Choicehow | Providing You Quality Information: How to Calculate Pediatric Dosage Calculations

Pediatric dosage calculations are vital to nurses or nursing students who take pharmacology. When performing pediatric dosage calculations, make sure you concentrate on the calculations without any failures. You cannot afford to put a minors at risk when you become a nurse. Nurses need to know how to perform pediatric dosage calculations and I will show you how to do that if you are having problems.

Hints

When performing pediatric dosage calculations, always make sure you know your basic math skills.
Assuming your are given 1700 g and you have to change the whole grams to kilograms, pounds and ounces so that you can be able to get the pediatric dosage calculation correct without errors if you perform simple conversions.
Change the grams to kilograms first. So you will write; 1 kg : 1000 g = X kg : 1700 g. You will change the ratio to a fraction and write it as; 1 kg / 1000 g = X kg : 1700 g. After you have the fraction, you will solve for X. You can write the fraction in a better way than what is seen here.
You should get an answer of 1.7 kg when you divide 1700 grams over 1000 grams. The numerator of 1700 g is divided by the denominator of 1000 g. You can write the division as 1700 / 1000 and you will get the answer through simple division.
Change the kilograms to pounds immediately. The formula for converting kg to lb is 1kg = 2.2 lb.
Hence, write the solution as; 1.7 kg : X lb = 1 kg : 2.2 lb. You will change the ratio to a fraction by writing 1.7 kg / X lb = 1 kg / 2.2 lb. Find X after the conversion of the ratio to a fraction.
Also, you shall multiply 2.2 lb by 1.7 kg. The answer should be 3.7 even though the multiplication produces 3.74. You will round the pounds when calculating pediatric dosage calculations. You will write the pounds as 3 lb if the order includes an ounce. For example, you will write the pounds as 3 lb if the order states lb & oz.
Supposing the ounces needs to be calculated and known, you will use the tenths from the calculation of 2.2 lb X 1.7 kg which is 0.7 to find the ounces. Do you understand? The tenths of 3.7 is 0.7.
Before you can find the ounces, be aware that 1 lb = 16 oz. That is the formula for converting lb to oz. Write 1 lb : 16 oz = 0.7 lb : X oz. Turn the ratio to a fraction.
Write the fraction as; 1 lb / 16 oz = 0.7 lb X oz . Solve for X promptly. The answer will be 11 even though the multiplication of 16 oz by 0.7 lb is 11.2. You will write the ounces as 11 oz.
Notice that grams have been changed to kilograms, kilograms to pounds and pounds to ounces.

The answers are written as 1.8 kg, 3 lb and 11 oz when performing a pediatric dosage calculation on only 1700 g.

Tips & Warnings

g = grams
kg = kilograms
lb = pounds
oz = ounces
/ = fractional sign
: = ratio