Reproductive & OB
Obstetric and women's-health pharmacology — the high-alert labor-and-delivery drugs a nurse must administer with extreme care, plus the sex hormones behind hormonal contraception. Magnesium sulfate and oxytocin are ISMP high-alert medications where the dose and monitoring are the whole safety story; the combined hormonal contraceptives carry the estrogen-driven clotting risk that anchors their FDA boxed warning.
Magnesium Sulfate (Obstetric)
High-yieldPrevents/controls eclamptic seizures in preeclampsia. High-alert: monitor reflexes; antidote is calcium gluconate.
Oxytocin (Uterotonic)
High-yieldInduces/augments labor and controls postpartum bleeding. High-alert: titrate to contractions, watch for tachysystole.
Sex Hormones & Hormonal Contraceptives
-estradiol / -gestrel High-yieldEstrogen + progestin prevent ovulation. Boxed warning: smoking after 35 → serious cardiovascular events; estrogen drives VTE risk.