The technique has been taught to students of applied science for longer than I have been able to determine and for the sole reason that students using it make fewer mistakes. This process is fairly trivial, and with only slight attention to detail, you always get the right answer, bing-bang-boom, every time. You're then left with only the units you do want (the ones in your answer). For every problem you can just take the factors associated with it and arrange them so all the units you don't want cancel out. So what someone figured out is that you don't need formulas at all. This always happens if the formula is correct and you plug in the appropriate factors. There are lots of formulas out there, but here's the big idea: when you plug values into a formula and pay close attention to what happens to the units as the formula is simplified, you'll see that all the units cancel out except those units that end up in your answer. When you're doing applied math numbers have units of measure, or "dimensions," attached to them. The one-page all-you-really-need-to-know guide.ĭrug calculation quiz I took to get my first job. Or how I came to post so much stuff on this Web site. Med-Math Errors and the Nursing Student.Conversion Factors for Nursing Students.Learn dimensional analysis by working through the answers. A Brief Introduction to Dimensional AnalysisĢ5 practice problems-find out what you can do.Volume to give: dose to give x kg / concentrationĮxample: to give 120 mcg of phenylephrine when the concentration is 100mcg/ml: 120 / 100 = 1. 264 / 2.2 = 120 kgĬalculate concentration: the amount of drug in mcg, mg, or gm / volume of diluent the drug is inĮxample: 10,000 mcg (same as a 10mg vial) of phenylephrine in 100ml = 100 mcg per ccĭose to give: dose per kg x patient weight in kgĮxample: to give 0.1 mcg/kg of phenylephrine to a 120 kg patient: 1 x 120 = 120 mcg total dose Write these down, keep them with you in the field, and review / practice them frequently:Ĭonvert pounds to kg = pounds / 2.2, OR divide pounds by two and subtract 10%Įxample: patient tells you they weigh 264 pounds. There are only a few calculations you need to be able to do, and even for someone really bad at math, they aren't hard to memorize. The good news is, while it would of course be ideal to build a good comfort level with arithmetic and basic algebra in general, the reality is you don't need to. And I remember being really scared of it as a new paramedic student, too. Always had a really hard time with math always worked really hard to just squeak through. Terrible as in I can't even help my young kids with much of what they learn in grade school. Seek help if you need it and understand you don't need to be a math whiz, or even very good at math, but just how to safely perform your job when administering a limited number medications which require a limited number of formulas or concepts. It sucks, I am terrible at it, but I get through it so I can move on. I had to pass 2 math classes to graduate with my bachelors degree and I have to take some biostatistics stuff in my masters program. However, with that being said if you get a dopamine drip at 3am or a pediatric cardiac arrest at 4am you wanna be prepared and you have to be able to safely function without endangering your patients. Once you start using the same drugs for the same kinds of patients it gets easier and you also know ballpark areas you should be in for your answers. Those are also skills I personally rarely use because I find myself normally bolusing most medications or in the case of pediatric we have tools such as a weight and length based tape for assistance. Drip Rates and concentrations are by far the most difficult in my opinion. Don't let it discourage you, it is intimidating if you struggle with math but you don't need to be great at math and you only need to master a few things beyond very simple arithmetic to function as a paramedic. I was in a class yesterday and one of my favorite professors who is also an MD could barely do simple division on the blackboard and admitted he was terrible at math. I know medical doctors, paramedics, and medical/science professors who are terrible at math.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |