Calculations for nursing students include mass for mass and intravenous drop rate calculations, according to DosageHelp.com. These calculations are necessary for nursing students who are preparing for examinations.Continue Reading
The mass for mass calculation determines the number of tablets to prescribe given the amount of mass each tablet holds, explains DosageHelp.com. The formula uses the mass of the medicine ordered and the mass of each tablet. Computation involves dividing the mass of the medicine ordered by the mass per tablet, which gives the number of tablets required. For example, if the mass ordered is 40 micrograms and the tablet is available in 10 micrograms, the number of tablets would be equal to 40 micrograms divided by 10 micrograms. This results in four tablets.
The first step in calculating the IV drop rate is to identify the drop factor on the tubing, which can be 10, 15 or 20 drops for every 1 milliliter of fluid, explains Infusion Nurse. To calculate the number of drops per minute, a nurse divides the number of milliliters by the number of minutes, and then multiplies the result by the drop factor. For instance, the IV drop rate for 1000 milliliters of IV fluid for eight hours with a drop factor of 10 would be 1000 divided by eight hours to give 125 milliliters per hour. This result divided by 60 minutes gives 2.08 milliliters per minute. This result multiplied by 10 gives a drop rate of 20.8 drops per minute.Learn more about Medications & Vitamins