Pharmacy and Pharmacology
Pharmacy and pharmacology on the NM Veterinary Technician exam tests whether you can turn a veterinarian's order into a safe, correctly labeled dose and recognize drug-class risks. Expect calculation items, unit conversions, controlled-substance handling, and practical questions about storage and withdrawal times.
Core rules
- Verify the five rights before administration: patient, drug, dose, route, time. Confirm weight in kilograms, not pounds.
- Dose = mg/kg × body weight (kg). Volume to inject = dose (mg) ÷ concentration (mg/mL).
- A 1% solution contains 10 mg/mL; a 1:1000 dilution contains 1 mg/mL. Do not treat percent and ratio labels as interchangeable.
- Store vaccines and insulin per label; many reconstituted products expire in days, not weeks. Log controlled substances and reconcile waste.
- Follow withdrawal times for food-animal drugs and document owner instructions.
Worked example
Order: 5 mg/kg of drug X PO for a 12 kg dog; suspension is 50 mg/mL. Dose = 5 × 12 = 60 mg. Volume = 60 ÷ 50 = 1.2 mL. If the owner asks for a teaspoon equivalent, 1 tsp = 5 mL, so 1.2 mL is about 0.24 tsp - dispense in milliliters with an oral syringe, not kitchen spoons.
Traps
- Converting pounds to kilograms after calculating dose.
- Reading "10 mg/mL" as "10 mg per teaspoon" (a teaspoon is 5 mL, so that would be 50 mg).
- Using an expired or improperly stored product.
- Forgetting that some tablets are not scored and cannot be accurately split.