Nursing 202

Technologies of Nursing Practice

Review & Study Guide for Medication and Dosage Calculation Exam
Focus your review on these areas:
5 rights of medication administration

Right pt
Right drug/med
Right dose
Right route
Right time
(right documentation)

Types of syringes and when to use them

Hypodermic syringe
Insulin syringe
Tuberculin syringe
Luer-Lok syringe
non-Luer-Lok syringe

.5 mL- 60 mL (5 mL+ for IV)

units (30, 50, or 100)
0.5 mL- 1mL, used for very
small volumes of meds
has threaded tip
not threaded tip

Types of needles and when to use them (SubQ/SC versus IM for example)

How to mix short acting (clear)and long acting insulin (cloudy) in same syringe

Withdrawal clear before cloudy (RN: regular, then NPH= cloudy)

The insulin that acts first is drawn up first

Steps you should take if you make a medication error

Monitor for adverse effects!

Follow the 5 rights of medications (and include documentation)
Know the institutional policies and procedures
Reporting errors is a professional responsibility; document ASAP, be objective

Military versus standard time

1200 noon, 2400 midnight

Conversion: Kg to lbs and lbs to kg

1 kg= 2.2 lb
1 lb= 16 oz

Conversion: Centigrade (Celsius) to Fahrenheit and Fahrenheit to Centigrade (Celsius)

F= (1.8xC)+ 32
C= (F-32) / 1.8

Conversions: liter to ml (cc)remember cc and ml are essentially equivalent

Latin medication administration time abbreviations , e.g., QD, BID, TID, QID, HS, PRN,
Stat etc
Latin medication abbreviations for route/time of delivery, for ex.: otic, optic, Topical,
transdermal, IM, etc
a w/ line over it
aa
ac
ad lib
am
amp
aq
bid
b.i.w
c w/ line over
c/C
cap
CD
CR
dil.
DS
EC
elix.

before
of each
before meals
as desired, freely
morning before noon
ampule
aqueous, water
twice a day
twice a week
with
cup
capsule
controlled dose
controlled release
dilute
double strength
enteric coated
elixir

fl/fld.
GT
gtt
h/hr
hs
ID
IM
IV
IVPB
IVSS
KVO
LA
LOS
min
mix
NAS
NG/NGT
noc/noct
NPO/n.p.o
NS/ N/S
p w/ line over
p.c.
per
pm/PM
p.o.
p.r.
p.r.n.
q.
q.a.m.
qd
qh/q.h
q2h, q4h, q6h
qid
qs
rect
s with line over
sl/SL
sol/soln
SOS/sos
SR
S&S
STAT/stat
subcut/subq/sc
supp
susp

fluid
gastronomy tube
drop
hour
hour of sleep, bedtime on error prone list
intradermal
intramuscular
intravenous
intravenous piggyback
intravenous soluset
keep vein open (a very slow infusion rate)
long acting
length of stay
minute
mixture
intranasal
nasogastric tube
at night
nothing by mouth
normal saline
after
after meals
through or by
evening, before midnight
by mouth, oral
by rectum
when necessary/required, as needed
every, each
every morning
every day on error prone list
every hour
every 2, 4, 6 hours
four times a day
a sufficient amount/as much as needed
rectum
without
sublingual
solution
may be repeated once if necessary
sustained release
swish and swallow
immediately, at once
subcutaneous on error prone list
suppository
suspension

syp/syr
tab
tid
tr/tinct
ung/oint
v/vag
XL
XR
otic
optic
topical
transdermal

syrup
tablet
three time a day
tincture
ointment
vaginally
long acting
extended release
ear
eye
applied to external surface of skin
type of topical, med released and absorbed
through the skin and enters systemic
circulation

Calculationshow to calculate dose based on what you have available with tablets, liquids,
and parenteral (IM & IV) meds

Ratio/proportion method
Formula method
Dimensional analysis method

How to set IV pump for a prescribed dose/volume of medication or IV fluids to infuse in set
amount of time: e.g., 100mg of Cimetidine in 100ml of D5NS to infuse over 30 minutes.
What infusion rate would you set on the pump?
When you can and cannot split pills, open capsules, etc.

Can split scored tabs

Can break open capsules designed to be opened (sprinkle, spansules)
CANNOT split or crush: enteric coated tablets, sustained release, extended release,
delayed release tablets or capsules, tablets for sublingual or buccal use, or capsules unless
they are designed to be open

How to administer medication via feeding or NG tube.

Check with pharmacist for a liquid form

Check to see if medication can be crushed
Crush a tablet into a fine powder and dissolve in at least 30 mL of warm water
Open capsules and mix the contents with water only with the pharmacists advice

Standard medication delivery methods for PO/liquid medse.g., standard plastic

medication cup holds how many ml?

Medicine cup: 30 mL/ 1 oz/ 2 TBSP

Souffle cup: small paper or plastic cup used for solid meds like caps/tabs
Calibrate dropper: mL, for liquid meds (or drops, but drops depend on size of opening)
Nipple: used for infants
Oral syringe: no needle

Calculations to determine dosage when prescribed as mg/kg or mg/kg/min or mg/kg several

times/day (e.g. TID, QID)
Refresh your memory with standard administration times in VCUHS
Once daily
BID
TID
4 times/day
Every 2H
Every 3H
Every 4H
Every 6H
Every 8H
Every 12H
Every HS
TID-AC

10 am
10 am, 6 pm
10 am, 2 pm, 6 pm
10 am, 2 pm, 6 pm, 10 pm
Even hours
9 am, 12 pm, 3 pm, 6 pm, 9 pm, 12 am, 3 am, 6 am
10 am, 2 pm, 6 pm, 10 pm, 2 am, 6 am
12 pm, 6 pm, 12 am, 6 am
8 am, 4 pm, 12 am
10 am, 10 pm
10 pm
7 am, 11 am, 5 pm

Review common acronyms associated with medications; for example, MAR, PCA

MAR: medication administration record

PCA: patient controlled anesthesia

How to administer eye drops/ointment (optic)

Eye drops: pull down conjuntivae, have pt look up, hold drops 1-2 cm from eye and drop
into middle of conjunctival sac, have pt close eye while wipe away excess from inner to
outer canthus
Eye ointment: same as drops but squeeze on to eye from inner to outer canthus and have
pt blink

How to administer ear (otic) drops to child versus adult

Over 3 years: pinna up and back

3 or under: pinna down and back

Type of IV solution to administer with blood (NS)

Only with NS (0.9% NaCl)

18 gauge IV
Infuse no longer than 4 hours