenario and explain the pharmacokinetics, with application to aged care context LO 1- Apply pharmacological principles to support safe, evidence-informed nursing practice.	Detailed and complete explanation of the pharmacokinetics of two medications selected from the scenario, covering Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion of each. Explanation is explicitly linked to the aged care setting and informed by extensive evidence to support safe nursing practice.	Good explanation of the pharmacokinetics of two medications selected from the scenario, with minor omissions (e.g. missing 1 ADME element). Explanation includes aged care application but lacks depth. Informed by evidence to support safe nursing practice.	Covers only one medication fully, OR both with significant ADME gaps. Minimal application to aged care.	Limited or no explanation of the pharmacokinetics of two medications. Medications may not be accurately selected from the scenario. No application to aged care.
	7.5-10	5-7	2.5-4.5	0-2	/10
Using the two (2) selected medications from the scenario, discuss the mechanisms of action, therapeutic uses, side/adverse effects & potential interactions with application to aged care nursing practice LO 4- Discuss the mechanisms of action, therapeutic uses and potential side effects of selected drug classes relevant to nursing practice.	Detailed and complete discussion of the mechanisms of action, therapeutic uses, side/adverse effects, and potential drug interactions for the two selected medications. Discussion is explicitly linked to the aged care setting.	Good discussion of the mechanisms of action, therapeutic uses, side/adverse effects, and potential drug interactions for the two selected medications, with minor omissions (e.g. missing key element from one or more area). Discussion includes aged care application but lacks depth or examples.	Covers only one medication fully OR both with significant gaps. Minimal application to aged care.	Limited or no discussion of two medications. Medications may not be accurately selected from the scenario. No application to aged care.
	23-30	15-22.5	8.5-14.5	0-8	/30
Description of at least eight (8) Rights of Medication Administration LO 1- Apply pharmacological principles to support safe, evidence-informed nursing practice.	Accurate, clear, and comprehensive description of at least eight Rights of Medication Administration, including rights beyond the core “5 Rights.” Demonstrates correct nursing context, uses appropriate terminology, and shows sound understanding of how the Rights support medication safety in aged care and informed by extensive evidence to support safe nursing practice.	Description of at least eight Rights of Medication Administration with mostly accurate information. Minor errors or omissions may be present, OR descriptions may lack depth or clarity, but core understanding is evident. Informed by evidence to support safe nursing practice.	Describes only 5–7 Rights, OR provides superficial descriptions with limited accuracy or clarity. Content may be incomplete or lack relevance to nursing practice.	Describes fewer than 5 Rights and/or contains inaccuracies, misunderstandings, or irrelevant content. Does not demonstrate foundational understanding of medication safety principles.
	15.5-20	10-15	5.5-9.5	0-5	/20
In-depth application of two (2) of these Rights of Medication Administration, with application to Aged Care setting LO 1- Apply pharmacological principles to support safe, evidence-informed nursing practice.	Provides a clear, accurate, and in‑depth application of two Rights of Medication Administration. Discussion is explicitly linked to aged residential care, demonstrates critical thinking, includes aged‑care‑specific examples. Shows strong understanding of how these Rights support safe medication practice for older adults and informed by extensive evidence to support safe nursing practice.	Applies two Rights of Medication Administration with mostly accurate information and some aged‑care examples. Shows understanding of key concepts, though discussion may lack depth. Informed by evidence to support safe nursing practice.	Applies two Rights, but discussion is superficial, generic, or contains limited accuracy. Examples, if present, may not be specific to aged care.	Little or no meaningful application of two Rights. Content may be inaccurate, irrelevant, or unrelated to the aged‑care context. Demonstrates minimal or no understanding of safe medication administration principles.
	19-25	12.5-18.5	7-12	0-6.5	/25
Essay is supported by evidence-informed current, nursing, Aotearoa NZ-relevant references LO 1- Apply pharmacological principles to support safe, evidence-informed nursing practice.	Essay is well supported by current (within 10 years unless latest version of a Guideline/Document), evidence-informed references that are nursing-relevant and relevant to Aotearoa NZ. References are well-integrated throughout the discussion.	Essay uses course-recommended and other references, but some references may not be current, nursing-relevant, or NZ-relevant. Integration is adequate.	Uses minimal references. Referenced sources are irrelevant, or poorly integrated.	Uses minimal references with poor integration and/or does not reference information sources throughout discussion.
	4.5-5	2.5-3.5	1.5-2	0-1	/5
Presentation and structure as per Assignment Guideline: Includes Introduction, body and conclusion. ID number in footer, pages numbered, Arial 11/12 font, 1.5 spacing, paragraph spacing, APA (7th ed.) citations and reference list. Within 10% of word limit. Submitted on time or approved extension	Essay structure and format are of a professional standard, and meet the requirements of the Assignment Guideline & Template: Concise introduction, structured body, conclusion with no new information; ID in footer; pages numbered; Arial 11/12; 1.5 spacing; APA 7th correct; word count within ±10%; submitted on time (or per approved extension)	Essay structure and format meet most requirements, with minor errors (e.g. incorrect spacing or incorrect APA 7^th formatting)	Meets some requirements; multiple errors in format or APA; may exceed or not meet word limit.	Meets few requirements; major errors; late submission without extension.
	7.5-10	5-7	2.5-4.5	0-2	/10
TOTAL FOR ASSESSMENT					/100

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722.544 Introduction to Pharmacology Assessment Brief 2026 | MIT

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