(BOOK) DRUG CALCULATIONS FOR NURSES A STEPBY-STEP APPROACH 3RD Edition By ROBERT LAPHAM

DRUG CALCULATIONS FOR NURSES A STEPBY-STEP APPROACH 3RD Edition By ROBERT LAPHAM. Drug treatments given to patients in hospital are becoming increasingly complex. Sometimes, these treatment regimes involve potent and, at times, new and novel drugs. Many of these drugs are toxic or possibly fatal if administered incorrectly or in overdose. It is therefore very important to be able to carry out drug calculations correctly so as not to put the patient at risk. In current nursing practice,the need to calculate drug dosages is not uncommon. These calculationshave to be performed competently and accurately, so as not to put not only the nurse but, more importantly, the patient at risk. This book aims to provide an aid to the basics of mathematics and drug calculations. It is intended to be of use to nurses of all grades and specialities, and to be a handy reference for use on the ward. The concept of this book arose from nurses themselves; a frequently asked question was: ‘Can you help me with drug calculations?’ Consequently, a small booklet was written to help nurses with their drug calculations, particularly those studying for their IV certificate. This was very well received, and copies were being produced from original copies, indicating the need for such help and a book like this. The content of the book was determined by means of a questionnaire, sent to nurses asking them what they would like to see featured in a drug calculations book. As a result, this book was written and, hopefully, covers the topics that nurses would like to see. Although this book was primarily written with nurses in mind, others who use drug calculations in their work will also find it useful. Some topics have been dealt with in greater detail for this reason, e.g. moles and millimoles. This book can be used by anyone who wishes to improve their skills in drug calculations or to use it as a refresher course. This book is designed to be used for self-study. Before you start, you should attempt the pre-test to assess your current ability in carrying out drug calculations. After completing the book, repeat the same test and compare the two scores to measure your improvement. To attain maximum benefit from the book, start at the beginning and work through one chapter at a time, as subsequent chapters increase in difficulty. For each chapter attempted, you should understand it a fully and be able to answer the problems confidently before moving on to the next chapter. Alternatively, if you wish to quickly skip through any chapter, you can refer to the ‘Key Points’ found at the start of each chapter. A note about drug names In the past, the British Approved Name (BAN) was used for drugs in the UK. European law now requires use of the Recommended International Non-proprietary Name (rINN) for medicinal substances.In most cases, the old BAN and the new rINN are identical. Where the two differ, the BAN has been modified to the new rINN; for example: amoxicillin instead of amoxycillin. Adrenaline and noradrenaline have two names (BAN and rINN). However, adrenaline and noradrenaline are the terms used in the titles of monographs in the European Pharmacopoeia and are thus the official names in the member states. The British Pharmacopoeia 2008 shows the European Pharmacopoeia names first followed by the rINN at the head of its monographs (adrenaline/epinephrine); the British National Formulary (BNF) has adopted a similar style. For a full list of all the name changes, see the current edition of the BNF. Affected drugs that appear in this book will be referred to by their new name (rINN) followed by their old name (BAN) in brackets; for adrenaline, this book will follow the convention used by the British Pharmacopoeia. Case reports The journal Pharmacy in Practice highlights real-life medication errors to act as learning points for practitioners. Some of these have been used as Case Reports in this book to illustrate important points to remember. How to use this book To obtain the maximum benefit from this book, it is a good idea to attempt the pre-test before you start working through the chapters. The aim of this pre-test is to assess your ability at various calculations. The pre-test is divided into several sections that correspond to each chapter in the book, and the questions try to reflect the topics covered by each chapter. You don’t have to attempt questions for every chapter, only the ones that you feel are relevant to you. Answering the questions will help you identify particular calculations you have difficulty with. You can use calculators or anything else you find helpful to answer the questions, but it is best to complete the pre-test on your own, as it is your ability that is being assessed and not someone else’s. Don’t worry if you can’t answer all of the questions. As stated before, the aim is to help you to identify areas of weakness. Once again, you don’t have to complete every section of the pre-test, just the ones you want to test your ability on. Once you have completed the pre-test and checked your answers, you can then start working through the chapters. Concentrate particularly on the areas you were weak on and miss out the chapters you were confident with if you wish. It is up to you as how you use this book, but hopefully the pre-test will help you to identify areas you need to concentrate on. The pre-test consists of 50 questions and covers all the topics and types of questions in the book. Mark your score out of 50, then double it to find your percentage result. BASICS The aim of this section is to test your ability on basic principles such as multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, powers and using calculators, before you start any drug calculations. Long multiplication Solve the following: 1 678 × 465 2 308 × 1.28 Long division Solve the following: 3 3143 ÷ 28 4 37.5 ÷ 1.25 PRE-TEST Fractions Solve the following, leaving your answer as a fraction: 5 6 7 8 Convert to a decimal (give answers to 2 decimal places): 9 10 Decimals Solve the following: 11 25 × 0.45 12 5 ÷ 0.2 13 1.38 × 100 14 25.64 ÷ 1,000 Convert the following to a fraction: 15 1.2 16 0.375 Roman numerals Write the following as ordinary numbers: 17 VII 18 IX Powers Convert the following to a proper number: 19 3 × 104 Convert the following number to a power of 10: 20 5,000,000