Worked example

Oral dose - tablets - practice problem 14

The prescriber orders 15 mg of prednisone PO. The pharmacy stocks prednisone in 5 mg tablets.

Ordered dose15 mg

On hand5 mg per tablet

How many tablets should the nurse give?

Answer: 3 tablets

Step-by-step solution

1. Identify what you have and what you want

Have: 5 mg per tablet · Want: 15 mg

2. Set up dimensional analysis so mg cancels

15 mg × ( 1 tablet ÷ 5 mg )

3. Cancel mg and solve

= ( 15 × 1 ) ÷ 5 tablet

= 3 tablets