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HEALTHREER IN
CARE
11 a.m. + 4 hours =
3 p.m.
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0.05 x 68 = 3.4
Math Skills
100 x 0.10 = +
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career in
Health Care
100 – 10=
90 ml
What does “you need to have good math skills” mean?
Students may be apprehensive or confused when hearing that good math skills are required for success in certain
professions such as health care. How do “good math skills” and careers in health care intersect? Try solving these
examples of math problems that health care professionals may encounter.
500 ml/4 hours = 125 ml/hour
500 ml/4 hours = 125 ml/hour
How much solution should be given each
minute?
Next subtract 10 ml from 100 to determine
how much water is required to make the
total volume of 100 ml.
100 – 10= 90 ml
Safety first! Always add the bleach to the
water that way if it spills it will be diluted.
If there was an order to draw blood 2 hours
after the medication started infusing what
time would the sample be collected?
1100 + 2 = 1300
125/60 = 2.1 ml/minute
125/60 = 2.1 ml/minute
100 x 0.10 = 10 ml
1100 + 2 = 1300
What if that medication was added to a 500
ml (milliliter) bag of saline solution and the
physician’s order was to administer the
medication at a steady rate over 4 hours
time? How much solution should be given
each hour?
What would happen if we left off the a.m.
and p.m. designations? Would you know if
the medication was started in the morning
or at night? If we used military time we
wouldn’t need the a.m./p.m. designation
and we would know exactly when the
medication started and finished. 11 a.m.
is 1100 hours. What would 3 p.m. be in
military (24-hour clock) time?
What if you needed to make up a solution
of bleach and water to disinfect the counter
tops? How much bleach and water would
be used to make 100 ml of a 10% bleach
solution? To find out how much bleach to
use calculate what 10% of 100 ml would
equal.
1100 + 4 = 1500
1) 150 lbs/2.2 lbs = 68 kg 2) Calculate the dosage of
medication to be given. 0.05 mg/1 kg = X mg/ 68 kg
3) Multiply 0.05 x 68 to solve for X. X = 3.4 mg of
medication required for the correct dose.
You may need to calculate a
rate:
11 a.m. + 4 hours = 3 p.m.
You may need to calculate a
solution percentage:
100 – 10= 90 ml
1) 150 lbs/2.2 lbs = 68 kg 2) Calculate the dosage of
medication to be given. 0.05 mg/1 kg = X mg/ 68 kg 3)
Multiply 0.05 x 68 to solve for X. X = 3.4 mg of medication
required for the correct dose.
Let’s say that the medication in the
previous example was started at 11 a.m. If
we follow the physician’s order correctly,
at what time should the medication be
finished infusing?
11 a.m. + 4 hours = 3 p.m.
Your patient weighs 150 lbs (pounds). The
physician has prescribed medication that
needs to be administered in a concentration
of 0.05 mg (milligrams) per 1 kg (kilogram)
of body weight. (1 kg = 2.2 lbs) What is the
correct dose?
Health care professionals
like to use the 24-hour
clock:
100 x 0.10 = 10 ml
Sometimes you need to do
math conversions:
SP47217