I need help on a math problem!! Not making sense to me

[Katieexi3]

Aspirin is available in 5 grain tablet. The physician orders aspirin 300mg. How many tablets would you give?

[RNNPICU, BSN, RN]

You will first need to figure out the conversion from grain to mg, then you can do the problem. Show us the work that you have, take stab and then we can correct any mistake

[Katieexi3]

Well 5 grain is equal to 323.995mg. That's where I am stuck. You can't give a fraction of a tablet lol

[AJJKRN]

Here...a quick internet search found this link and many others but I hope this helps...

http://www.germanna.edu/wp-content/uploads/tutoring/handouts/HowtoSolveDrugDosageProblemsAugust2012.pdf

[QuietIsntAWord]

Call the doctor for an easier order? lol I'm just kidding :)

[klone, MSN, RN]

Call the doctor for an easier order? lol I'm just kidding :)

Yes, that would be the real world answer. That, or ask pharmacy WTF they're stocking medications in grains, unless they're actually an old timey apothecary.

[SouthpawRN]

I asked about this to my professor and the answer was round up to the common dose. ASA 325mg. also a grain is actually 64.7989mg yet you will see it listed as 60, or 65mg for calculation purposes so it's an old and not very accurate measurement unless the drug is provided in grains.

[ruby_jane, BSN, RN]

Yes, that would be the real world answer. That, or ask pharmacy WTF they're stocking medications in grains, unless they're actually an old timey apothecary.

Oh man, I do not miss dosage calculations. But Klone is spot on...

[BeckyESRN]

Ugh, just reading this made me cringe! We had one ancient doc that ordered EVERYTHING in grains. He would refuse to change the orders and said that "real doctors only use grains". He and pharmacy butted-heads daily. SMH. He should have been retired many, many years earlier, but was finally forced to retire when he ran over a sign in the parking lot, parked on the grass, and was pants-less...dementia is a beast...

[bjwojcik]

Grains need to go away like minims and scruples.

[neuron]

Aspirin is available in 5 grain tablet. The physician orders aspirin 300mg. How many tablets would you give?

The way I learned it:

1gr= 60mg or 65mg

so..

A) i (1/2) grain = 30 mg or 32.5mg

(60 x 1/2 = 30, 65 x 1/2 = 32.5)

B) V (5) grains = 300mg, or 325mg

(60 x 5 = 300mg, 65 x 5 = 325mg)

C) X (10) grains = 600mg or 650mg

(60 x 10 = 600mg, 65x10 = 650mg)

know your roman numerals. i, V, X..That is where you can get thrown off..grain questions are used with aspirin and tylenol alot, notice that tylenol usually comes in 325mg or 650mg tablets. Often they are 1 or 2 tablets. In your case, I believe the answer is 1 tablet (i.e. one 5 gr tablet is 300mg)

[nursej22, MSN, RN]

I miss grains, a little. We used to use it for ASA gr X, APAP gr X, pentobarbital gr V (I think) , and nitro gr 1/150.

Dang, i'm old!