Final answer:
To administer 0.4 milligrams of atropine sulfate before surgery, the nurse should prepare 0.32 milliliters of the medication.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the amount of medication the nurse should prepare to administer, we can use the concept of unit conversion. The physician has ordered atropine sulfate 0.4 milligrams (mg) IM before surgery, and the medication is supplied in 0.8 mg/mL solution.
We can set up a proportion to solve for the amount of medication to be prepared. Since we want to find the volume in milliliters (mL), we can set up the equation as follows:
0.4 mg = x mL
To solve for x, we can set up the proportion:
0.4 mg/1 = x mL/0.8 mg
Cross-multiplying, we get:
x = (0.4 mg)(0.8 mg/mL) / 1
Simplifying, we get:
x = 0.32 mL
Therefore, the nurse should prepare to administer 0.32 mL of medication.