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A hospital medication cart drawer opened to reveal neatly separated color-coded trays of medication-class groups, with a…
Content Review

NCLEX Pharmacology: Essential Medications You Must Know

Master the drug categories that appear most frequently

HM
HLT Mastery Team
Editorial Team
10 min readUpdated Jun 2026
Exam
NCLEX-RN
Read time
10 min
Updated
Jun 2026

Rather than memorizing every medication, focus on understanding drug classes and key nursing considerations.

Master a few sturdy drug-class pillars instead of memorizing every medication.
Four classical columns each topped with a different pill shape, representing the core drug classes that pharmacology rests on

Cardiac Medications

Beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, and antiarrhythmics are frequently tested. Know the mechanism of action, common side effects, and nursing interventions.

Antibiotics and Anti-infectives

Understand the different classes of antibiotics, when they're used, and critical nursing considerations like allergies and drug interactions.

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Pain Management

From NSAIDs to opioids, know the nursing considerations, side effects, and patient education points for each category.

Written by

HLT Mastery Team· Editorial Team

Study guides from the HLT Mastery editorial team, written and reviewed against the current exam blueprint.

Last updated · Originally published

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