1. Dosage Calculations for EMS Providers (Part 1)
Ray Taylor
Valencia Community College
Department of Emergency Medical Services

2. Intravenous Infusion Calculations
Formula
Volume to be Infused x Administrative Set (10, 15, 60, etc) Divided by Time in Minutes
Practice Example
Order: 2500ml of Lactated Ringers IV in 24 hours
Drop Factor: 15gtts/ml
Formula: 2500ml x 15 = 26gtts/min
1440min
* Complete Practice Problems 1-14 Page 1 of Dosage Calculations Section

3. Dosage Calculations Units of Measurements Apothecary Household Metric
Most common method used in clinical medicine

4. Dosage Calculations Metric System Fundamental Units Grams = Mass
Liters = Volume
Meters = Distance

5. Dosage Calculations Common units of conversion
Grams to milligrams (x 1000)
Milligrams to grams (divide 1000)
Milligrams to micrograms (x 1000)
Micrograms to milligrams (divide 1000)
Grains to milligrams (x 60)
Milligrams to grains (divide 60)

6. Dosage Calculations Common units of conversion
Liters to milliliters (x 1000)
Milliliters to liters (divide 1000)
1 milliliter = 1 cubic centimeter (consider equivalent)
1ml of water occupies 1cc of space

7. Dosage Calculations Pounds (lb) to Kilograms (kg) Formula
Patient’s weight in pounds divided by 2.2
Example
150lb patient divided by 2.2 = 68kg
*Assignment: Complete practice problems on pages 3-5 in the dosage calculations workbook

8. Dosage Calculations for EMS Providers (Part 2)
Ray Taylor
Valencia Community College
Department of Emergency Medical Services

9. Dosage Calculations Master Formula
Desired Dose divided by the concentration on hand x Vehicle or
Order divided by the supply x Vehicle
Vehicle is the volume of liquid in which the
supply is contained

10. Dosage Calculations Master Formula Example 1 (page 7 in workbook)
Order: 30mg Demerol IM
Supply: Demerol 50mg/ml
Step 1: Evaluate order and supply
Ensure same unit measurement
30mg = 0.6ml
50mg/ml

11. Dosage Calculations Master Formula Example 2 (page 7 in workbook)
Order: Streptomycin 250mg IM
Supply: 0.5gm/2ml
Step 1: Evaluate order and supply
Order in mg and supply in gm
Always convert supply to same unit of measurement as the order
0.5 gm x 1000 = 500mg/2ml
Calculate
Order = 250mg x 2ml = 1ml
500mg

12. Dosage Calculations Examples Order: Kantrex 150mg IM
Supply: Kantrex 0.5gm/2ml
Order: Sodium phenobarbital 100mg IM
Supply: Sodium phenobarbital 125mg/2ml

13. Dosage Calculations Assignment
Complete the practice problems on pages 7 – 16 in the dosage calculations worksheets