This fourth edition of Introducing Pharmacology provides an accessible and engaging introduction to the subject of pharmacology for nursing and healthcare students – in fact any healthcare professional needing to refresh their knowledge of this important area.

The fourth edition has been fully updated to include recently introduced drugs and a completely new chapter that takes the reader through the process of drug development and the clinical trials that are required before a drug is licensed for prescribing to patients. Acknowledging the COVID pandemic of 2020/21, a review of the vaccines and drugs used against coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is included in this edition.

This popular text includes:

• Clear explanations of how drugs work in the human body
• The underlying physiology and pathophysiology necessary for an understanding of the action of drugs
• Coverage of the common drug groups that nurses and other healthcare professionals are likely to encounter in practice
• Case-studies relating pharmacological theory to clinical practice
• ‘Beyond the basics’. A feature providing an in-depth explanation of the mechanism of action of key drugs. Useful for students studying at a more advanced level

New to this edition:

• A new chapter explaining how drugs are developed and undergo testing in clinical trials. This chapter also includes a section on the critical analysis of clinical trials and a brief explanation of the statistics used to present trial data
• An expanded chapter on pharmacokinetics, including the effect of renal and hepatic insufficiency on drug metabolism, and the new science of pharmacogenomics – the matching of drugs to patients, based on their individual genetics
• A new section on common skin complaints, psoriasis, eczema and the drugs used to treat them
• An expanded section on post-menopausal problems and the drugs used to alleviate symptoms
• Updated content that reflects the latest guidelines and recently licensed drugs

This textbook is an essential companion for nursing, midwifery students and other healthcare professions, as well as those on post-registration courses, studying to become independent prescribers.

Roger McFadden, until his retirement, was a senior lecturer in pharmacology in the Faculty of Health at Birmingham City University (BCU). Roger spent many years teaching pharmacology to nurses and other health professionals. He helped develop BCU’s acclaimed Non-medical Prescribers course, which has trained many hundreds of nurses to become independent prescribers.

Patricia Fell is a former Associate Professor at Birmingham City University (BCU), where she taught pharmacology and physiology to healthcare students for over 20 years. Now semi-retired, she continues to teach pharmacology on the Non-medical Prescribing course at BCU as a visiting lecturer.