i have always been curious, and even more curious now that i will begin lpn school, for you professional (already nurses), how long does it take you to calculate med & iv dosages while you're on duty? do you have difficulty sometimes with your calculations? do you ever ask your fellow coworker/nurses for math help? just a question -please don't bite my head off .
Specializes in Telemetry, Oncology, Progressive Care.
Wow! I didn't expect four replies so fast lol. THANK YOU! Do you (in general) ever feel incompetent, or think that your fellow coworkers think your incompetent for asking? How do you reply when you (if when) you get smart butt remarks, like, "You're a nurse, you should know" type of attitude? EVEN THOUGH I KNOW PT SAFETY IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT, I'm just curious. Do you ever forget any calculation formulas? Do you have the formulas with you on a note card? -For all medication, not just intravenous. And with a lot of the calculations being done by pharmacy or smart machines, do you just brush up on your math skills when board rectification comes around? I AM SO GLAD I FOUND THIS SITE A WHILE BACK -KEEP YOUR REPLIES COMING! THANK YOU!
I've worked staff at 3 different hospitals and done agency at another hospital. I have never been made to feel stupid about a question that was asked. There's enough other crap that goes on between nurses, but, no I am not made to feel stupid. If that's ever the case, it's better to ask than to potentially kill the patient. Besides, you know who the go to people are and who not to go to for certain things.
As far as calculating dosages. I carry a cheat sheet with me. It depends what area your work in, but, I don't do too many calculations. I did a lot more when I did oncology. I probably do 1 drip a month and it's usually heparin or a cardiac gtt.
I agree. Don't fret. It's about accuracy not speed. I am horrible at math but learned that the math needed for nursing is not so intimidating once you have practiced.
Besides, you never get crazy orders like the ones you see in nursing school. And if you ever so, you have pharmacy to help if you get stuck!
there is also drug calulation sites and tricks of the trade in the student section of this site. always check the math of the pump....the machine is only as good as the information it is given. people, machines, and pharmacies make mistakes!
i know of an incident that the pharmacy thought the nurses meant 40kg instead of the 40 lbs as listed by the nurse so......... they made the med weight adjusted for a 80lb+ child instead of a 40lb or 20kg child. the child was double dosed with a toxic med for 3 days every 8 hours until a nurse double checked the dose and found their mistake.......do you know what they said? it wasn't a mistake until the nurse gave it...."she should have checked the dosage" thank god the patient suffered no ill affects.
and remember....two heads are always better than one! and.......
carry a calculator. If you need it, keep a cheat sheet nearby with formula. Ask someone when you need to. I worked 16 hours one day. I had another nurse double-check ALL my calcs that shift.
There is also drug calulation sites and tricks of the trade in the student section of this site. ALWAYS check the math of the pump....the machine is only as good as the information it is given. People, machines, and pharmacies make mistakes!
True, true, true. A friend and coworker once ran an entire bag of dilaudid into a patient in one hour, and it was a bag meant for a 10 hour dose. It was because the concentration that pharmacy mixed was not the same concentration programmed into the smartpump and my friend did not realize it until the bag was gone. The patient was unharmed - terminal cancer with intractable pain, so it was probably the best hour of her life (amazing how when a patient truly needs pain relief, enough pain medication to drop an elephant barely phases them), but still, it should never have happened.
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I've worked staff at 3 different hospitals and done agency at another hospital. I have never been made to feel stupid about a question that was asked. There's enough other crap that goes on between nurses, but, no I am not made to feel stupid. If that's ever the case, it's better to ask than to potentially kill the patient. Besides, you know who the go to people are and who not to go to for certain things.
As far as calculating dosages. I carry a cheat sheet with me. It depends what area your work in, but, I don't do too many calculations. I did a lot more when I did oncology. I probably do 1 drip a month and it's usually heparin or a cardiac gtt.