Beginner's guide to dosage calculations

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I am starting a nursing program this fall and it was suggested that I get a jump start on learning dosage calculations this summer. With a pretty light summer school load I would love to do this. I would buy my school's dosage book but they will not release the exact book list until late summer. Are there any books and/or websites that can walk me through dosage calculations? I don't want to get a book that goes way over my head and waste money.

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Specializes in EMT-P.

Although they might not teach this in your course, I would recommend that you become an Obi won Kenobi, Jedi master of dimensional analysis. Armed with this tool, you will have your own light saber orificenal for any dosage class. Just my opinion though. Have a read at this link.

http://www.alysion.org/dimensional/analysis.htm

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i would hold off on purchasing a text until you know which one your program will be using. although i have not thoroughly reviewed any of the following sites, you might find them helpful.

the student nurse forum: drug math

pharmacology and math calculation in nursing

dosagehelp.com - helping nursing students learn dosage calculations

pharmacology math for the practical nurse

pharmacology math for the practical nurse
(pdf file)

also, michaelxy has given you excellent advice regarding learning/mastering dimensional analysis.

i hope this information is helpful, and good luck in your future eduction. :specs:

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.

My school made us purchase Calculate With Confidence by Deborah C. Gray Morris. It is an EXCELLENT book - well worth the money. I have used it a countless number of times!!

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Thanks for all the suggestions! I will definetly look up those websites!

My school made us purchase Calculate With Confidence by Deborah C. Gray Morris. It is an EXCELLENT book - well worth the money. I have used it a countless number of times!!

Awesome! Looks I can get the 4th ed. for less than $10! I am a sucker for cheap "old" editions of text books. I ask every teacher if I can use the edition that was printed before the current one the students use and most of the time they say yes. Textbooks are such a rip!

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Dimensional analysis is what we learn here. We actually have to take the class BEFORE we apply. It makes dosage calc's EASY as pie. If your school isn't teaching that then they are making your life more complicated I think.

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I second Calculate w/ Confidence. We used that in our program and I found it pretty straight forward. I also second (third, fourth) using DA. I was very anti DA going in and was sticking w/ the ration/proportion method. I was getting the right answers but a friend convinced me to try DA and it made things 10x easier. I have yet to miss a single math/dosage calc question on any test in two semesters using it.

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I second Calculate w/ Confidence. We used that in our program and I found it pretty straight forward. I also second (third, fourth) using DA. I was very anti DA going in and was sticking w/ the ration/proportion method. I was getting the right answers but a friend convinced me to try DA and it made things 10x easier. I have yet to miss a single math/dosage calc question on any test in two semesters using it.

So does the Calculate w/ Confidence book suggested teach the DA method? I looked at reviews of the book and others said it taught three different methods for each problem to be calculated but didn't say which three methods.

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Yep! It does ratio/proportion, formula, & DA.

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Specializes in Urgent Care NP, Emergency Nursing, Camp Nursing.

Or you could go back to your gen chem/HS chem notes and review how to do dimensional analysis. If you can do that, you won't need any formulas or ratio methods or any other weird way of doing calculations.

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.
Thanks for all the suggestions! I will definetly look up those websites!

Awesome! Looks I can get the 4th ed. for less than $10! I am a sucker for cheap "old" editions of text books. I ask every teacher if I can use the edition that was printed before the current one the students use and most of the time they say yes. Textbooks are such a rip!

And what is also great about that book is that it shows you different ways on how to solve the problems - it gives you examples using dimensional analysis, ratio/proportion, etc etc so that's really nice :)

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