Nursing Medication Calculation

Nursing medication calculations are an important part of nursing. These calculations can be used to find the correct dosage of a medication, as well as how much of it to give. This post will show you how to convert and label units in order to make sure that your patients are getting the right amount of medicine.

Convert to same units

• Convert from mg/kg to mg/mL.

To convert a dose expressed in mg/kg to the same dose expressed in milligrams per milliliter, multiply by 1,000:

• Convert from mg/kg to mg/L. To convert a dose expressed in milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) to the same dose expressed in milliliters (ml or L), divide by 1,000:
• Convert from mg/kg to mg/cc. To convert a dose expressed in milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) to the same dosage expressed as cubic centimeters (cc), divide by 1,000:

Convert decimal to fraction

• Convert decimal to fraction.
• Calculate the medication dosage.
• Label units and doses according to your nursing orders.

Label units and dose based on order

The following order is written for “IV push” in the “volume” column:

• Dose (mEq) 1.5 mEq/kg
• Units (mL) 15 mL

To determine how much to administer, use the conversion factors shown below:

1 mEq = 0.001 g; therefore 15 mL = 15 × 1000 mg = 1.5 g of KCl. To convert milliliters to grams, multiply by 0.001; therefore, multiply 15 mL × 0.001 = 0.15 g of KCl needed per dose.

order for a patient that is 28kg to be given 80mg/kg of Ibuprofen.

In order to calculate the number of milliliters that a patient should receive, you’ll need to convert the units from kilograms (kg) and milligrams (mg). The first step is to write down your order for a patient that is 28kg to be given 80mg/kg of Ibuprofen. You then can label the units and dose based on this order. Next, convert both quantities into appropriate units. For example, if your doctor wants you to give a patient 80 milligrams per kilogram, convert this into grams using multiplication: 80 mg / 1 kg = 0.08 g = 800 mg per kilogram (28 * 0.05 = 140; 140 / 100 = 1.4; 1.4 * 28 = 41; 41 * 2 = 84). Finally calculate how many milliliters or liters would be necessary for this amount with division: 800 / 1000 mL / 1000 mL ≈ 8 mL per kg (8 mL/kg × 0 kg).

The nursing medication calculation is the most important thing that we need to do as nurses. It is important to understand that the dosages given by doctors should be given in a safe way so that there is no harm to patients.