Advanced Pharmacology for the Advanced Practice Nurse builds the prescribing competency that defines advanced practice — safely and effectively selecting, prescribing, and monitoring medications independently.
What D116 covers
The course prepares graduate nursing students for the advanced practice nurse role with competencies for prescribing and monitoring medication safely and effectively, applying pharmacotherapeutics in primary care settings via pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
Students learn to select the correct medication, describe the rationale for that selection to the patient, family, and other providers, and effectively monitor the patient to promote positive drug outcomes.
The D116 performance assessment
Expect a performance assessment presenting a patient case requiring you to select an appropriate medication, justify the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic rationale, and describe a monitoring plan.
Key topics in D116
- Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics
- Medication selection rationale
- Prescribing safely and effectively
- Monitoring for positive drug outcomes
Writing tips for D116
Follow the task instructions and rubric line by line
WGU performance assessments for D116 are graded against a fixed rubric — every rubric line has to be visibly addressed, usually with a labeled heading that mirrors the rubric language. Skipping a rubric point because it seems minor is the single most common reason a competent submission comes back "Not Yet Competent" for revision.
Ground clinical reasoning in a specific patient case, not general practice guidelines
WGU evaluators are trained to distinguish genuine advanced-practice clinical reasoning from a paraphrased textbook summary. Anchor your submission in the specific patient case the task provides, and show diagnostic reasoning connecting assessment findings to your clinical decisions.
Because WGU is self-paced, don't let "no deadline pressure" become no submission
There's no weekly due date forcing progress, which means procrastination costs more at WGU than at a traditional term-based school — a stalled task can quietly eat weeks of a term. Treat your own target date for each D116 assessment as a real deadline.
Stuck on your D116 task?
Our writers know WGU's competency-based format and this course's performance assessment. Get an original, properly cited paper matched to your task instructions.
Why students seek help with D116
Students sometimes select a clinically reasonable medication but skip the explicit pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic justification the course specifically requires — a strong response shows the reasoning, not just the final medication choice.
How GradeEssays helps with D116
Share your patient case and rubric, and your writer will build the medication selection with explicit pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic justification and a monitoring plan.
Get Help With D116
Share your task instructions and rubric and we match you with a writer who knows this course and WGU's evaluation standards.
Place Your Order View All ServicesPrerequisites and program context
D116 has no listed additional prerequisites and is shared between the FNP and PMHNP tracks.
- Master of Science, Nursing - Family Nurse Practitioner (BSN to MSN)
- Master of Science, Nursing - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
- Post-Master's Certificate, Nursing - Family Nurse Practitioner (Post-MSN)
- Post-Master's Certificate, Nursing - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (Post-MSN)