Sources
The references used to verify formulas, terms, and number-writing conventions.
Dosage calculation methods
- Pharmacology for Nurses — 2.4 Dosage Calculations — OpenStax. Used for: Desired/Have formula and worked-example conventions.
- Dose Calculation Desired Over Have Formula Method — NCBI StatPearls. Used for: Definition of D, H, Q and the formula.
- Dose Calculation Dimensional Analysis Factor-Label Method — NCBI StatPearls. Used for: Dimensional analysis introduction.
- Dose Calculation Ratio and Proportion Method — NCBI StatPearls. Used for: Ratio and proportion introduction.
- Clinical Nursing Skills — 11.2 Dosing — OpenStax. Used for: Dosing context and terminology.
Practice problems
- Pharmacology for Nurses — 2.4 Dosage Calculations — OpenStax. Used for: Problem types and setups modeled by the practice questions (Desired/Have, dimensional analysis, ratio and proportion).
- Nursing Skills — Math Calculations — Open RN / NCBI Bookshelf. Used for: Conversion, weight-based, IV flow rate, drip rate, and infusion time problem types used in practice.
Learning Center lessons
- Pharmacology for Nurses — 2.4 Dosage Calculations — OpenStax. Used for: Lesson structure for Desired Over Have, dimensional analysis, ratio and proportion, tablets, liquids and number writing.
- Clinical Nursing Skills — 11.2 Dosing — OpenStax. Used for: Dosing terminology in the basics and IV lessons.
- Nursing Skills — Math Calculations — Open RN / NCBI Bookshelf. Used for: Unit conversions, weight-based math with 2.2 lb = 1 kg, IV flow rate, drip rate with drop factor, and infusion time lessons.
- Dose Calculation Dimensional Analysis Factor-Label Method — NCBI StatPearls. Used for: Unit-cancellation steps in the dimensional analysis lesson.
- Dose Calculation Ratio and Proportion Method — NCBI StatPearls. Used for: The H / Q = D / X setup and cross multiplication.
- Writing SI Metric System Units — NIST. Used for: Metric prefix relationships in the conversions lesson.
- Standards FAQ — abbreviations and dose designations — The Joint Commission. Used for: Leading-zero and trailing-zero guidance in the rounding and mistakes lessons.
Medication safety and units
- Safe Use Initiative — Current projects — U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Used for: Background on FDA medication-safety projects, including oral liquid medication measurement.
- Standards FAQ — abbreviations and dose designations — The Joint Commission. Used for: Guidance on dangerous abbreviations and dose designations, including leading and trailing zeros.
- Writing SI Metric System Units — NIST. Used for: Metric unit symbols, spacing between number and unit, and prefix relationships.
Nursing Dosage & Med-Math Quick Reference
- Nursing Skills — Math Calculations — Open RN / NCBI Bookshelf. Used for: Metric conversions, 2.2 lb = 1 kg, Desired/Have, weight-based, IV flow, drip rate with drop factor, infusion time and 24-hour (military) time.
- Pharmacology for Nurses — 2.4 Dosage Calculations — OpenStax. Used for: Dosage formulas, conversion relationships and drop-factor conventions (including 60 gtt/mL microdrip).
- Writing SI Metric System Units — NIST. Used for: Metric prefix relationships and writing a space between number and unit.
- Standards FAQ — abbreviations and dose designations — The Joint Commission. Used for: Leading-zero and trailing-zero medication number-writing guidance.
Nursing documentation
- ANA's Principles for Nursing Documentation (2010) — American Nurses Association. Used for: The six documentation principles and the characteristics of high-quality documentation (accurate, relevant, clear, timely, sequential, reflecting the nursing process).
- Nursing Fundamentals 2e — 2.5 Documentation — Open RN (Chippewa Valley Technical College). Used for: Objective, factual and professional documentation; not charting care before it is completed; general principles for correcting errors; common charting formats.
- Fundamentals of Nursing — 14.5 Guidelines for Effective Documentation — OpenStax. Used for: Source-oriented and problem-oriented documentation types (narrative, SOAP/SOAPIE, DAR/focus charting, charting by exception) and accuracy/terminology guidance.
- Nursing Management and Professional Concepts 2e — Open RN / NCBI Bookshelf. Used for: Handoff reports, structured communication and delegation context for SBAR and transfer pages.
- TeamSTEPPS — SBAR (Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation) — Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Used for: SBAR as a structured communication technique for conveying critical information.
- Summary of the HIPAA Privacy Rule — U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). Used for: What individually identifiable health information and protected health information (PHI) are.
- Guidance Regarding Methods for De-identification of PHI — U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). Used for: The list of identifiers and the point that identifiers can appear in free-text clinical narratives.
- Do Not Use List (Facts about) — The Joint Commission. Used for: The minimum list of abbreviations, acronyms and symbols that should not be used (U, IU, Q.D., Q.O.D., trailing zero, missing leading zero, MS, MSO4, MgSO4).
- Standards FAQ — abbreviations and dose designations — The Joint Commission. Used for: That organizations decide their own approved abbreviations; The Joint Commission does not publish an approved list.
- List of Error-Prone Abbreviations, Symbols, and Dose Designations — Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP). Used for: Additional error-prone abbreviations and dose designations beyond the Joint Commission minimum list.
These sources are used to check the math and conventions. Wording on Dosage Calcs is original. Inclusion here does not mean that any of these organizations endorse this site.