Instructions for Pediatric Dosage Calculation
NUR 246 students will be taking a dosage calculation test on the first day (evening) of
class. Please review pediatric dosage calculations in Pickar (latest edition) Dosage
Calculations: A ration-proportion approach, the chapter on Pediatric dosages based on
body weight (this chapter is titled Pediatric and Adult dosages based on body weight).
You will NOT need to calculate advanced pediatric calculations based on body surface
area. CAUTION: The ONLY sources we recommend to use to prepare for this exam is
Pickar’s book, the tutorial and practice dosage test provided by the instructors. Course
lecturers will not answer any questions during counseling sessions regarding outside
materials.
All doses for children are based on body weight in kilograms. You will need to read the
question carefully, convert lbs to kg and round that to the nearest tenth. Example: 40 lbs
= 18.181818 kg, rounded to 18.2 kg. Do not leave 18.18181818 in the calculator and
continue on in the computation. You should write down the answer in the space provided
on the exam as 18.2 and re-enter that number in the calculator to continue with the
dosage computation.
Another example might be if the dose you calculate is 4.82 ml; this would be rounded to
4.8 ml and not 4.9 ml or 5.0 ml or left at 4.82 ml. You may recall learning in pervious
classes that dosages less than 1.0 ml should be left at the hundredths place, to be
administered in a tuberculin syringe. While this could be done, for this exam we are
calculating commonly prescribed pediatric dosages.
If you should need additional counseling, you must complete the tutorial and
practice exam with work shown to bring with you when you schedule an
appointment with the course lecturer.
GOOD LUCK!
Professor Hanna and Professor Shaffer