Please help with nursing dosage question?

Yes and no.

If you're working in the field, you know that no one does this type of math anymore.

All IV pumps are programmed to do this FOR YOU. You just program the pump with the correct data (ie dose of med in the bag, pt's weight in Kg), and it does everything!

However, if you're in school, they expect you just to be able to pull that # out of yer butt.

First find out how much the pt weighs in Kg, since ALL med math is based on metrics, and you can't do it in pounds.

84/2.2 = 38.2 Kg

Then you need to know how much of the med is in each ML fluid.

3000mg/500ml = 6 mg/ml, which is 6000mcg/ml

Dosage: 100mcg/kg/min = 100x38.2 = 382mcg/min to give

382mcg/ml/min divided by 6000mcg = 382/6000 = 0.064 ml per minute

.064ml/min(60min/hr) = 3.8ml/hr

So many places for error, hospitals don't want that kind of possibility for patients suing them.... so they've taken the math out of nurse's hands entirely. LOL -- imagine trying to figure that out during a code!!!

But that's how you do it if you really need to!

Take it step by step.

1. Figure out how many mcg of drug are in 1 cc of fluid. (convert grams to mg, divide by the volume of D5W; there are 1,000 mg in a g)

2. Convert the pt weight to kg. (divide pounds by 2.2)

3. Figure out how many mg are required per minute (dose x pt wt in kg, then divide by 1000 to get the mcg to mg)

4. Now you know how much you have and how much you need; divide need by have to get the rate per minute; multiply by 60 to get the hourly rate.

In the real world, pumps allow you to input the weight, concentration and dose, and do the math for you.