Worked example

Oral dose - tablets - practice problem 13

The prescriber orders 25 mg of atenolol PO. The pharmacy stocks atenolol in 50 mg tablets.

Ordered dose25 mg

On hand50 mg per tablet

How many tablets should the nurse give?

Answer: 0.5 tablets

Step-by-step solution

1. Identify what you have and what you want

Have: 50 mg per tablet · Want: 25 mg

2. Set up dimensional analysis so mg cancels

25 mg × ( 1 tablet ÷ 50 mg )

3. Cancel mg and solve

= ( 25 × 1 ) ÷ 50 tablet

= 0.5 tablets