Basic medication dose conversion and calculation are essential skills for those entering the nursing or pharmacology fields. There are three different methods for dosage calculation:
This page contains resources and examples for each of these calculation methods.
TO CONVERT | TO | YOU MUST |
ounces | grams | multiply by 28.3495 |
ounces | kilograms | divide by 35.274 |
pounds | grams | multiply by 453.592 |
pounds | kilograms | divide by 2.205 |
milliliters | tablespoon | divide by 15 |
liter | fluid ounce | multiply by 33.814 |
liter | cup | multiply by 4.167 |
liter | gallon | divide by 3.78541178 |
kilograms | pounds | multiply by 2.205 |
KILO to BASE UNIT: Multiply by 1,000
KILO to CENTI: Multiply by 100,000
KILO to MILLI: Multiply by 1,000,000
KILO to MICRO: Multiply by 1,000,000,000
BASE UNIT to CENTI: Multiply by 100
BASE UNIT to MILLI: Multiply by 1,000
BASE UNIT to MICRO: Multiply by 1,000,000
CENTI to MILLI: Multiply by 10
CENTI to MICRO: Multiply by 10,000
MILLI to MICRO: Multiply by 1,000
MICRO to KILO: Divide by 1,000,000,000
MICRO to BASE UNIT: Divide by 1,000,000
MICRO to CENTI: Divide by 10,000
MICRO to MILLI: Divide by 1,000
MILLI to KILO: Divide by 1,000,000
MILLI to BASE UNIT: Divide by 1,000
MILLI to CENTI: Divide by 10
The metric system is a system of measurement that uses the meter, liter, and gram as base units of length (distance), capacity (volume), and weight (mass) respectively.
LENGTH | Meter (m) |
MASS | Gram (g) |
VOLUME | Liter (L) |
Metric system prefixes tell you how much bigger or smaller a unit is than the base unit. These prefixes are all powers of 10, which makes converting from one metric measurement to another very simple. Here are some common prefixes.
KILO: 1,000 × Base
HECTO: 100 × Base
DECA: 10 × Base
[BASE]
DECI: 0.1 × Base
CENTI: 0.01 × Base
MILLI: 0.001 × Base
MICRO: 0.000001 × Base
D/H x Q → (desired or dose/have) x quantity
mL/hr → milliliters per hour
gtt/min → drop(s) per minute
Nifty note: A drop is abbreviated gtt, with gtts used for the plural, and is often seen on prescriptions. These abbreviations come from gutta (plural guttae), the Latin word for drop.
mg/kg/day → milligrams per kilogram [of body weight] per day
gtts/mL→ also known as the drop factor: the number of drops it takes to make up one mL of fluid
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