The conversion chart
| From | Equals |
|---|---|
| 1 g | 1,000 mg |
| 1 mg | 1,000 mcg |
| 1 L | 1,000 mL |
| 1 kg | 2.2 lb |
| 1 tsp | 5 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 15 mL |
| 1 oz | 30 mL |
| 1 inch | 2.54 cm |
| 1 hr | 60 min |
Household measures (tsp, tbsp, oz) are the values most nursing courses teach; dosing cups and syringes in mL are safer for real doses.
Big to small: multiply
Going from a bigger unit to a smaller one, multiply; from a smaller unit to a bigger one, divide.
- 0.5 × 1,000
= 500 mg
- 0.1 × 1,000
= 100 mcg
- 250 ÷ 1,000
= 0.25 mg
- 176 ÷ 2.2
= 80 kg
- 2 × 5 mL
= 10 mL
Temperature
°F = °C × 1.8 + 32 and °C = (°F − 32) ÷ 1.8
- 38.5 × 1.8 = 69.3
- 69.3 + 32
= 101.3 °F
Writing numbers safely
- Always use a leading zero: 0.5 mg, never .5 mg.
- Never use a trailing zero: 5 mg, never 5.0 mg (it can be read as 50 mg).
- Write "units" in full, never U; write mcg, not µg (ISMP).
- Use commas for thousands: 25,000 units.
All of these are on the free dosage formula sheet.
