Maths For Nurses

In this first video of the 'Calculating Doses' module, you will learn how to work out a basic dose of a drug.

You will be working with a drug in a solution form, and you will work out the total volume of the solution to administer based on:

• The prescribed dose (how much of the drug the patient needs).
• The stock dose (how much of the drug is in a given volume of the solution).

To work out the volume you need to administer, divide the prescribed dose by the stock dose, and multiply the answer by the volume that the stock dose is in.

Practice questions based on the 'working out a basic dose' lecture.

In this second video of the 'Calculating Doses' module, you will build on what you have already learned by learning how to work out doses of drugs that involve converting between different units.

Practice questions based on the 'doses with unit conversions' lecture.

In this third video of the 'Calculating Doses' module, you will learn how to calculate a dose of a drug based on a percentage concentration of a drug in a solution. The percentage concentration tells you how many grams of the drug are in 100ml of the solution, and you can use this in a similar way to a stock dose in your drug calculation.

Practice questions based on the 'drug concentration' lecture.

In this fourth video of the 'Calculating Doses' module, you will learn how to work out the volume of a solution to administer when the drug strength is given as a ratio.

The ratio tells you how many grams of the drug are in how many millilitres of the solution, and you can use these values as the 'stock dose' in your basic drug calculation.

Practice questions based on the 'drug strength as a ratio' lecture.

In this final video of the 'Calculating Doses' module, you will learn how to check the answers that you get in your drug calculations. You can do this by applying a series of tests to your answer: The 'reasonable test' Performing the calculation (non-calculator) Performing the calculation (calculator) Checking the BNF or BNF for Children And remember, if in doubt, check your answer with someone else before administering the drug!

In this first video of the 'Oral Dosages' module, you will learn how to work out the number of tablets or capsules a patient should be given.

To work this out, you will need to know

• The prescribed dose (how much of the drug the patient needs).
• The amount of the drug contained in one tablet/capsule.

To work out the total number of tablets, divide the total prescribed dose by the amount of the drug in one tablet/capsule.

Practice questions based on the 'calculating tablets' lecture.

In this second video of the 'Oral Dosages' module, we further practice working out how many tablets or capsules to give to a patient, and extend this to look at cases where the answer is not a whole number so tablets need to be split into halves or quarters.

Practice questions based on the 'splitting tablets' lecture.

In this third video of the 'Oral Dosages' module, you will learn how to administer prescribed doses of tablets or capsules that do not work out as whole numbers, halves or quarters of tablets, by crushing a tablet and dissolving it into a volume of fluid and then calculating the volume of the fluid to give.

Practice questions based on the 'crushing tablets' lecture.

In this first video of the 'Intravenous Dosages' module, you will learn how to calculate the volume to prepare of a drug contained in a solution in an ampoule or vial.

To work this out, you will need to know:

• The prescribed dose (how much of the drug the patient needs).
• The amount of the drug in the ampoule/vial.
• The volume of the fluid in the ampoule/vial.

The calculation that you will need to use is the prescribed dose divided by the amount of the drug in the ampoule/vial, then multiplied by the volume of fluid in the ampoule/vial.

Practice questions based on the 'ampoules and vials' lecture.

In this second video of the 'Intravenous Dosages' module, you will learn how to calculate volumes of drugs that are measured in 'International Units' rather than grams or milligrams.

Practice questions based on the 'international units' lecture.

In this third video of the 'Intravenous Dosages' module, you will learn how to calculate the volume to a solution to prepare by taking into account the amount of fluid that the drug itself will displace (known as the displacement value). To work this out, you subtract the displacement value from the required volume of fluid.

Practice questions based on the 'displacement value' lecture.

In this first video of the 'Dosage Per Weight' module, you will learn how to work out the total dose that a patient requires when the drug is prescribed according to their weight.

To work this out, you will need to know:

• The prescribed dose per kilogram
• The weight of the patient in kilograms

To find the total dose, multiply the dose per kilogram by the patient's weight.

Practice questions based on the 'dose per weight' lecture.

In this second video of the 'Dosage Per Weight' module, you will apply the method that you have learned to work out the total dose of a drug that is prescribed in terms of the patient's weight in the context of different drug calculations.

Practice questions based on the 'dose per weight in drug calculations' lecture.

In this third video of the 'Dosage Per Weight' module, you will learn how to work out the total dose that a patient requires when the drug is prescribed according to their surface area.

To work this out, you will need to know:

• The prescribed dose per square metre
• The surface area of the patient in square metres

To find the total dose, multiply the dose per square metre by the patient's surface area.

Practice questions based on the 'dose per surface area' lecture.

In this final video of the 'Dosage Per Weight' module, you will learn how to calculate an estimate for the surface area of a patient based on their height and weight using Mosteller's formula, and apply this to calculating doses that are given in terms of surface area.

Practice questions based on the 'calculating surface area' lecture.

In this first video of the 'Multiple Doses' module, you will learn how to work out the total amount of a drug that a patient will need over multiple doses. To do this you will need to work out the size of an individual dose and multiply it by the number of doses that the patient will be given.

Practice questions based on the 'multiple doses' lecture.

In this first video of the 'Multiple Doses' module, you will learn how to work out the total amount of a drug that a patient will need over multiple doses. To do this you will need to work out the size of an individual dose and multiply it by the number of doses that the patient will be given.

Practice questions based on the 'multiple doses in other drug calculations' lecture.

In this third video of the 'Multiple Doses' module, you will learn how to calculate the size of an individual dose when you know the total amount of the drug to be given over multiple doses.

Practice questions based on the 'individual doses' lecture.

In this final video of the 'Multiple Doses' module, you will learn about different types of shorthand used on prescriptions to refer to multiple doses, and how to work out drug calculations that contain this type of notation.

Practice questions based on the 'prescription shorthand' lecture.

In this first video of the 'Infusion Rates' module, you will learn how to work out the drip rate that you will need to set in order to administer a fluid intravenously.

You will need to know:

• The volume of the fluid that you want to administer.
• The number of drops that are delivered per millilitre of the fluid.
• The time that you want to administer the fluid over.

To work out the drip rate (in ml/min), multiply the volume of the fluid by the number of drops per millilitre and divide the answer by the time in minutes.

Practice questions based on the 'drip rates' lecture.

In this second video of the 'Infusion Rates' module, you will learn how to use your drip rate calculation in the context of other drug calculations.

Practice questions based on the 'drip rates in other drug calculations' lecture.

In this third video of the 'Infusion Rates' module, you will learn how to calculate the time that it will take to administer a fluid at a given drip rate.

You will need to know:

• The volume of the fluid that you want to administer.
• The number of drops that are delivered per millilitre of the fluid.
• The drip rate

To work out the time (in minutes), multiply the volume of the fluid by the number of drops per millilitre and divide the answer by the drip rate.

Practice questions based on the 'calculating time' lecture.

In this fourth video of the 'Infusion Rates' module, you will learn how to apply your drip rate calculations in the context of administering blood.

Practice questions based on the 'drip rates & blood' lecture.

In this fifth video of the 'Infusion Rates' module, you will learn how to work out the required infusion rate for an infusion device

You will need to know:

• The volume of the fluid that you want to administer.
• The time that you want to administer the fluid over.

The infusion rate will be equal to the volume of the fluid divided by the time.

Practice questions based on the 'infusion devices' lecture.

In this final video of the 'Infusion Rates' module, you will learn how to work out the rate that you will need to set to apply a drug by a syringe driver.

You will need to know:

• The stroke length (the distance that the syringe will need to travel to administer the fluid)
• The time that you want to administer the fluid over.

To work out the rate for the syringe driver, divide the stroke length by the time.

Practice questions based on the 'syringe drivers' lecture.

In this first video of the 'Fluid Balance' module, you will learn what fluid balance is and how to work out total fluid input and total fluid output.

Practice questions based on the 'what is fluid balance?' lecture.

In this second video of the 'Fluid Balance' module, you will learn how to use fluid balance charts to track fluid input and output.

Practice questions based on the 'fluid balance charts' lecture.

In this third video of the 'Fluid Balance' module, you will learn how to calculate the maintenance fluids for an adult.

Adult maintenance fluids are 25-35ml/kg.

Practice questions based on the 'adult maintenance fluids' lecture.

In this fourth video of the 'Fluid Balance' module, you will learn how to calculate the maintenance fluids for a child.

Child maintenance fluids are:

• 100ml/kg for the first 10kg
• 50ml/kg for the next 10kg
• 20ml/kg for each additional kilogram

Practice questions based on the 'child maintenance fluids' lecture.

In this first video of the 'Burns' module, you will learn how to calculate the maintenance fluids for a burns patient.

You can do this using the Parkland Formula:

Maintenance Fluids = 4 x Weight x Percentage of Body Covered in Burns

Practice questions based on the 'burns fluid requirements' lecture.

In this second video of the 'Burns' module, you will learn how to use the Wallace Rule to estimate the percentage of a patient's body that is covered in burns.

Practice questions based on the 'estimating percentage burns' lecture.