Worked example

Oral dose - tablets - practice problem 3

The prescriber orders 30 mg of prednisone PO. The pharmacy stocks prednisone in 10 mg tablets.

Ordered dose30 mg

On hand10 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: 10 mg per tablet · Want: 30 mg

2. Set up dimensional analysis so mg cancels

30 mg × ( 1 tablet ÷ 10 mg )

3. Cancel mg and solve

= ( 30 × 1 ) ÷ 10 tablet

= 3 tablets