Question

The patient has an order for metformin (Glucophage) 1.5 g orally. The medication available is metformin 1000mg/scored tablet. How many tablets will the nurse administer? tab (If needed, round to the nearest tenth.)

Answer 1

To administer 1.5 g of metformin, the nurse would convert the dosage into milligrams (1500 mg) and then divide it by the dosage per tablet available (1000 mg per tablet), resulting in the administration of 1.5 tablets.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question pertains to medication dosage calculation, a fundamental skill in the healthcare industry, and requires knowledge of unit conversion. To determine how many tablets the nurse will administer when the patient has an order for metformin (Glucophage) 1.5 g orally, and the medication available is metformin 1000mg/scored tablet, we need to convert grams to milligrams and then divide by the dosage per tablet.

There are 1000 milligrams (mg) in one gram (g), so 1.5 g equals 1500 mg. The available dosage form is a 1000 mg tablet. Therefore, the calculation needed is 1500 mg ÷ 1000 mg/tablet, which equals to 1.5 tablets. Since tablets are typically not administered in portions less than half, the nurse would administer 1.5 tablets, breaking a tablet in half to get the correct dosage if the tablets are scored.