🍪
'Tis the season sale SAVE 30% now
Registered Nurse (RN)
/
Courses
/
Pharmacological Nursing
/
Antibiotics
/
Penicillin

Master Penicillin with Picmonic for Nursing RN

With Picmonic, facts become pictures. We've taken what the science shows - image mnemonics work - but we've boosted the effectiveness by building and associating memorable characters, interesting audio stories, and built-in quizzing.

DOWNLOAD PDF
Penicillin

Penicillin

Pencil-villain
Picmonic
Penicillin is a widely used antibiotic that is effective in killing bacteria. They are relatively safe and have low toxicity. Anaphylaxis is the only serious adverse effect. Because of a beta-lactam ring in their structure, they are called beta-lactam antibiotics, along with these other medications, cephalosporins, carbapenems, and aztreonam.
8 KEY FACTS
MECHANISM OF ACTION
Weakens Cell Wall
Breaking Cell Wall

Penicillin inhibits bacterial cell wall synthesis and interferes with cell wall replication of susceptible organisms, which results in cell lysis and death.

INDICATIONS
Gram-Positive Infections
Graham-cracker Positive-angel

Penicillin is used in the treatment of many gram positive respiratory infections, meningitis, infectious endocarditis, scarlet fever, gas gangrene, and otitis media. It is also administered for syphilis caused by a spirochete.

Prophylaxis
Purple-axes

Prophylactic administration is given to prevent recurrent attacks of rheumatic fever and prevention of bacterial endocarditis in patients with prosthetic heart valves, congenital heart disease, and mitral valve prolapse. Prophylaxis is usually initiated before dental procedures or any procedure which may expose the blood to direct invasion by organisms.

SIDE EFFECTS
Pain at IM Injection Site
Pain-bolt at In-Muscle Injection Site

Be sure to administer deep IM or using Z track to reduce pain at injection site. Aspirate before injection, as injection into an artery can lead to gangrene, necrosis, and tissue sloughing. If accidental injection into a peripheral nerve occurs, patient may experience a reversible sensory and motor dysfunction of the extremity.

Allergic Reaction
Allergy-alligator Reaction

An allergic reaction can range from a rash to anaphylaxis. Anaphylactic reactions are often immediate and occur within 2 to 30 minutes following the administration of the medication, therefore, educate the patient to remain at the doctor's office for 30 minutes after receiving an injection to monitor for a reaction. If patient has history of penicillin allergy, they should not receive a penicillin medication again.

CONSIDERATIONS
Skin Tests
Skin-suit-man Testing himself

Skin tests are used to determine patient’s current risk. It is thought that allergy to penicillin may decrease over time. There is a small risk of cross sensitivity with cephalosporins.

Allergy ID
Allergy-alligator ID-bracelet

Patients should wear a medic alert bracelet or carry some type of ID notifying health care personnel of allergy.

Medication Education
Medication Educator

Oral penicillin medication should be taken with a full glass of water 1 hour before meals or 2 hours after. Patients need to complete the entire course of treatment. Teach the patient to report signs of allergy to health care providers, such as a skin rash, itching, or hives. Oral suspensions need to be thoroughly shaken and stored in the refrigerator.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Recommended Picmonics

picmonic thumbnail
Imipenem and Meropenem (Carbapenems)
picmonic thumbnail
Macrolides Side Effects
picmonic thumbnail
Tetracyclines Overview
picmonic thumbnail
Tetracyclines Side Effects
picmonic thumbnail
Tetracycline Toxicities

Take the Penicillin Quiz

Picmonic's rapid review multiple-choice quiz allows you to assess your knowledge.

It's worth every penny

Our Story Mnemonics Increase Mastery and Retention

Memorize facts with phonetic mnemonics

Unforgettable characters with concise but impactful videos (2-4 min each)

Memorize facts with phonetic mnemonics

Ace Your Registered Nurse (RN) Classes & Exams with Picmonic:

Over 1,990,000 students use Picmonic’s picture mnemonics to improve knowledge, retention, and exam performance.

Choose the #1 Registered Nurse (RN) student study app.

Picmonic for Registered Nurse (RN) covers information that is relevant to your entire Registered Nurse (RN) education. Whether you’re studying for your classes or getting ready to conquer your NCLEX®-RN, Hesi, ATI, TEAS test, Kaplan exams, we’re here to help.

Works better than traditional Registered Nurse (RN) flashcards.

Research shows that students who use Picmonic see a 331% improvement in memory retention and a 50% improvement in test scores.