Free Nursing Pharmacology Review Course – Autonomic Medications – Section 2.1
Real Life Pharmacology - Pharmacology Education for Health Care Professionals
Eric Christianson, PharmD; Pharmacology Expert and Clinical Pharmacist
4.9 • 773 Ratings
🗓️ 14 February 2026
⏱️ 20 minutes
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Summary
Autonomic medications are some of the most commonly used — and commonly tested — drugs in nursing practice. In this episode, we break down the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems in a clear, practical way so you can connect receptors to real-world patient care. We’ll review key drug classes like beta blockers, alpha agonists, anticholinergics, and cholinergic agents, focusing on mechanisms, common indications, and high-yield adverse effects nurses must recognize. You’ll learn how to anticipate vital sign changes, monitor for safety concerns, and avoid common medication errors. Whether you’re preparing for exams or strengthening bedside confidence, this episode will simplify autonomic pharmacology and give you practical pearls you can apply immediately in clinical practice.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I've spent over a decade teaching pharmacology and I hope you enjoy this review and find it helpful in your studies. |
| 0:07.6 | You can get full ad-free access to the Med-Ead-101 Nursing Pharmacology Review course at Med-Ead101.com slash nurse. |
| 0:17.0 | In addition, you'll get nearly 20 hours of ad-free on-demand video lessons, downloadable |
| 0:23.7 | slides, which you can study from, over 40 cheat sheets and study guides, and practice |
| 0:28.8 | questions to assess what you know. Whether you're preparing for exams or building real-world |
| 0:34.3 | confidence, this course is designed to teach you things that matter on the test |
| 0:39.5 | and in practice. Help support me in my mission to provide free, high-quality pharmacology education. |
| 0:47.5 | You can do that by going to MedEd 101.com slash nurse and checking out the MedEd 101 Nursing Pharmacology Review Course. |
| 0:57.5 | As I begin getting into pharmacology and medications more specifically, I think a great place to |
| 1:05.8 | start is the autonomic system. So I'll cover that and some of the medications that are involved in regulating this system. |
| 1:17.6 | So the autonomic nervous system or the ANS is part of the nervous system that controls involuntary body functions. |
| 1:28.3 | Okay? |
| 1:29.3 | The way I remember autonomic is think of the term automatic. |
| 1:34.3 | So these things kind of happen automatically. |
| 1:36.3 | You don't have to think about them when we're talking about some of these things. |
| 1:42.3 | So what are some examples? |
| 1:50.2 | So heart rate, blood pressure, you know, breathing, if you think about at night, you know, |
| 1:53.4 | you don't have to remember to breathe in the middle of the night. Our body, our autonomic nervous system takes that over. |
| 1:58.9 | Digestion, temperature control, sweating, |
| 2:01.6 | you know, pupil dilation, constriction, as well as urination. |
| 2:08.6 | So there are two major, major components of the autonomic nervous system. |
| 2:14.6 | There's, you know, probably technically a third, which I'll mention coming up here, |
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