Just need some guidence on Pharm math test.

Nursing Students Student Assist

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Ny good places to help online to do the conversions? We have to get a 95 out of 40 questions. I thought I did really goo, then come to find out I didn't make a 95. I am so upset and don't know what went wrong! I did so much math packets and kept coming up with the right answers. Someone please help!

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

This is a good one.....DosageHelp.com - Helping Nursing Students Learn Dosage Calculations

what questions do you have trouble with?

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We used 3-2-1 calc in school. Was great for dimensional analysis and drug calc.,etc

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Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.

I think the best way to approach dosage problems is to read the whole scenario and then underline what the actual question is. That way, you can disregard irrelevant information meant to throw you off. For example, we had a sample question that read: Order: cefepime (Maxipime) 750 mg in 100 ml of D5W, IV, every 12 hr. Set and solution: Infuse over 30 minutes. What is the infusion pump rate in ml/hr?

The answer is 200 mL/hour. Why? The question is only asking for mL/hour. You don't need to 750 mg and the 12 hours is there to throw you off. They're looking to see if you understand the actual question. If you're infusing 100 mL in 30 minutes, it's actually a simple math problem to turn that into how many mL in an hour.

Now, why don't you try this one:

Dose ordered: ampicillin 500 mg IV. Drug available: 1-gm vial. Reconstituted solution will contain 125 mg/5ml. How much will you give in mls?

For this question, we're looking for only milliliters. I always start my dimensional analysis with the unit I need in the numerator of the first fraction.

(5mL/125 mg) x 500 mg = 20 mL

Now let's look at another question that has quite a few items you can eliminate immediately: Order: chlorpromazine HCl (Thorazine) 50 mg, IVPB. Instructions: Dilute Thorazine 50 mg in 500 ml of 0.9% NS to run for 4 hours. What is the infusion pump rate in mls/hour?

You need mL/hour. The 50 mg is extraneous, the 0.9% is extraneous. You're left with 500 mL/4 hours = 125 mL/hr.

Do you see how the question leads you to determine which numbers you need and which you don't?

Now let's look at a gtts/min question: Calculate the drops per minute (gtt/min) for the following order. Assume you are using microdrip (60 gtts/ml) tubing and are running the IV fluid via gravity (ie NOT on an infusion pump): 1000 ml of D5W to run for 12 hours. Round to nearest whole number.

Since we know we need gtts/min in our final answer, we'll start the dimensional analysis using the only factor we have with gtts in it, which is the microdrip tubing of 60 gtts/mL. Now it's just a simple matter of eliminating the units in the denominator until we end up with gtts/min.

(60 gtts/1 mL) x (1000 mL/12 hour) x (1 hour/60 min) = 83 gtts/min

I hope this helps!!!

I also highly recommend the book "Math Attack: Winning the Pharmacology Math Battle" by Karen Champion. It's wonderful and explains dimensional analysis in plain English and takes the anxiety out of math problems. :D

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I think the best way to approach dosage problems is to read the whole scenario and then underline what the actual question is. That way you can disregard irrelevant information meant to throw you off. For example, we had a sample question that read: Order: cefepime (Maxipime) 750 mg in 100 ml of D5W, IV, every 12 hr. Set and solution: Infuse over 30 minutes. What is the infusion pump rate in ml/hr? The answer is 200 mL/hour. Why? The question is only asking for mL/hour. You don't need to 750 mg and the 12 hours is there to throw you off. They're looking to see if you understand the actual question. If you're infusing 100 mL in 30 minutes, it's actually a simple math problem to turn that into how many mL in an hour. Now, why don't you try this one: Dose ordered: ampicillin 500 mg IV. Drug available: 1-gm vial. Reconstituted solution will contain 125 mg/5ml. How much will you give in mls? For this question, we're looking for only milliliters. I always start my dimensional analysis with the unit I need in the numerator of the first fraction. (5mL/125 mg) x 500 mg = 20 mL Now let's look at another question that has quite a few items you can eliminate immediately: Order: chlorpromazine HCl (Thorazine) 50 mg, IVPB. Instructions: Dilute Thorazine 50 mg in 500 ml of 0.9% NS to run for 4 hours. What is the infusion pump rate in mls/hour? You need mL/hour. The 50 mg is extraneous, the 0.9% is extraneous. You're left with 500 mL/4 hours = 125 mL/hr. Do you see how the question leads you to determine which numbers you need and which you don't? Now let's look at a gtts/min question: Calculate the drops per minute (gtt/min) for the following order. Assume you are using microdrip (60 gtts/ml) tubing and are running the IV fluid via gravity (ie NOT on an infusion pump): 1000 ml of D5W to run for 12 hours. Round to nearest whole number. Since we know we need gtts/min in our final answer, we'll start the dimensional analysis using the only factor we have with gtts in it, which is the microdrip tubing of 60 gtts/mL. Now it's just a simple matter of eliminating the units in the denominator until we end up with gtts/min. (60 gtts/1 mL) x (1000 mL/12 hour) x (1 hour/60 min) = 83 gtts/min I hope this helps!!! I also highly recommend the book "Math Attack: Winning the Pharmacology Math Battle" by Karen Champion. It's wonderful and explains dimensional analysis in plain English and takes the anxiety out of math problems. :D[/quote']

Thanks SopranoKris for your help. I got my results today and got a 95! So I don't have to retake, but I will still do extra math every day and attend tutoring just to always keep fresh in my head!

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This is a good one.....DosageHelp.com - Helping Nursing Students Learn Dosage Calculations what questions do you have trouble with?

I think as long as I stick with the dimensional analysis you can't go wrong. I just need to always do questions everyday through the rest of school. I will also go on the website you gave me. Thanks for that! Have you used any of the books like pharmacology made incredibly easy?

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Specializes in Med Surg, PCU, Travel.

our school required 100% for the pharm math test. Remember it only takes 1 mistake to kill a patient. I'd strive to keep practicing during the semester, so you can be the best nurse possible.

It's good that you found a method that works, keep things simple and most of all use common sense and get tonnes of practice.

I have the book "pharmacology made incredibly easy" and to be frank it's written way too easy. It does help in finding quick overviews of drugs and what they do but its missing some important nursing considerations/actions found only in the text book, so I have not used it a lot. Also it does not have a section on dosage calculation so it won't help with the math.

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Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.

Thanks SopranoKris for your help. I got my results today and got a 95! So I don't have to retake, but I will still do extra math every day and attend tutoring just to always keep fresh in my head!

Yay!!! Way to go :)

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Specializes in Hospice.

I wish SopranoKris lived next door to me. I would hire her to tutor me in dosage calc. I dread it with a passion because I have a negative litany always running through my head that tells me I suck at math. And Esme always has fantastic links for just about anything nursing school related.

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Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.
I wish SopranoKris lived next door to me. I would hire her to tutor me in dosage calc. I dread it with a passion because I have a negative litany always running through my head that tells me I suck at math. And Esme always has fantastic links for just about anything nursing school related.

Lori, believe it or not, I used to struggle terribly with math. I may not live next door, but I'm always here on AN to help :)

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