If you are taking dosage calculations in nursing school, you might be wondering, “Do nurses really need to know how to do this on the job?” In fact, this is one of the most common questions nursing students have regarding dosage calculations.
The short answer is yes, nurses definitely use dosage calculations on the job!
Why It’s Important to Learn Dosage Calculations in Nursing School
Dosage calculations can be a tough subject for many students in nursing school. I remember when I took dosage calculations, and we had a test on the first day of class! That was quite a shock.
However, I can now understand why some nursing schools stress the importance of learning this material. Here are a few things I discovered about dosage calculations while working as a nurse.
Many Employers Will Test Your Ability to Perform Dosage Calculations
Many nursing students think that dosage calculations will end with nursing school, but that is rarely the case.
When I was hired into my first nursing job, I was required to pass a dosage calculations exam before I was allowed to administer medications to patients.
Knowing Dosage Calculations Can Save Your Patients
By knowing how to calculate dosages, you’ll be able to protect both your patients and yourself. The good news is that in many healthcare facilities, there will be multiple safety checks in place to ensure that you are giving the proper medication and dosage.
For example, in many hospitals, pharmacy will send a bag of fluid that will indicate how to set the pump, and many medication administration programs on your computer will also tell you that information.
If you are using an IV infusion pump, those pumps often have medication libraries built-in to the software, along with common dosages that you can select.
Nevertheless, as the nurse, you are the final safety check, so it’s important to double check that everything is correct and matching up with the doctor’s order. I have seen errors occur, so it’s always good to verify your order and dosage information.
Other Nurses Might Have to Verify Your Dosages, Too
Interestingly, for some medications, you might even be required to get a second nurse to sign-off that the proper dosage is being administered.
For example, let’s say you are going to administer heparin, which is a blood thinner that can be administered via an IV infusion. Depending on how the physician ordered the medication, you often have to get the patient’s PTT levels checked. So you draw blood, obtain the PTT levels, and you must then increase or decrease the drip to maintain the parameters set by the protocol.
Because heparin is a weight-based medication, you’ll have to use your dosage calculations to calculate if you have to bolus them, increase the drip, or decrease the drip.
Don’t Stress about Dosage Calculations!
Considering all that I’ve written above, you might be feeling a little overwhelmed, especially if any kind of math makes you break out into a cold sweat.
Math is not everyone’s favorite subject, and it isn’t my favorite subject, either.
But here’s the good news: dosage calculations may seem impossible at first, but this is a skill you can learn to master with practice. If you keep working problems, you’ll eventually have that “ah ha!” moment.
Eventually, you’ll be doing dosage calculations in your sleep, and it will become second nature to you.
Also, don’t forget that there is more than one way to solve dosage calculations, so if one method doesn’t work for you, try other methods!
We have an entire series of free dosage calculations lectures that can help you see different ways to solve dosage calculation problems, along with free practice quizzes.