A nurse is preparing to administer calcium citrate 1.9 g PO. Available is calcium citrate 950 mg tablets. How many tablets should the nurse administer? (Round the answer to the nearest whole number. Use a leading zero if it applies. Do not use a trailing zero.)
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
To determine how many tablets of calcium citrate are needed to administer a dose of 1.9 grams, follow these steps:
- Convert the Dose to Milligrams: The ordered dose is 1.9 grams. To convert grams to milligrams, use the conversion factor that 1 gram = 1000 milligrams.1.9 g×1000 mg/g=1900 mg1.9 \, \text{g} \times 1000 \, \text{mg/g} = 1900 \, \text{mg}1.9g×1000mg/g=1900mgSo, the ordered dose is 1900 milligrams.
- Determine the Dose per Tablet: Each tablet contains 950 milligrams of calcium citrate.
- Calculate the Number of Tablets Required: To find out how many tablets are needed, divide the total dose required by the amount per tablet.Number of Tablets=Total Dose RequiredDose per Tablet\text{Number of Tablets} = \frac{\text{Total Dose Required}}{\text{Dose per Tablet}}Number of Tablets=Dose per TabletTotal Dose Required Number of Tablets=1900 mg950 mg/tablet=2\text{Number of Tablets} = \frac{1900 \, \text{mg}}{950 \, \text{mg/tablet}} = 2Number of Tablets=950mg/tablet1900mg=2So, you need 2 tablets to administer the total dose of 1900 milligrams.
- Round to the Nearest Whole Number: The result from the calculation is already a whole number. Hence, there is no need for further rounding.
Explanation:
The process of calculating medication dosage involves converting units when necessary, determining the quantity of medication per unit (in this case, per tablet), and then performing a division to find out how many units (tablets) are needed to meet the prescribed dose. Here, converting the dose from grams to milligrams ensures consistency in units, and dividing the total milligrams by the amount per tablet provides the number of tablets required. The exact division result of 2 confirms that administering 2 tablets will provide the correct dose of 1.9 grams of calcium citrate, which is equivalent to 1900 milligrams.