Calculating medicine dosage
Knowing how to calculate the correct medicine dosage is an important skill for nurses. See how James is teaching this knowledge to a nursing volunteer…
James, who is the on-site GP and health advisor at the Salty Creek Community Festival, is talking to a volunteer nursing student about the importance of knowing how to calculate medicine dosage. He poses a scenario to the nursing volunteer:
“Imagine a child at the festival has food poisoning and needs treatment. The medicine dosage is based on weight, but you can’t use the measurement guide on the packaging as the child is physically bigger for their age. What would you do?”
Help the nursing volunteer calculate the appropriate dosage for the medicine by using the formula below:
weight in kilograms [latex]\times[/latex] dosage in milligrams
The volunteer nursing student knows that calculating medicine dosage is a skill she needs to master for her course and her career – an incorrect dose could do more harm than good! Medication is routinely administered by qualified nurses, midwives, and other health practitioners, who may also be required to supervise drug administration and double check for their colleagues. After reviewing the formula and doing some practice with James, the volunteer better understands how she will use this skill in her future nursing career.
- James isn’t just helping volunteers in the first aid tent – he’s also organising the Health Sector Industry Booth. Head over there to learn more about the latest innovations in sector and evaluating health content online, and explore advertisements for different healthcare roles.
Learn more on Learning Lab
- To do another calculation, follow this link to the Dosage by weight activity (3 minutes)
- Learn more about nursing calculations by watching a video on Medicine dosage by body weight. (2 minutes). Then, check out the worksheet under the video for an extra challenge. (8 to 12 minutes)
