Question

The physician prescribes penicillin VK 0.25 g tid for 10 days. The nurse has available penicillin VK 500 mg tablets. How many tablets will the nurse administer to deliver one dose? (Record your answer using one decimal point)

a) 0.25 tablets
b) 0.5 tablets
c) 1 tablet
d) 2 tablets

Answer 1

The nurse will administer 0.5 tablets of 500 mg penicillin VK to deliver one dose of the prescribed 0.25 g.

Step-by-step explanation:

The physician prescribes penicillin VK 0.25 g tid (three times a day) for 10 days. To administer one dose, the nurse needs to convert the prescribed amount from grams to milligrams to match the available tablet strength. Notably, 0.25 grams is equivalent to 250 mg. Given that the nurse has 500 mg tablets, the calculation to find the number of tablets per dose is 250 mg prescribed / 500 mg per tablet = 0.5. Therefore, to deliver one dose, the nurse will administer 0.5 tablets. Answer: b) 0.5 tablets