Med Calcuations

[newgradpedsnurse]

Hi everyone!

So I am into my second week of orientation but I've only completed my second day on the floor. For the most part it is going pretty well.. my preceptor is very receptive to all of my questions which is awesome. But sometimes I get nervous that when I am asking a question and she thinks it's a dumb question or has an obvious answer, she questions my competency. I know it is VERY early on in my orientation but I cannot help but get nervous. The job is practically my dream job and I really do not want to risk anything when it comes down to it. I just noticed that some of my questions she doesn't seem to understand what I'm even asking and therefore has a hard time answering them.

Also.. calculations. Give me a med calculation test and I can surely figure it out on my own. But real-time is totally different. Three times so far I have been trying to calculate meds before giving them to my patients and I just could not do it! I don't know why, but I just froze. I am very nervous that she may think I am incompetent. Don't get me wrong... I know I do not know everything and DEFINITELY need to practice and hopefully calculations get easier over time, but I am nervous that she will judge me on these very basic calculations so early on. I know that with a pen and paper I would be able to work the problems out, but doing it in real life at the computer and trying to figure things out in my head just does not seem to be clicking for me yet.

I could really use some advice, tips, anything to help!!! PLEASE :(

[poppycat, ADN, BSN]

If you need to use pen & paper for your calculations then that's what you should do. Just tell your preceptor you want to do it that way to be sure you have the right dosage. With time & lots of practice you'll get to where you can do it in your head but for now stick to the safer method of pen & paper.

[Kitesurfing bum]

Don't stop asking questions!!

If you have a smartphone there are tons of apps you can use. Math is much more difficult in real time... I just had an interview where there were 10 people sitting there waiting for me to do a simple calculation. Take all the time you need to get it right!

You may not be dealing with continuous infusions... But I always encourage new nurses to think about drugs in terms of DOSE, not rate. 15ml/hr of epinephrine means nothing... But 4 MCG/MIN means a lot.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Interesting - I thought that hospitals are all on unit-dose now due to modern inventory control/patient charge systems & patient safety concerns. My advice? If you need a double check or validation, ask for assistance from your pharmacy department. This is their baliwick & they are the experts.