Drug Dosage Calculations NCLEX Practice Questions (100+ Items)

Welcome to your NCLEX reviewer for nursing drug calculations! In this nursing test bank, practice dosage calculation problems to measure your competence in nursing math. As a nurse, you must accurately and precisely calculate medication dosages to provide safe and effective nursing care. This quiz aims to help students and registered nurses alike grasp and master the concepts of medication calculation.

Drug Dosage Calculation Practice Quiz

In this section are the practice problems and questions for nursing dosage calculations. This nursing test bank set includes 100+ questions. Included topics are dosage calculation, metric conversions, unit conversions, parenteral medications, and fluid input and output. As you can tell, this NCLEX practice exam requires tons of calculations, so get your calculators ready!

Remember to answer these questions at your own pace, and don’t forget to read the rationales! Don’t be discouraged if you have incorrect answers. You are here to learn! Make sense of the rationales and review the drug dosage calculations study guide below.

Quiz Guidelines

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1. Practice Exams : Engage with our Practice Exams to hone your skills in a supportive, low-pressure environment. These exams provide immediate feedback and explanations, helping you grasp core concepts, identify improvement areas, and build confidence in your knowledge and abilities.
2. Challenge Exams : Take our Challenge Exams to test your mastery and readiness under simulated exam conditions. These exams offer a rigorous question set to assess your understanding, prepare you for actual examinations, and benchmark your performance.
   • You’re given 2 minutes per item.
   • For Challenge Exams, click on the “Start Quiz” button to start the quiz.
3. Complete the quiz : Ensure that you answer the entire quiz. Only after you’ve answered every item will the score and rationales be shown.
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Quizzes included in this guide are:

Drug Calculations Reviewer for Nurses

This is your study guide to help you refresh or review what you know about drug dosage calculations, including tips on answering them.

NCLEX Tips for Dosage Calculation Questions

• The fill-in-the-blank question format is usually used for medication calculation, IV flow rate calculation, or determining the intake-output of a client. In this question format, you’ll be asked to perform a calculation and type in your answer in the blank space provided.
• Always follow the specific directions as noted on the screen.
• The unit of measure you need for your final answer is always given.
• There will be an on-screen calculator on the computer for you to use.
• Do not put any words, units of measurements, commas, or spaces with your answer, type only the number. Only the number goes into the box. Rounding an answer should be done at the end of the calculation or as what the question specified, and if necessary, type in the decimal point.

Nursing Responsibilities for Medication Administration

• 10 Rights of Medication Administration. Understanding the 10 Rights of Drug Administration can help prevent many medication errors. Nurses, who are primarily involved in the administration of medications, benefit from this simplified memory aid to help guide them to administer medications safely.
  • Right Drug. The first right of drug administration is to check and verify if it’s the right name and form. Beware of look-alike and sound-alike medication names. Misreading medication names that look similar is a common mistake. These look-alike medication names may also sound alike and can lead to errors associated with verbal prescriptions. Check out The Joint Commission’s list of look-alike/sound-alike drugs.
  • Right Patient. Ask the name of the client and check his/her ID band before giving the medication. Even if you know that patient’s name, you still need to ask just to verify.
  • Right Dose. Check the medication sheet and the doctor’s order before medicating. Be aware of the difference between an adult and a pediatric dose.
  • Right Route. Check and verify the order (i.e., per orem, IV, SQ, IM)
  • Right Time and Frequency. Check the order for when it would be given and when was the last time it was given.
  • Right Documentation. Make sure to write the time and any remarks on the chart correctly.
  • Right History and Assessment. Secure a copy of the client’s history to drug interactions and allergies.
  • Right Drug Approach and Right to Refuse. Give the client enough autonomy to refuse the medication after thoroughly explaining the effects.
  • Right Drug-Drug Interaction and Evaluation. Review any medications previously given or the diet of the patient that can yield a bad interaction to the drug to be given. Check also the expiry date of the medication being given.
  • Right Education and Information. Provide enough knowledge to the patient of what drug he/she would be taking and what are the expected therapeutic and side effects.

  Systems of Measurement

  • There are three systems of measurement used in nursing: the metric system, the apothecaries’ system, and household system.
  • Metric System
    • The most widely used international system of measurement.
    • The basic units of metric measures are the gram (weight),meter (length or distance), and liter (volume).
    • It is a decimal-based system that is logically organized into units of 10. Basic units are multiplied or divided by 10 to form secondary units.
    • The apothecaries’ system is one of the oldest systems of measurement, older than the metric system and is considered to be out of date.
    • The basic units used in this system are the grain (gr)for weight, minim for volume, ounce, and pound. All of which are seldomly used in the clinical setting.
    • Quantities in the apothecaries’ system are often expressed by lowercase Roman numerals when the unit of measure is abbreviated. And the unit of measure precedes the quantity. Quantities less than 1 are expressed as fractions. Examples: “gr ii”, “gr ¼ ”
    • And yes, it can be confusing therefore use the metric system instead to avoid medication errors.
    • Household system measures may be used when more accurate systems of measure are not required.
    • Included units are drops, teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, pint, and glasses.
    • Milliequivalent (mEq)
      • The milliequivalent is an expression of the number of grams of a medication contained in 1 milligram of a solution.
      • Examples: the measure of serum sodium, serum potassium, and sodium bicarbonate is given in milliequivalents.
      • Unit measures a medication in terms of its action, not its physical weight.
      • When documenting, do not write “U” for unit, rather spell it as “unit” as it is often mistaken as “0”.
      • Examples: Insulin, penicillin, and heparinsodium are measured in units.

      Converting Units of Weight and Measure

      • Converting values between metric system
        • For drug dosages, the metric units used are the gram (g),milligram (mg), and microgram (mcg). For volume units milliliters (mL) and liters (L).
        • It is simple to compute for equivalents using the metric system. It can be done by dividing or multiplying; or by moving the decimal point three places to the left or right.
        • Do not use a “trailing zero” after the decimal point when the dosage is expressed as a whole number. For example, if the dosage is 2m mg, do not insert a decimal point or the trailing zero as this could be mistaken for “20” if the decimal point is not seen.
        • On the other hand, do not leave a “naked” decimal point. If a number begins with a decimal, it should be written with a zero and a decimal point before it. For example, if the dosage is 2/10 of a milligram, it should be written as 0.2 mg. It could be mistaken for 2 instead of 0.2.

        Unit	Equivalents
        Metric system	Equivalents
        1 microgram (mcg)	0.000001 g
        1 milligram (mg)	0.001 g or 1000 mcg
        1 gram (g)	1000 mg
        1 kilogram (kg)	1000 g
        1 kilogram (kg)	2.2 lbs
        1 milliliter (mL)	0.001 L
        Apothecary system (no longer used)	Equivalents
        1 grain (gr)	60 or 65 mg
        5 grain (gr)	300 or 325 mg
        15 grain (gr)	1000 mg or 1g
        1/150 grain (gr)	0.4 mg
        Household system (volume)	Equivalents
        1 teaspoon (tsp)	5 ml or 16 drops
        1 tablespoon (T)	3 teaspoons or 15 mL
        1 fluid ounce (fl oz)	2 tablespoons or 30 mL
        1 cup (C)	8 fluid oz or 240 mL
        1 pint (pt)	16 fluid oz or 480 mL
        1 quart (qt)	2 pints or 946 mL or 32 fl oz
        Household system (weight)	Equivalents
        1 pound (lb)	16 ounce
        2.2 pounds (lbs)	1 kilogram

        • Converting Units Between Systems
          • Household and metric measures are equivalent and not equal measures.
          • Conversions to equivalent measures between systems is necessary when a medication prescription is written in one system but the medication label is stated in another.
          • Medications are not always prescribed and prepared in the same system of measurement; therefore conversion of units from one system to another is necessary.
          • Common conversions in the healthcare setting include pound to kilograms, milligrams to grains, minims to drops.

          Methods for Drug Dosage Calculations

          • Standard Method
            • The commonly used formula for calculating drug dosages.
            • Where in:
              • D = Desired dose or dose ordered by the primary care provider.
              • H = dose on hand or dose on the label of bottle, vial, ampule.
              • V = vehicle or the form in which the drug comes (i.e., tablet or liquid).

              STANDARD FORMULA

              Desired (D) = 500 mg
              On hand (H) = 250 mg
              Vehicle (V) = 5 mL

              Computation:

              \frac \times 5\ mL = 10\ mL

              Answer: 10 mL

              • Ratio and Proportion Method
                • Considered as the oldest method used for drug calcluation problems.
                • For the equation, the known quantities are on the left side, while the desired dose and the unknown amount to administer are on the right side.
                • Where in:
                  • D = Desired dose or dose ordered by the primary care provider.
                  • H = dose on hand or dose on the label of bottle, vial, ampule.
                  • V = vehicle or the form in which the drug comes (i.e., tablet or liquid).
                  • X = amount to administer

                  RATIO AND PROPORTION METHOD

                  Desired (D) = 750 mg
                  On hand (H) = 250 mg
                  Vehicle (V) = 1 capsule

                  Computation:
                  250 (H) : 1 (V) = 750 (D) : x

                  Multiply the extremes and the means:

                  Answer: 3 capsules

                  • Fractional Equation Method
                    • A method similar to ratio and proportion but expressed as fractions.
                    • Where in:
                      • D = Desired dose or dose ordered by the primary care provider.
                      • H = dose on hand or dose on the label of bottle, vial, ampule.
                      • V = vehicle or the form in which the drug comes (i.e., tablet or liquid).

                      FRACTIONAL EQUATION METHOD

                      Desired (D) = 0.25 mg
                      On hand (H) = 0.125 mg
                      Vehicle (V) = 1 tablets

                      Computation:

                      Answer: 2 tablets

                      • Fluid Intake and Output Calculation
                        • Intake and output (I&O) measurement and recording is usually done to monitor a client’s fluid and electrolyte balance during a 24-hour period.
                        • Intake and output is done for patients with increased risk for fluid and electrolyte imbalance (e.g., heart failure, kidney failure).
                        • Unit used in measurement of I&O is milliliter (mL).
                        • Measuring fluid intake entails recording each item of fluid consumed or administered, all of the following fluids are recorded:
                          • Oral fluids (e.g., water, juice, milk, soup, water taken with medication).
                          • Liquid foods at room temperature (e.g., ice cream, gelatin, custard).
                          • Tube feedings including the water used for flushes.
                          • Parenteral fluids
                          • Blood products
                          • IV medications
                          • Urinary output
                          • Vomitus
                          • Liquid feces
                          • Tube drainage
                          • Wound and fistula drainage

                          Recommended Resources

                          Recommended books and resources for your NCLEX success:

                          Disclosure: Included below are affiliate links from Amazon at no additional cost from you. We may earn a small commission from your purchase. For more information, check out our privacy policy.

                          Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN
                          Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination is often referred to as the best nursing exam review book ever. More than 5,700 practice questions are available in the text. Detailed test-taking strategies are provided for each question, with hints for analyzing and uncovering the correct answer option.

                          

                          Strategies for Student Success on the Next Generation NCLEX® (NGN) Test Items
                          Next Generation NCLEX®-style practice questions of all types are illustrated through stand-alone case studies and unfolding case studies. NCSBN Clinical Judgment Measurement Model (NCJMM) is included throughout with case scenarios that integrate the six clinical judgment cognitive skills.

                          

                          Saunders Q & A Review for the NCLEX-RN® Examination
                          This edition contains over 6,000 practice questions with each question containing a test-taking strategy and justifications for correct and incorrect answers to enhance review. Questions are organized according to the most recent NCLEX-RN test blueprint Client Needs and Integrated Processes. Questions are written at higher cognitive levels (applying, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating, and creating) than those on the test itself.

                          

                          NCLEX-RN Prep Plus by Kaplan
                          The NCLEX-RN Prep Plus from Kaplan employs expert critical thinking techniques and targeted sample questions. This edition identifies seven types of NGN questions and explains in detail how to approach and answer each type. In addition, it provides 10 critical thinking pathways for analyzing exam questions.

                          

                          Illustrated Study Guide for the NCLEX-RN® Exam
                          The 10th edition of the Illustrated Study Guide for the NCLEX-RN Exam, 10th Edition. This study guide gives you a robust, visual, less-intimidating way to remember key facts. 2,500 review questions are now included on the Evolve companion website. 25 additional illustrations and mnemonics make the book more appealing than ever.

                          

                          NCLEX RN Examination Prep Flashcards (2023 Edition)
                          NCLEX RN Exam Review FlashCards Study Guide with Practice Test Questions [Full-Color Cards] from Test Prep Books. These flashcards are ready for use, allowing you to begin studying immediately. Each flash card is color-coded for easy subject identification.

                          

                          Recommended Links

                          An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. Keep up the pace and continue learning with these practice quizzes:

                          • Nursing Test Bank: Free Practice QuestionsUPDATED!
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                          33 thoughts on “Drug Dosage Calculations NCLEX Practice Questions (100+ Items)”

                          FranDelaCruzRN Part 1: 13/15
                          Part 2: 33/40
                          Part 3: 43/50
                          Part 4: 9/10 Challenging but fun! Reply Let’s elevate the discourse. Petty, negative remarks are unnecessary. Reply

                          I agree, negative remarks are unnecessary, especially when the time has been taken to make this information available to us. Reply

                          Hey, you can always correct/point out people’s mistakes politely, no need to be an ass about it. Being a nurse and having a bachelors degree does not mean one has to be perfect (unless you’re perfect? lol). I can imagine what kind of ‘nurse’ you are/will be. Your lack of manners makes me cringe. Reply

                          I had my first experience working with RNs through the covid times and the person I worked with and trained me was like that he wanted or expected me to think like him and do everything like him and if I would ask him a question to confirm he would say things like “didn’t I explain that already or something like a smart allic ” trust me I am very proud not to have punched him all of these times but he was harmless in nursing there are just those people that don’t think about others and just expect you’re like them or if your not your below them which is unfortunate! I learned how not to be and how to act I would even help the new RNs once I was concerned not new and I would be determined not to treat anyone how I was treated I don’t think it was A RN thing it was either you on his level or not so after I was comfortable I started going off on him bickering back and forth but he had to know I am not the one and I was new so I let it slide but don’t make those mistake anymore! he would sabotage me I have to admit he did it a way that no one knew very smart which means he’s a sneaky snake and worst everyone loved him that’s why I didn’t say anything day one I knew this and It worked and I was fired! it was a temp job so no big deal but I learned how to deal with co-workers like this are out there and look out and management I knew would be no help but I did tell them but they cared less just like I thought how do you take reports on my training from the person who is training me is not training me so if I don’t know how to do something I get blamed for it?! wtf 2+2 is=4 so why don’t they get that and blame me not him! bs With that said as nurses let us pull each other up we have enough to deal with that can make us feel we can be at our lowest we don’t need a coworker to speed up the process let’s do better Reply

                          Don’t dwell on it, especially on people not worthy of your heart or mind. Resiliency is key. Also justifying your reason doesn’t take away from the point that other people might not ever understand your reasons for your actions, especially if they don’t understand why you did it in the first place. Reply