Critical Care Intravenous Drug Calculation: Drill and Practice

1. Describe the rationale for use of IV controllers and pumps when administering critical care IV medications.
2. Demonstrate competency when converting milligrams (mg) to micrograms (mcg).
3. Analyze drug orders to determine safe dose ranges using a drug handbook.
4. Demonstrate competency in calculating critical care infusion rates for IV pumps and controllers.

• This learning activity can be used as a homework assignment in a pharmacology class or a course where advanced IV fluids administration is taught. It can also be used as a remediation tool for students who must achieve mastery of these concepts in order to be safe practitioners.
• The learning activity can be completed in 45-60 minutes.
• The student will need a computer with an Internet connection, web browser, and Macromedia Flash. The Flash module is included so that the activity can be uploaded to an online learning management system, such as Blackboard or Angel Learning or added to a web page.
• This activity is intermediate in nature. It provides critical knowledge and application of terminology and intravenous drug calculations used in the critical care setting.
• This activity is appropriate for all nursing students studying intravenous critical care medication concepts.

This learning activity provides drill and practice experience for calculation of critical IV medication rates. The activity is available in two formats. One format is a printed quiz formatted using Microsoft Word. The instructor can use the quiz as is, or make medications. The recommended format is a Flash module, which is a zipped file that can be uploaded to an online learning management system, uploaded to a web page, or simply viewed in a web browser. The Flash module includes flash cards, fact cards, pick-a-letter, fill-in-the-blank, a glossary and an interactive multiple-choice quiz items written at the application and analysis taxonomy levels.

• Excel Workbook Used to Check Calculations (Excel 68kB Aug30 09)
• Interactive Learning Excercises for Critical Care IV Med Calculation (Zip Archive 169kB Aug30 09)
• Critical Care IV Med Calc Quiz - Instructor Copy (Rich Text File 64kB Aug30 09)
• Critical Care IV Med Calc Quiz - Student Copy (Rich Text File 64kB Aug30 09)

• Parsing IV drip rates into small meaningful chunks is very important. Prerequisite learning should include familiarity with critical care intravenous medications, knowledge regarding the use of IV controllers and pumps, competency using a drug handbook, mastery of weight and liquids conversions, and IV fluid calculations. Students need to be able to recognize potential calculation errors.
• I am using this module as a remediation resource in a hybrid NCLEX prep course using the Blackboard learning management system.
• Patient safety should be a key point of emphasis in throughout this lesson.

Learning can be assessed in several ways.

• Formative assessment using a multiple-choice quiz with knowledge and application questions.
• Demonstrated competency in the learning lab setting.
• Demonstrated competency in the clinical patient setting.
• Summative assessment on an unit exam.

• Patient Safety: Honing in on Heparin by Nadine Salmon and Lori Constantine for RN is a tutorial and quiz designed for continuing education credit. The tutorial is free and provides essential knowledge about heparin.
• Basic Drug Calculation Review by Sharon Kumm
• Dosage Calculation for Nurses by Jewell Johnson