Dosage Calculations Chapter 52 Latest 2023 Already Passed

Dosage Calculations Chapter 52 Latest 2023 Already Passed Ensuring Safe Dosage Calculations In order to be able to calculate dosages, you must understand and be able to perform basic math accurately. Whether you are using a calculator or doing it by hand, accuracy is key. Remember that a minor mistake in basic math can mean major errors in the patient's medication. When you perform any calculation, think about the answer you obtain and determine if it is reasonable. Consider this example: While performing a calculation, a medical assistant adds the following numbers: 21¾, 12½, and 1½. He calculates an answer of 49¼. Before he accepts this answer as correct, however, he asks himself, "Is this reasonable?" In order to answer this question, he does a quick estimation. First, he adds the whole numbers from each of the mixed numbers in the problem: 21 + 12 + 1 = 34. Then he rounds each mixed number up to a whole number and adds them: 22 + 13 + 2 = 37. He recognizes that the correct answer to the problem must be between 34 and 37, so his original answer is incorrect. He probably entered one of the numbers into his calculator incorrectly. When he repeats the original calculation, he now comes up with an answer of 35¾. This is between the values that he expected based on his estimate, so it is a reasonable answer to the problem. Think about the example. When performing calculations, there are many steps in which an error might be made. In this case, a number had been entered incorrectly into a calculator. While