Chapter 1 —Medication Orders & Tablet
Calculations
Stem: An order reads: Morphine 0.5 mg IV stat. The nurse finds
the MAR showing the patient previously received 0.5 mg IV 10
minutes ago and is drowsy with RR 8/min. Which action is
safest?
A. Administer the 0.5 mg as ordered immediately.
B. Hold the dose and notify the prescriber.
C. Give half the dose (0.25 mg) and reassess in 5 minutes.
D. Ask another nurse to verify and then administer.
Correct Answer: B
Rationales:
, • Correct (B): Hold and notify prescriber — patient shows
respiratory depression (RR 8) and recent opioid;
administering additional morphine risks harm. This follows
the safety principle: assess for contraindications before
administering.
• A (incorrect): Administering ignores current assessment
and recent dose — unsafe.
• C (incorrect): Arbitrarily halving without prescriber
approval still risky when RR is 8.
• D (incorrect): Double check is good, but verification
doesn't mitigate the clinical contraindication; prescriber
must be informed.
Teaching Point: Always reassess and notify the prescriber if
vital signs suggest harm before giving meds.
Chapter Reference: Chapter 1 — Section 1.2 Units,
Conversions & Abbreviations
2.
Stem: Convert 0.25 mg to micrograms (mcg).
A. 25 mcg
B. 250 mcg
C. 2,500 mcg
D. 25,000 mcg
Correct Answer: B
,Rationales:
• Correct (B): 1 mg = 1,000 mcg. So 0.25 mg × 1,000 = 250
mcg. Stepwise: 0.25 × 1,000 = 250 (0.25 × 1000 → 250).
• A (incorrect): 25 mcg reflects moving decimal incorrectly
by one place (0.25 × 100 = 25).
• C (incorrect): 2,500 mcg reflects multiplying by 10,000
(0.25 × 10,000).
• D (incorrect): 25,000 mcg is off by factor of 100 (0.25 ×
100,000).
Teaching Point: Multiply mg by 1,000 to get mcg; apply unit
conversion carefully.
Chapter Reference: Chapter 1 — Section 1.2 Units,
Conversions & Abbreviations
3.
Stem: A medication order is written as .5 mg PO daily. Which
problem is present?
A. Correct use of leading zero.
B. Missing leading zero (should be 0.5 mg).
C. Use of trailing zero (should be .5 mg).
D. Unclear route of administration.
Correct Answer: B
Rationales:
, • Correct (B): Omission of leading zero is unsafe — write 0.5
mg to prevent misreading as 5 mg.
• A (incorrect): Not correct — leading zero is missing.
• C (incorrect): Trailing zeros are with values like 1.0 mg;
here the issue is leading zero, not trailing zero.
• D (incorrect): Route "PO" is clear.
Teaching Point: Always use a leading zero for doses <1 (e.g., 0.5
mg).
Chapter Reference: Chapter 1 — Section 1.2 Units,
Conversions & Abbreviations
4.
Stem: Which medication abbreviation should the nurse avoid
because it commonly causes errors?
A. PO
B. q8h
C. U
D. STAT
Correct Answer: C
Rationales:
• Correct (C): "U" (unit) is error-prone (can be read as 0, 4,
or "cc"); write "unit."
• A (incorrect): "PO" is acceptable standard abbreviation.
Calculations
Stem: An order reads: Morphine 0.5 mg IV stat. The nurse finds
the MAR showing the patient previously received 0.5 mg IV 10
minutes ago and is drowsy with RR 8/min. Which action is
safest?
A. Administer the 0.5 mg as ordered immediately.
B. Hold the dose and notify the prescriber.
C. Give half the dose (0.25 mg) and reassess in 5 minutes.
D. Ask another nurse to verify and then administer.
Correct Answer: B
Rationales:
, • Correct (B): Hold and notify prescriber — patient shows
respiratory depression (RR 8) and recent opioid;
administering additional morphine risks harm. This follows
the safety principle: assess for contraindications before
administering.
• A (incorrect): Administering ignores current assessment
and recent dose — unsafe.
• C (incorrect): Arbitrarily halving without prescriber
approval still risky when RR is 8.
• D (incorrect): Double check is good, but verification
doesn't mitigate the clinical contraindication; prescriber
must be informed.
Teaching Point: Always reassess and notify the prescriber if
vital signs suggest harm before giving meds.
Chapter Reference: Chapter 1 — Section 1.2 Units,
Conversions & Abbreviations
2.
Stem: Convert 0.25 mg to micrograms (mcg).
A. 25 mcg
B. 250 mcg
C. 2,500 mcg
D. 25,000 mcg
Correct Answer: B
,Rationales:
• Correct (B): 1 mg = 1,000 mcg. So 0.25 mg × 1,000 = 250
mcg. Stepwise: 0.25 × 1,000 = 250 (0.25 × 1000 → 250).
• A (incorrect): 25 mcg reflects moving decimal incorrectly
by one place (0.25 × 100 = 25).
• C (incorrect): 2,500 mcg reflects multiplying by 10,000
(0.25 × 10,000).
• D (incorrect): 25,000 mcg is off by factor of 100 (0.25 ×
100,000).
Teaching Point: Multiply mg by 1,000 to get mcg; apply unit
conversion carefully.
Chapter Reference: Chapter 1 — Section 1.2 Units,
Conversions & Abbreviations
3.
Stem: A medication order is written as .5 mg PO daily. Which
problem is present?
A. Correct use of leading zero.
B. Missing leading zero (should be 0.5 mg).
C. Use of trailing zero (should be .5 mg).
D. Unclear route of administration.
Correct Answer: B
Rationales:
, • Correct (B): Omission of leading zero is unsafe — write 0.5
mg to prevent misreading as 5 mg.
• A (incorrect): Not correct — leading zero is missing.
• C (incorrect): Trailing zeros are with values like 1.0 mg;
here the issue is leading zero, not trailing zero.
• D (incorrect): Route "PO" is clear.
Teaching Point: Always use a leading zero for doses <1 (e.g., 0.5
mg).
Chapter Reference: Chapter 1 — Section 1.2 Units,
Conversions & Abbreviations
4.
Stem: Which medication abbreviation should the nurse avoid
because it commonly causes errors?
A. PO
B. q8h
C. U
D. STAT
Correct Answer: C
Rationales:
• Correct (C): "U" (unit) is error-prone (can be read as 0, 4,
or "cc"); write "unit."
• A (incorrect): "PO" is acceptable standard abbreviation.
