Math Instructions
Although practices at facilities vary, for the purpose of the exams the following rules will apply:
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Rounding:
o For adult patients the answer will be rounded to the nearest tenth; (mg, mcg, and
mL)
o For pediatric patients the answer will be rounded to the nearest hundredth.
o Do NOT do any rounding until the end of the problem.
IV calculations: (rate-mL/h and gtt/min)
o Although some IV pumps do allow calibration to the tenth or hundredth, for the
purpose of exams, IV rate calculations will be rounded to nearest whole number.
IV time related calculations:
o IV time calculations must be accurate to within 5 minutes.
Equivalents:
o Knowledge of equivalents is needed for calculation, i.e. 60 mg = 1 grain will be
used.
Drug Calculation safety considerations:
o To promote safety, a zero must be placed to the left of the decimal point in
answers that are less than one. No zero is allowed to the right of the decimal point
in answers that are whole numbers.
o Examples:
.5 mg must be answered as 0.5 mg.
5.0 mg must be answered as 5 mg.
Labeling: For online testing purposes you will not fill in the label. ONLY the number.
MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE EXAM, how to correctly
fill in math answers will be provided to you with each math questions. Failure to follow
these instructions will result in the answer being scored wrong, no points will be given
for failure to follow directions.
MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW THE SELECT ALL THAT APPLY RULES, how to
correctly fill in select all that apply answers will be provided to you with each question.
Failure to follow these instructions will result in the answer being scored wrong, no
points will be given for failure to follow directions.
-SELECT ALL THAT APPLY RULES:
1. answer in all lower case
2. answer in alphabetical order
3. do NOT place spaces or commas between your answer choices