20 Pharmacy & Pharmacology Practice Questions & Answers

1. 1. On a manufacturer's drug label an assistant reads: "Caution: Federal law restricts this drug to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian." What does that statement tell the assistant about the product?

   • A.It is approved for food animals only and may not be dispensed for pets.
   • B.It is a controlled substance that must be logged in a perpetual inventory record.
   • C.It is a prescription drug that may be dispensed only on a veterinarian's order.✓ Answer
   • D.It is an over-the-counter product that any staff member may sell to a client.

   This caution statement is the federal legend required by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act Section 503(f) on prescription (legend) animal drugs. Its presence is how staff distinguish a prescription drug, which requires a veterinarian's order and a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship, from an over-the-counter drug that carries adequate directions for lay use. It says nothing about scheduling: controlled substances are identified separately by their DEA schedule symbol.

   Source: Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act Section 503(f), veterinary prescription drug caution statement; AVMA Guidelines for Veterinary Prescription DrugsReport a problem with this question

2. 2. An assistant is labeling a container of medication to go home with a patient. Which set of items must appear on that container at minimum?

   • A.Wholesaler's lot number, the purchase price, the reorder point, and the shelf location code.
   • B.Veterinarian's DEA number, state license number, years in practice, and professional degree.
   • C.Veterinarian's name and address, drug name and strength, animal identification, and directions for use.✓ Answer
   • D.Client's home address, the animal's microchip number, invoice total, and date of the next visit.

   AVMA guidance sets the minimum dispensing label as the prescribing veterinarian's name and address, the drug name and strength (when more than one strength exists), identification of the animal treated, adequate directions for proper use, and any required cautions such as withdrawal times. Each element answers a question someone may need later: who ordered it, what it is, for which animal, and how to give it. Business data such as price or reorder point belongs in the inventory record, not on the patient's container.

   Source: AVMA Guidelines for Veterinary Prescription Drugs — required labeling information for dispensed drugsReport a problem with this question

3. 3. The required directions and cautions for a dispensed drug will not fit on the container label. What is the correct way to handle this?

   • A.Leave the cautions off the label and give them to the client verbally at checkout.
   • B.Print only the drug name and strength and keep the rest in the medical record.
   • C.Put the remaining required information on a separate sheet dispensed with the drug.✓ Answer
   • D.Abbreviate the directions heavily so that all of the wording fits on the label.

   AVMA guidance states that when the label lacks space, the remaining required information must accompany the drug on a separate sheet, because the information has to travel with the medication to be useful at home. Verbal instructions and entries kept only in the record are not available to the person medicating the animal at 10 p.m., and heavy abbreviation reintroduces exactly the misreading risk that clear labeling is meant to remove.

   Source: AVMA Guidelines for Veterinary Prescription Drugs — labeling when container space is inadequateReport a problem with this question

4. 4. A written order reads "1 tablet SID." FDA reports on medication errors in animals identify this abbreviation as a repeated cause of overdose. What is the recommended way to write the frequency instead?

   • A.Write out "once daily" instead of using the abbreviation "SID".✓ Answer
   • B.Write "QD" in place of "SID" so that the letters look more distinct.
   • C.Write "1 x d" so that the number appears ahead of the interval.
   • D.Write "SID" in capital letters and underline it on the label.

   Handwritten "SID" has been misread as BID or QID, turning once-daily dosing into two or four times daily, so the FDA's recommendation is to spell the frequency out in words. "QD" is on the same error-prone list because it is confused with "QID" and with "OD"; capitalizing, underlining, or inventing a shorthand does not remove the ambiguity, since the reader is still decoding an abbreviation.

   Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, Preventing Medication Errors in Animals — error-prone abbreviationsReport a problem with this question

5. 5. A treatment order reads "1 drop OS q12h." Where is this medication placed?

   • A.Into the left ear, every 12 hours.
   • B.Into both eyes, every 12 hours.
   • C.Into the left eye, every 12 hours.✓ Answer
   • D.Into the right eye, every 12 hours.

   The eye abbreviations come from Latin oculus: OD is the right eye, OS the left eye, and OU both eyes, while the ear abbreviations come from auris: AD right, AS left, AU both. The leading letter tells you the organ, so "OS" is unambiguously the left eye, and q12h means every 12 hours. Confusing the O and A series is a classic error, and it matters because otic preparations can injure the eye.

   Source: NAVTA Essential Skills, Pharmacy and Pharmacology — common pharmacy abbreviations; standard veterinary assisting textsReport a problem with this question

6. 6. A treatment sheet lists the routes PO, SQ, IM and IV. Which statement sorts these correctly into enteral and parenteral routes?

   • A.SQ is the enteral route, given by mouth; PO, IM and IV are parenteral.
   • B.PO is the enteral route, given by mouth; SQ, IM and IV are parenteral.✓ Answer
   • C.IM is the enteral route, given by mouth; PO, SQ and IV are parenteral.
   • D.IV is the enteral route, given by mouth; PO, SQ and IM are parenteral.

   PO stands for per os, by mouth, so it is the enteral route: the drug enters the gastrointestinal tract and must be absorbed there. Parenteral means any route that bypasses the GI tract, which covers subcutaneous, intramuscular and intravenous injection. That distinction is why onset is generally fastest with IV and slowest with PO, and why an animal held NPO cannot receive oral medication.

   Source: NAVTA Essential Skills, Pharmacy and Pharmacology — routes and methods of drug administration; standard veterinary assisting textsReport a problem with this question

7. 7. A written order to be filled reads only "Give 1 tablet twice daily." It does not state the route or how many tablets to dispense. What should the assistant do?

   • A.Fill the quantity usually dispensed for that drug and note the assumption in the record.
   • B.Ask the prescribing veterinarian to supply the missing information before filling.✓ Answer
   • C.Choose the route that the drug's package insert lists first for that species.
   • D.Dispense a seven-day supply and have the client call back for the remainder.

   A prescription must be complete before it can be filled: route, strength, quantity and duration are prescribing decisions that belong to the veterinarian, not to the person filling the order. An assistant who fills in a missing element from habit or from a package insert is effectively prescribing, which is outside the assistant's role, and partial dispensing without an order leaves the patient with an unplanned treatment course.

   Source: AVMA Guidelines for Veterinary Prescription Drugs; NAVTA Essential Skills, Pharmacy and Pharmacology — reading and interpreting a prescriptionReport a problem with this question

8. 8. A handwritten order reads "5.0 mg." Why is writing the dose that way discouraged?

   • A.Whole numbers require a decimal, so "5.0 mg" may be taken as "0.5 mg".
   • B.The zero may be read as a letter, so "5.0 mg" may be taken as "5 ounces".
   • C.A trailing zero signals micrograms, so "5.0 mg" may be taken as "5 mcg".
   • D.The decimal point may be missed, so "5.0 mg" may be taken as "50 mg".✓ Answer

   A trailing zero is dangerous because a faint, smudged or photocopied decimal point disappears and the reader sees a number ten times larger. FDA guidance on preventing medication errors in animals therefore says never to use a trailing zero after a whole number, and always to use a leading zero before a bare decimal, so that ".5 mg" is written "0.5 mg" and is not read as 5 mg.

   Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, Preventing Medication Errors in Animals — trailing and leading zerosReport a problem with this question

9. 9. A dog weighs 44 lb. The veterinarian has prescribed a dosage of 5 mg/kg. Using 1 kg = 2.2 lb, what total dose does the order come to?

   • A.220 mg
   • B.20 mg
   • C.484 mg
   • D.100 mg✓ Answer

   Body weight must be converted to kilograms first, because the prescribed dosage is expressed per kilogram: 44 lb divided by 2.2 gives 20 kg, and 20 kg times 5 mg/kg gives a 100 mg dose. Multiplying the pounds directly by the dosage gives 220 mg, and multiplying by 2.2 instead of dividing gives 484 mg — both more than double the intended amount. The 20 mg option is the body weight in kilograms, not a dose.

   Source: Metric weight conversion (1 kg = 2.2 lb) and the dosage-times-body-weight relationship; Elsevier's Textbook for the Veterinary Assistant — measurement and dose conceptsReport a problem with this question

10. 10. The veterinarian has written a total dose of 0.25 g of an oral medication. The suspension on the shelf is labeled 125 mg/mL. What volume does that dose correspond to?

    • A.20 mL
    • B.2 mL✓ Answer
    • C.0.002 mL
    • D.0.2 mL

    The order and the label use different units, so convert before dividing: 1 g equals 1,000 mg, so 0.25 g is 250 mg, and 250 mg divided by the 125 mg contained in each millilitre gives 2 mL. Skipping the gram-to-milligram conversion produces 0.002 mL, and using 1 g = 100 mg produces 0.2 mL. Concentration on a liquid label always states how much drug is present in one millilitre, never how many millilitres to give.

    Source: Metric conversion (1 g = 1,000 mg) and concentration expressed as mg/mL; Elsevier's Textbook for the Veterinary Assistant — measurement and dose conceptsReport a problem with this question

11. 11. A vial in stock is stamped "EXP 06/2027," with a month and year but no day. Through what date may the product be used?

    • A.Through the last day of May 2027.
    • B.Through the last day of December 2027.
    • C.Through the first day of June 2027.
    • D.Through the last day of June 2027.✓ Answer

    When a manufacturer prints only a month and year, the expiration date is the last day of that month, so this vial is usable through the end of June 2027. The assistant still checks every container for its date before it is used or dispensed and rotates stock so the shortest-dated product is used first. Note that once a multidose vial is opened, or a product is reconstituted, a beyond-use date replaces the printed expiration date.

    Source: FDA drug expiration dating convention (month/year labeling applies through the last day of the stated month); NAVTA Essential Skills, Pharmacy and Pharmacology — evaluating containers for expiration datesReport a problem with this question

12. 12. While counting controlled substances, an assistant finds the log balance and the amount actually in the vial differ by 2 mL. What is the correct action?

    • A.Report the difference to the supervising veterinarian and document it immediately.✓ Answer
    • B.Recount at the end of the shift and adjust the log so it matches the vial.
    • C.Have the person who last used the drug initial a corrected entry in the log.
    • D.Note the difference on scrap paper and raise it at the next staff meeting.

    Controlled substance records must be accurate and contemporaneous under federal recordkeeping rules, and the registrant is accountable for every unit received and dispensed. That is why a discrepancy is reported and documented at once rather than reconciled by the person who found it: altering or backfilling a log destroys the record that any later investigation depends on, and repeated small unexplained differences are a recognized sign of diversion.

    Source: DEA controlled substance recordkeeping requirements, 21 CFR Part 1304; AAHA controlled substance log guidanceReport a problem with this question

13. 13. Under federal rules, how must a veterinary practice keep and record its controlled substances?

    • A.In a locked drawer at the treatment table, tallied once a year from invoices.
    • B.In the vaccine refrigerator, recorded only at the point a vial is emptied.
    • C.In a securely locked, substantially constructed cabinet, with a separate use log.✓ Answer
    • D.On the general pharmacy shelving, tracked on the same want list as other stock.

    DEA security rules require controlled substances to be stored in a securely locked, substantially constructed cabinet or safe, and recordkeeping rules require records kept separate from other business records, with an initial inventory and a further inventory every two years. A perpetual log entered at each use is what makes the physical count verifiable at any moment; general shelving, an annual invoice tally, or recording only when a vial empties all leave gaps that cannot be reconstructed.

    Source: DEA security requirements 21 CFR 1301.75 and recordkeeping/inventory requirements 21 CFR Part 1304Report a problem with this question

14. 14. A practice has expired controlled substances that must leave the building. What is the correct way to dispose of them?

    • A.Transfer them to a DEA-registered reverse distributor and keep the paperwork.✓ Answer
    • B.Send them back to the wholesaler with the next routine stock credit.
    • C.Place them in the regular trash once the labels have been defaced.
    • D.Pour them down the utility sink and enter the waste in the drug log.

    Federal disposal rules require controlled substances to be surrendered to a DEA-registered reverse distributor or collector, with the transfer documented, because the registrant remains accountable for the drug until a registered handler takes custody. Sewering and trash disposal are prohibited under those rules and create an environmental and diversion risk; an ordinary wholesaler credit return is not a registered disposal pathway for expired controlled drugs.

    Source: DEA controlled substance disposal regulations, 21 CFR Part 1317; DEA Form 41 destruction documentation guidanceReport a problem with this question

15. 15. An assistant is preparing an antineoplastic (chemotherapy) injection wearing chemotherapy-rated gloves and a gown and using a closed-system transfer device. What is the purpose of these precautions?

    • A.They keep the vial sterile so the remaining drug can be used for other patients.
    • B.They keep the drug from reacting with the plastic of the syringe barrel.
    • C.They keep drug aerosol and droplets off the skin and out of the air.✓ Answer
    • D.They keep the drug from breaking down when it is exposed to room light.

    Cytotoxic drugs are hazardous to the people handling them, not only to the tumor, and the main exposure routes are skin contact and inhalation of aerosol released when a pressurized vial is vented or a needle is withdrawn. Chemotherapy-rated PPE and a closed-system device contain that release at the source. Staff who are pregnant or may become pregnant should not handle these agents, and cytotoxic waste is segregated into its own labeled stream.

    Source: OSHA Hazard Communication Standard and NIOSH guidance on safe handling of hazardous drugs in healthcare settingsReport a problem with this question

16. 16. Shortly after a hospitalized patient receives a prescribed injection, it develops facial swelling and raised hives. What should the assistant do?

    • A.Report it to the veterinarian at once and record the drug, dose and time.✓ Answer
    • B.Record it as an expected side effect and continue the treatment sheet as written.
    • C.Give an antihistamine from stock and watch the patient for the next hour.
    • D.Hold all further treatments until the patient's next scheduled recheck.

    Facial swelling and urticaria after a drug is given are signs of a hypersensitivity reaction, an adverse drug reaction rather than a mild expected side effect, and such reactions can progress to collapse within minutes. The assistant's role is to alert the veterinarian immediately and document what was given, how much and when, because that record supports treatment and any adverse-event report; selecting and giving a second drug is a prescribing decision the assistant does not make.

    Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine adverse drug experience reporting guidance; standard veterinary assisting texts on recognizing adverse drug reactionsReport a problem with this question

17. 17. An assistant filling a prescription finds the pharmacy is out of the tablet strength the veterinarian wrote, although a different strength of the same drug is on the shelf. What should the assistant do?

    • A.Dispense twice as many half-strength tablets so that the total dose matches.
    • B.Ask the prescribing veterinarian how to proceed and dispense nothing yet.✓ Answer
    • C.Select a comparable product from the same drug class that is currently in stock.
    • D.Dispense the nearest strength on hand and tell the client to split the tablets.

    Selecting a drug, a strength or a substitution is prescribing, which the veterinarian is responsible for; the assistant fills, labels, packages and dispenses what was ordered, under supervision and within what the state practice act allows. Even a substitution that arrives at the same total milligrams changes the product the client handles and the instructions on the label, and some tablets — enteric-coated or extended-release forms — must never be split at all.

    Source: AVMA Guidelines for Veterinary Prescription Drugs (veterinarian responsibility for prescribing); NAVTA Essential Skills, Pharmacy and Pharmacology — filling and dispensing under supervisionReport a problem with this question

18. 18. A modified-live vaccine must be administered within about an hour of being reconstituted with its diluent. What is the reason for that limit?

    • A.The diluent thickens within an hour and will no longer pass through a needle.
    • B.The live organisms lose viability once reconstituted, so potency falls off.✓ Answer
    • C.The preservative breaks down within an hour and the product becomes toxic.
    • D.The adjuvant settles out within an hour and causes injection-site pain.

    A modified-live vaccine works because it contains attenuated organisms that must still be alive to replicate and stimulate active immunity. Once the lyophilized cake is reconstituted, those organisms begin to die off, so an under-potent dose may be given without anyone noticing. Vaccine guidelines therefore say to reconstitute only with the diluent supplied for that product, use it promptly, and discard unused reconstituted product rather than refrigerating it for later.

    Source: AAHA Canine Vaccination Guidelines and AAHA/AAFP Feline Vaccination Guidelines — vaccine reconstitution and handlingReport a problem with this question

19. 19. An assistant is putting a vaccine shipment away. At what temperature and in what part of the refrigerator should the vaccines be kept?

    • A.At 2-8 °C on the door shelves, where staff can reach them quickly.
    • B.At -10 °C in the freezer compartment until the day they are used.
    • C.At 2-8 °C in the middle of the unit, away from the door and back wall.✓ Answer
    • D.At 2-8 °C against the back wall, which holds the most stable cold.

    Vaccines are kept at 2-8 °C, and the middle of a dedicated refrigerator is chosen because that is where the temperature is most stable: the door warms every time it is opened, and product against the back wall can freeze against the cooling surface. Freezing damages vaccine, especially adjuvanted products, and the damage is invisible, which is why a refrigerator thermometer is monitored and logged rather than trusted by feel.

    Source: AAHA Canine Vaccination Guidelines and AAEP vaccination guidelines — vaccine storage and handlingReport a problem with this question

20. 20. A drug's carton is marked "protect from light." How should the assistant store and dispense that product?

    • A.Keep it wrapped in the client's paperwork until the visit is over.
    • B.Keep it in its carton or an amber vial, away from direct light.✓ Answer
    • C.Refrigerate it, because cold storage takes the place of light protection.
    • D.Keep it in a clear vial so that any color change is easy to see.

    Some drug molecules are degraded by light, so the product loses potency or forms breakdown products even though the container looks untouched. Keeping it in the original carton or dispensing it in an amber vial blocks that exposure; refrigeration addresses heat, not light, and is wrong unless the label calls for it. Storage conditions are read off the manufacturer's label for each product rather than assumed from habit.

    Source: Manufacturer storage statements required on FDA-approved drug labeling; NAVTA Essential Skills, Pharmacy and Pharmacology — proper storage of therapeutic agentsReport a problem with this question

Practice questions based on the NAVTA veterinary assistant skill categories and standard veterinary assisting practice. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by NAVTA. Note that the Approved Veterinary Assistant credential requires completing a NAVTA-approved training program before you may sit the exam — this bank is study material, not a substitute for that program, and it cannot cover the hands-on skills your program assesses in a clinic. What an assistant is permitted to do is set by your state's veterinary practice act and by what the supervising veterinarian delegates, so nothing here should be read as authorising a task where you work. About the AVA credential →