Medical Dosage Calculations - Softcover

Olsen, June Looby; Ablon, Leon J.; Giangrasso, Anthony Patrick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0805356053 ISBN 13: 9780805356052

Publisher: Prentice Hall, 1999

Synopsis

Medical Dosage Calculations teaches nurses and health care professionals how to calculate drug dosages quickly, easily, and accurately. This edition uses dimensional analysis, which has no formulas to memorize and no complicated problem set-ups. Working a problem involves only one or two steps, and the only requirement is knowledge of basic arithmetic.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Current and comprehensive, this standard-setting drug calculation guide and workbook develops users' mathematical skills for use in medical dosage calculations, and stresses the critical importance of safe administration of medications doses in providing for the ongoing welfare of the patients in an inpatient/outpatient setting . Opens with a math pre-test that assesses basic math skill competency, and progresses from simple arithmetic to more complex drug calculation problems. Offers a dimensional analysis approach with many real-life case studies, over 1,000 practice problems, six comprehensive exams, and pocket minder cards for the clinical setting that provide a ready reference source on equivalence and conversion values, body weight and body surface nomograms, and six common IV drug calculation cases. Includes the most current medications and methodologies, additional critical thinking case studies, a de-emphasis on the apothecary system, and a vibrant, four-color format. For nurses, pharmacists, dental assistants, and physician assistants.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

In a growing range of health-care settings, nursing and allied health professionals are assuming increasing responsibilities in every aspect of drug administration. The first step in assuming this responsibility is learning to calculate drug dosages accurately. Dosage calculation is not just about math skills, it is an introduction to the professional context of drug administration. Calculation skills and the reason for their application-this is what Medical Dosage Calculations has taught thousands of students with unmatched success through seven editions.

Medical Dosage Calculations is a combined text and workbook designed for the student of dosage calculations. Its consistent focus on safety, accuracy, and professionalism make it a valuable part of a dosage calculation course for nursing or allied health-care programs. It is also highly effective for independent study and may be used as a refresher to dosage calculation skills or as a professional reference.

Topics introduced and developed in Medical Dosage Calculations include:

• basic arithmetic skills
• systems of measurement
• dosage calculations for all common forms of drug preparations
• IV and specialized calculations

In addition to these topics, this edition includes substantially more information about basic drug administration. Readers will learn how to interpret actual drug labels, package inserts, and various forms of medication orders, as well as how to recognize a wide variety of syringes.

Key Features of Medical Dosage Calculations

We have built on the strengths of the previous editions by continuing to provide the thoroughness of a textbook with the practicality and convenience of a workbook. Here are the important features that have made Medical Dosage Calculations an effective and popular book through seven editions.

• Dimensional Analysis Calculation Method. Dimensional analysis is a technique in which the units on the drug package are systematically converted to the units on the drug order. Conversion factors have traditionally been used to simplify complex calculations in physics and chemistry. However, before the first edition of this textbook in 1972, these methods had not been applied to drug calculations. Dosage calculation methods were limited to either the ratio-and-proportion method or the use of memorized formulas. Our innovation in dosage calculation has come to be imitated in many textbooks and accepted by an ever-increasing number of medical professionals over the three decades since we coined the phrase Dimensional Analysis.
• Learn by Example. Each chapter unfolds basic concepts and skills through the use of examples.
• Case Studies. Realistic case scenarios allow the student to apply concepts and techniques presented in the text to a clinical setting.
• Problem Sets. This text/workbook offers learners more than 1000 practice opportunities. Answers to all but the Additional Exercises can be found in the book. Answers to the Additional Exercises are in the Instructor's Guide, and on the companion Website. Each chapter's practice opportunities are grouped into four problem sets:
• Try These for Practice
• Exercises
• Additional Exercises
• Cumulative Review Exercises
• Comprehensive Self-Tests. Upon completion of this text/workbook, these Self-Tests quiz the students' comprehensive knowledge. Answers to the Self-Tests can be found in the book.

Organization. The skills mastered in Medical Dosage Calculations are arranged into four basic learning units:

• Unit 1: Basic Calculation and Administration Skills
  After a review of basic number skills, this section introduces the essentials of drug administration. A separate chapter introduces dimensional analysis using a friendly, commonsense approach.
• Unit 2: Systems of Measurement for Dosage Calculations
  This section covers the three systems of measurement that nurses and other allied health professionals must understand to interpret medication orders and calculate dosages. Readers learn to convert measurements between and within measurement systems.
• Unit 3: Common Medication Preparations
  The chapters in this unit prepare readers to calculate oral and parenteral medication dosages and introduce the preparation of solutions.
• Unit 4: Specialized Medication Preparations
  This important final section provides a solid base for calculating IV and enteral flow rates, intravenous piggyback infusions and duration of infusions, as well as pediatric dosages.

Benefits of Using Medical Dosage Calculations

• Constant skill reinforcement through frequent practice opportunities.
• More than 1000 problems for students to solve.
• Commonly used medications featured.
• Actual drug labels, syringes, drug package inserts, and medication orders are illustrated throughout the text.
• Ample work space on every page for note-taking and problem-solving.
• Answers to the problem sets are found in Appendix A at the end of the text.

About this edition

• Publisher: Prentice Hall
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0805356053
• ISBN 13: 9780805356052
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336