Numeracy and Clinical Calculations for Nurses. Neil Davison

      NUMERACY AND

      CLINICAL CALCULATIONS

      FOR NURSES

      NEIL DAVISON

      Llandrillo College, North Wales

      ISBN: 978 1 908625 24 3

      Published in 2015 by Lantern Publishing Limited

      Based on Numeracy, Clinical Calculations and Basic Statistics, published 2008 by

      Reflect Press Ltd (ISBN 9781906052072)

      Lantern Publishing Limited, The Old Hayloft, Vantage Business Park, Bloxham Rd, Banbury, OX16 9UX, UK

      www.lanternpublishing.com

      © 2015, Neil Davison

      The right of Neil Davison to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

       www.cla.co.uk

      British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

      The authors and publisher have made every attempt to ensure the content of this book is up to date and accurate. However, healthcare knowledge and information is changing all the time so the reader is advised to double-check any information in this text on drug usage, treatment procedures, the use of equipment, etc. to confirm that it complies with the latest safety recommendations, standards of practice and legislation, as well as local Trust policies and procedures. Students are advised to check with their tutor and/or mentor before carrying out any of the procedures in this textbook.

      Typeset by Medlar Publishing Solutions Pvt Ltd, India

      Cover design by Andrew Magee Design Ltd

      Printed in the UK

      Distributed by NBN International, 10 Thornbury Rd, Plymouth, PL6 7PP, UK

      CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgements

How to use this book

1 Numeracy and calculation skills in the clinical environment

2 Back to basics

       3 The SI system

       4 Calculating drug doses

       5 Other clinical calculations

       6 Tests

       Appendix 1 Administering medicines safely

       Appendix 2 Routes of administration

       Appendix 3 Medication administration records

       Appendix 4 Drug glossary

       Appendix 5 Multiplication grid

       Self-assessment test answers

       References

PREFACE

      Drug and clinical calculations are a significant part of modern nursing practice but performing them can cause unnecessary anxiety in many nurses.

      This drug calculation book is written for student nurses at the start of their career and registered nurses who need a refresher. It is influenced by many years of teaching numeracy and drug calculation skills to undergraduate nurses in the classroom and practice setting, preparing them for online and traditional examinations and ultimately registration with the NMC.

      The book aims to increase the reader’s skills and confidence in calculating drug doses, whether in preparation for clinical practice, drug calculation exams or as part of professional updating. This is achieved by an initial self-assessment of numeracy skills, followed by practical examples that explore the key principles, techniques and formulae needed to accurately calculate drug dosages. There are many opportunities to assess your progress throughout the book and comprehensive summary tests in the final chapter.

      Neil Davison

      October 2014

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

      The publishers would like to thank the following lecturers and a selection of their students for reviewing the Back to Basics chapter of this book and providing very useful comments that have informed the final version:

      Maureen Crowley, University of the West of Scotland

      David Maynard, Birmingham City University

      Caroline

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