Practical Nursing Calculations

Getting the dose right

Lidia Mayner, Valda Hext

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9780367718992
• eBook ISBN: 9781000246834
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology & Healthcare Industry

Worried about getting the dose wrong?

Don't know your fractions from your decimals?

You're not alone! Many people are not comfortable with their mathematical abilities but for most it's not a life or death situation. For nurses, however, a 'bad maths day' can have catastrophic consequences if drug dosages are calculated incorrectly.

Practical Nursing Calculations provides easy to understand explanations of key calculations. The many exercises offer opportunities to practise basic problem-solving to help build your confidence. The use of real-life situations demonstrates how maths is actually applied when working with patients. Realistic scenarios introduce common presenting illnesses and the medications used to treat them, and enables you to calculate their correct dosages.

This book has been developed to assist you to gain competency in basic mathematical skills and problem-solving techniques which require applied or conceptual mathematics. Practical Nursing Calculations has emerged from actual classroom curriculum and ten years of teaching in a major nursing school.

Easy to use, Practical Nursing Calculations provides you with a thorough grounding in the fundamentals of mathematics and a sense of how to apply your knowledge in your professional lives. A sound teaching and learning resource, this book is appropriate for self-directed learning or as a classroom guide.

This text is accompanied by a password-accessed website with extra exercises and quizzes.

www.allenandunwin/nursing

I
Basic Skills

Objectives

After completing the given calculations, it is expected that you should be able to:

1. calculate basic mathematical problems such as
   • addition
   • subtraction
   • multiplication
   • division
2. apply the above skills to decimal calculations
3. add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions
4. identify the basic units of measurement in the metric system
5. understand the concept of ratios

Introductory Assessment

1. Add the following
   1. 93 + 147 + 6 + 8253
   2. 11 +27 + 113 +2954
   3. 64.8 + 724.36 +27
   4. 36 + 0.74 + 925
2. Subtract the following
   1. 628 -361
   2. 7492 -396
   3. 1006.4 -329.8
   4. 629-46.8
3. Multiply the following
   1. 7432 x 18
   2. 231 x 62
   3. 6428 x 10
   4. 469 x 100
   5. 63.8 x 1000
   6. 8.6 x 7.2
   7. 318 x0.37
4. Divide the following
   1. 612 ÷ 3
   2. 9612 ÷ 12
   3. 783.9 ÷ 100
   4. 643 ÷ 1000
   5. 468 ÷ 10
   6. 132 ÷ 2.2
   7. 1651 ÷ 2.54
5. Simplify the following fractions
6. Multiply the following fractions
7. Divide the following fractions
8. Convert the following fractions to percentages
   2. $\frac{7}{10}$
   3. $\frac{5}{8}$
9. Change the following decimals to fractions
   1. 0.66
   2. 0.1
   3. 0.5
10. Change the following improper fractions to mixed fractions
11. Which of the following numbers will divide evenly into 75, 150,.
12. respectively?
    1. (75) 2,3,5,7, 15,25
    2. (150) 4,5,6,20,30,50
    3. (300) 2,3,5, 10,25,30,50
13. Complete the following
    1. There are______mg in 6.5 g
    2. ______mcg equals 1 g
    3. There are______cm in 1 m
    4. There are______m in 180 cm
    5. 3.4 L equals______ml
    6. 1 cc equals______ml
14. Convert the following
    1. 1.25 mg to meg
    2. 2.5 L to ml
    3. 0.65 g to mg
    4. 1.6 m to cm
    5. 375 ml to L
    6. 75 cm to m
15. Express the following solute decimals as ratios_______in______
    1. 0.75
    2. 0.33
    3. 0.4
16. Simplify the following ratios
    1. 75 to 25
    2. 50 in 15
    3. 200 in 1000
17. Write as a percentage, the solutes for the given solvents
    1. 80%
    2. 35%
    3. 95%
18. Change the following ratios______:______ to______in______
    1. 2:3
    2. 1:9
    3. 4:6

Answers

1. 1. 8499
   2. 3105
   3. 816.16
   4. 961. 74
2. 1. 267
   2. 7096
   3. 676.6
   4. 582.2
3. 1. 133 776
   2. 14 322
   3. 64 280
   4. 46 900
   5. 63 800
   6. 61.92
   7. 117.66
4. 1. 204
   2. 801
   3. 7.839
   4. 0.643
   5. 46.8
   6. 60
   7. 650
6. 1. $\frac{3}{8}$
7. 2. 5
   3. 25
8. 1. 0.7
   2. 0.625
   3. 0.15
9. 1. 75%
   2. 70%
   3. 62.5%
12. 1. (75) 3,5, 15,25
    2. (150)5,6,30,50
    3. (300)2,3,5, 10,25,30,50
13. 1. 6500
    2. 1 000 000
    3. 100
    4. 1.8
    5. 3400
    6. 1
14. 1. 1250 meg
    2. 2500ml
    3. 650 mg
    4. 16...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Basic Skills
• 2 Medications
• 3 Advanced Medication and Intravenous Calculations
• 4 Paediatric Dosages
• 5 Calculating Complex Volumes
• 6 Complex Calculations
• Appendices
• 1.2—Nomogram for a child
• 2.1—The 'Rule of Nines' for an adult
• 2.2—Burns assessment area for a child
• Bibliography