Drip calculations?

[fishchick72]

I just started my 4th semester of the RN program. We are doing a critical care rotation. I am required to be able to calculate out my own drip rates. My teacher gave me a "drug calculation card", but so far I have not been able to figure out how to use it & I really don't understand it. I struggle with math when I don't understand what I'm doing. And when you just randomly throw "conversion factors" at me (like this card is doing) I get confused. When I am new at something I would prefer to do it the long way just so I can understand what I am doing. Can anyone help me to figure out how to use the card or how to do it the long way?

Also, all my patient's drips were all titration orders, so there was no set amount ordered. Are drips always ordered like this? I only got to spend 2 hours in the ICU yesterday, so it wasn't enough time to figure this all out. I am confused at how a nurse does titration orders. How do you know where to even begin the dose? She was on levophed, neo-synephrine, & versed. I think the versed was ordered at 0.6 mcg/kg/min, but the others were ordered to be titrated to keep SBP > 90.