Final answer:
To calculate the dosage of nalbuphine hydrochloride to be administered, the patient's weight is first converted to kilograms, then the per-kilogram dosage is determined, and finally, it is converted to milliliters based on the medication concentration. This results in approximately 1.2 mL to be administered.
Step-by-step explanation:
The dosage of nalbuphine hydrochloride that the nurse should administer is calculated based on the patient's weight and the prescribed dose. First, we convert the patient's weight from pounds to kilograms, knowing that 1 kilogram is approximately 2.2 pounds. The patient weighs 187 pounds, so we divide 187 by 2.2 to get the weight in kilograms, which is approximately 85 kilograms. The prescription is for 10 mg per 70 kg, so we set up a proportion to find out how many milligrams the patient requires and then determine how many milliliters to administer given that 10 mg is equivalent to 1 mL. The dose for the patient is (85 kg / 70 kg) × 10 mg, resulting in roughly 12.14 mg. Because we have a 10 mg/1 mL concentration of nalbuphine hydrochloride, the patient would require about 1.214 mL, which can be rounded as per hospital policy, typically to the nearest tenth of a mL, making the dose to be administered approximately 1.2 mL.