Dosage Calculations for Nursing Students on IV Drip Rate Factors Made Easy (Video 4)

RegisteredNurseRN
28 Sept 201513:59
EducationalLearning
32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRIn this informative video, Sarah, a registered nurse, guides viewers through understanding and solving dosage and calculation problems related to drip factors, a common challenge in nursing school. She presents five detailed examples using dimensional analysis, demonstrating step-by-step how to convert and calculate the correct drip rate in drops per minute. Sarah emphasizes the importance of focusing on relevant information and rounding to the nearest whole number when dealing with drip factors. She also encourages viewers to visit her website for additional practice quizzes and tutorials to enhance their understanding and preparation for class.

Takeaways
  • 📚 The video is an educational resource for nursing students to learn about dosage and calculations, specifically drip factors.
  • 👩‍🏫 Sarah, a registered nurse, guides the audience through five sample problems using dimensional analysis to solve for drips per minute.
  • 🔍 Importance is given to accurately identifying and utilizing key information from the doctor's order, such as volume, time, and drip factor.
  • 💧 The first problem involves infusing 1500 mL of LR (lactated ringers) over 12 hours with a 15 drops per mL drip factor, aiming to find the drips per minute.
  • 📈 Dimensional analysis is used as a method to convert units and solve problems, starting with the known information and working towards the desired outcome.
  • 🕒 Time conversions are necessary, such as hours to minutes, to match the units required for the calculations.
  • 🌡️ The second problem focuses on infusing 300 mL of a medication over 40 minutes with a 20 drops per mL drip factor, highlighting the need to ignore irrelevant information.
  • 🩸 The third problem discusses the infusion of two 250 mL bags of red blood cells (PRBCs) over four hours, totaling 500 mL, with a 15 drops per minute drip factor.
  • 🧬 The fourth problem involves a 48-hour infusion of 2 liters of d5 half normal saline with potassium chloride, emphasizing the need to convert liters to milliliters and hours to minutes.
  • 📉 The fifth and final problem calculates the drip rate for infusing 0.4 liters of d5w in ENS (normal saline) over three hours, with a 10 drops per mL drip factor.
  • 📝 The video encourages practice and offers a quiz on the presenter's website, registerednurseRN.com, for additional testing and skill development.
  • 🎓 The video serves as a tutorial for nursing students to prepare for their classes and exams, providing a clear, step-by-step approach to solving drip factor problems.
Q & A

  • What is the main topic of the video?

    -The main topic of the video is about solving dosage and calculations problems, specifically drip factors in nursing school.

  • How many sample problems does Sarah cover in the video?

    -Sarah covers five sample problems in the video.

  • What is the doctor's order in the first problem?

    -The doctor's order in the first problem is to infuse 1500 milliliters of LR (lactated ringers) over 12 hours with a drip factor of 15 drops GTT (gravity per minute) per milliliter.

  • How does Sarah suggest setting up the problem for dimensional analysis?

    -Sarah suggests setting up the problem by first identifying the important information in the problem, such as the volume to be infused, the time frame, and the drip factor. Then, using dimensional analysis, convert the units step by step to solve for the desired rate, such as drips per minute.

  • What is the solution to the first problem?

    -The solution to the first problem is 31 drops per minute. This is calculated by converting hours to minutes, milliliters to drops, and then dividing the total drops by the total minutes to get the rate per minute.

  • What is the significance of the 500 milligrams mentioned in the second problem?

    -The 500 milligrams mentioned in the second problem is insignificant for the calculation. It is a common tactic in such problems to include extra data that is not necessary for solving the problem, which can throw off those who are not paying close attention.

  • How does the third problem differ from the first two problems?

    -The third problem differs in that it involves infusing two bags of a substance (250 milliliters each of PRBCs), totaling 500 milliliters, over four hours with a drip factor of 15 drops per milliliter, and the goal is to find the rate in two drops per minute.

  • What conversion is necessary for the fourth problem that wasn't needed in the third problem?

    -In the fourth problem, it is necessary to convert liters to milliliters, which was not needed in the third problem since the volume was already given in milliliters.

  • What is the final answer for the fourth problem?

    -The final answer for the fourth problem is 10 drops per minute, after converting the units and solving the equation.

  • How does Sarah encourage viewers to practice their skills after watching the video?

    -Sarah encourages viewers to visit her website, registerednurseRN.com, to take a practice quiz and check out other tutorials and quizzes related to dosage and calculation problems.

  • What is the rounding rule for drip factors as mentioned in the video?

    -For drip factors, the rounding rule is to round to the nearest whole number.

Outlines
00:00
📚 Introduction to Drip Factor Calculations

This paragraph introduces Sarah, a registered nurse, who is going to explain dosage and calculations problems related to drip factors in nursing school. She plans to go over five sample problems, solving them step by step using dimensional analysis. Sarah encourages viewers to take a practice quiz on her website to test their knowledge and prepare for their classes. She also mentions other tutorials and quizzes available on her website.

05:01
🧪 Problem 1: Infusing LR at a Drip Factor of 15 Drops GTT

The first problem involves infusing 1500 milliliters of lactated ringers (LR) over 12 hours with a drip factor of 15 drops per milliliter (GTT). The goal is to find the drips per minute. Sarah emphasizes the importance of focusing on the key information in the problem and using dimensional analysis to convert milliliters to minutes and then to drops per minute. The solution involves converting hours to minutes, using the given drip factor, and solving for drops per minute, resulting in an answer of 31 drops per minute.

10:04
💉 Problem 2: Infusing Ampicillin Sodium at a Drip Factor

The second problem is about infusing 300 milliliters of ampicillin sodium over 40 minutes with a drip factor of 20 drops per milliliter. Sarah underlines the importance of focusing on the relevant information and ignoring the irrelevant details. Using dimensional analysis, she guides through the process of converting milliliters to drops and minutes, resulting in a solution of 150 drops per minute.

🩸 Problem 3: Infusing Two Units of Red Blood Cells at a Drip Factor

The third problem involves infusing two units of red blood cells, each 250 milliliters, over four hours with a drip factor of 15 drops per milliliter. Sarah clarifies that the total volume is 500 milliliters to be infused over four hours. She explains the process of converting hours to minutes and milliliters to drops per minute, leading to a solution of 31 drops per minute.

💊 Problem 4: Infusing D5 Half Normal Saline with Potassium Chloride

The fourth problem is about infusing two liters of D5 half normal saline with 50 milli equivalents of potassium chloride over 48 hours with a drip factor of 15 drops per milliliter. Sarah guides through the process of converting liters to milliliters and hours to minutes. She emphasizes the importance of dimensional analysis and rounding to the nearest whole number, resulting in a solution of 10 drops per minute.

🩹 Problem 5: Infusing 0.4 Liters of D5W in ENS at a Drip Factor

The final problem involves infusing 0.4 liters of D5W (normal saline) over three hours with a drip factor of 10 drops per milliliter. Sarah explains the steps of converting hours to minutes and liters to milliliters. She uses dimensional analysis to solve for drops per minute, arriving at a solution of 22 drops per minute.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡Drip Factor
The 'drip factor' in the context of nursing and intravenous (IV) therapy refers to the number of drops per milliliter delivered by a specific IV setup and is a critical component in calculating the flow rate of IV fluids. In the video, the drip factor is used to determine how many drops per minute should be administered to achieve the prescribed fluid volume over a given time. For example, different problems in the script mention drip factors like 15 drops per milliliter or 10 drops per milliliter, depending on the IV tubing and needle used.
💡Dimensional Analysis
Dimensional analysis is a mathematical technique used to convert one unit of measure into another to compute the correct dosage and fluid rate in medical settings. In the video, the presenter uses dimensional analysis to break down each dosage calculation problem step-by-step, converting units like milliliters to drops using the drip factor, and hours to minutes, to find the required drips per minute.
💡Drips Per Minute
Drips per minute is a measure of the rate at which a fluid should be administered intravenously to a patient, as calculated by the nursing staff. It is central to the video's dosage calculation problems where the ultimate goal is to determine how many drips (or drops) of a solution should be given per minute to meet a doctor's order. For instance, in one problem, the presenter calculates 31.25 drips per minute, which is then rounded to 31 drips per minute as per standard practice.
💡Dosage Calculations
Dosage calculations are critical in nursing to ensure patients receive the correct amount of medication or fluids as prescribed. These calculations often involve converting units of measure and applying concepts like drip factors to determine the appropriate administration rate. The video focuses on teaching these calculations through examples, emphasizing their importance in nursing education and practice.
💡Doctor's Order
A doctor's order in medical treatment specifies the amount of medication or fluids a patient should receive and over what time period. The video illustrates how to interpret these orders to set up dosage calculation problems, such as infusing 1500 milliliters of a solution over 12 hours, which sets the basis for the dimensional analysis used to determine the drips per minute.
💡RegisteredNurseRN.com
RegisteredNurseRN.com is mentioned as a resource for further learning and practice quizzes related to dosage calculations. It exemplifies the use of online educational resources in nursing education, providing viewers with additional content and tools to reinforce learning, as encouraged by the presenter in the video.
💡Infusion Time
Infusion time refers to the duration over which an IV fluid is to be administered to a patient. This concept is crucial in the video's dosage calculation problems, where the presenter calculates how many drops per minute are needed to infuse a specific volume within the prescribed time. For example, infusing 1500 milliliters over 12 hours requires conversion of hours to minutes to use in dimensional analysis.
💡Convert Units
The process of converting units is vital in medical dosage calculations to align different measurement systems used in doctors' orders and medication packaging. In the video, this process is repeatedly applied in dimensional analysis examples to switch between milliliters and liters, hours and minutes, facilitating the correct computation of medication delivery rates.
💡D5W
D5W (5% Dextrose in Water) is a type of intravenous sugar solution mentioned in the script. It is used as an example to explain the process of preparing and calculating infusion rates for different solutions. The video includes D5W to demonstrate how to calculate the delivery rate for specific medical fluids, emphasizing its common use in clinical settings.
💡Milliliters
Milliliters, a unit of volume, is frequently used in medical settings to measure fluid quantities for IV administration. The video uses this unit extensively in the sample problems to calculate how many milliliters of a fluid (like lactated ringers or ampicillin sodium) are to be infused per given time frame, then converting these values as needed for drip rate calculations.
Highlights

Sarah, a registered nurse, introduces dosage and calculations problems related to drip factors in nursing school.

Five sample problems are discussed, using dimensional analysis to solve for drips per minute.

The importance of practicing drip factor problems for class preparedness is emphasized.

A link to a practice quiz and additional teaching tutorials is provided on Sarah's website, registerednurseorion.com.

The first problem involves infusing 1500 milliliters of LR over 12 hours with a drip factor of 15 drops per milliliter.

Dimensional analysis is used to convert milliliters to drops and hours to minutes for accurate calculations.

The solution to the first problem is 31 drops per minute, rounded to the nearest whole number.

The second problem focuses on infusing 300 milliliters of ampicillin sodium over 40 minutes with a 20 drops per milliliter drip factor.

The solution to the second problem is 100.5 drops per minute, rounded to 101 drops per minute.

The third problem involves infusing two 250 milliliter bags of red blood cells over four hours with a 15 drops per milliliter drip factor.

The solution to the third problem is 31 drops per minute.

The fourth problem requires infusing two liters of d5 half normal saline with potassium chloride over 48 hours with a 15 drops per milliliter drip factor.

The solution to the fourth problem is 10 drops per minute.

The last problem involves infusing 0.4 liters of d5w in normal saline over three hours with a 10 drops per milliliter drip factor.

The solution to the final problem is 22 drops per minute.

Sarah encourages viewers to visit her website for more dosage and calculation tutorials.

Transcripts

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