Final answer:
To administer the prescribed Valium 10 mg TID with 5 mg tablets, you would give 2 tablets per dose, totaling 6 tablets per day. Accurate dosage calculation is essential in healthcare to ensure patient safety.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question involves the administration of Valium 10 mg TID (three times a day), with the available Valium tablets being of 5 mg strength. To provide the prescribed 10 mg dose, you would need to give two 5 mg tablets each time since two tablets would add up to the required 10 mg dose. Therefore, for TID dosing, the patient will be given a total of 6 tablets per day (2 tablets for each of the three doses).
Converting and calculating the correct dosage of medication is a vital skill in the healthcare field. In this case, we are doubling the available tablet strength to meet the prescribed dose. It's critical to get these calculations right to ensure patient safety and to deliver the correct therapeutic amount of medication. As in this example, if a physician orders a certain milligram dosage and the tablets on hand are of a different strength, healthcare providers must be able to quickly calculate the correct number of tablets to administer.