Drug Dosage Calculations – Level 2 – Online CPD Course

Drug Dosage Calculations Training – Level 2 Online CPD Accredited Course – Drug Calculations for Nurses & Healthcare Professionals – Avoid Drugs Errors

Welcome to our ‘drug dosage calculations’ online training course for front-line healthcare and social care providers. All our online training courses, programmes and qualifications are accredited by the CPD Certification Service (CPDUK).

They are also developed in line with the latest UK legislation and meet the requirements set out by the National Health Service (NHS), Skills for Health’s UK Core Skills Training Framework (CSTF), the Care Quality Commission (CQC), Skills for Care, UK Health and Safety Executive and other professional and regulatory bodies.

Who is the online drug dosage calculations training course for?

This drug dosage calculations training e-learning course should be completed by those who work in health and social care services including:

• NHS medical, nursing, AHP and care staff
• Locum doctors and nurses
• Locum allied health professionals (AHPs)
• Agency nurses
• Agency workers
• Healthcare Assistants
• Support workers
• Care assistants
• Nursery staff
• Teaching staff
• Community services.

Our online drug dosage calculations training courses should be completed by all clinical, healthcare and social care staff who dispense and administer medications., whether in the NHS or private hospitals/healthcare providers. Locum doctors, locum allied health professionals, agency nurses and healthcare assistants can also complete these drug calculations e-learning courses.

These drug dosage calculations training courses are also relevant for health and social care support workers, including those who work for nursing care homes, residential care homes and charities.

Aims and objectives

The main aim of this e-learning course is to improve the skills of nurses and other healthcare staff so that they know how to calculate drug dosages accurately and avoid drug errors.

During your career, you will often be called upon to administer or supervise the administration of several types of medicines.

As part of this drug dosage calculations course, you will be shown how to do this safely and efficiently. However, the achievement of this aim requires the development of a certain degree of mathematical skill. The required level is not high, but attaining it is necessary to ensure that the safety of patients is not compromised.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this drug dosage calculations training online course, the learner will:

• Understand the need for basic arithmetical skills in drug calculations and demonstrate competency in this area using interactive exercises,
• Avoid drug errors by adopting a standardised approach to drug dose calculations, including converting between different SI units,
• Ultimately prevent patient injury or harm as a consequence of drug errors, and
• Know how to record and report drug dosage errors in practice.

What is covered in this online drug dosage calculations training course?

This online drug dosage calculations e-learning course covers the following:

• Introduction to drug dosage calculations,
• Why are drug calculations important?
• Double-checking calculations,
• Numeracy and drug calculations,
• S.I. units of measurement,
• Commonly used abbreviations for drug calculations,
• Top tips about drug calculations and administration,
• Converting units of weight and volume,
• Drug dosage calculations and conversions,
• Converting drug measurements,
• Converting units of weight and volume,
• Standard dosage calculations,
• Calculating drug concentrations,
• Worked calculations of drug concentrations,
• Ratios for drug calculations,
• Worked out examples of ratios,
• Calculating oral doses in tablets,
• Worked calculations of oral doses in tablets,
• Drugs in liquid form,
• Worked out examples of drugs in liquid form,
• Calculating oral doses for children and neonates,
• Worked calculations of oral doses for children and neonates,
• Calculating IV drug doses,
• Worked calculation of IV drug doses,
• Calculating drip rates for gravity flow infusions,
• Worked out calculations of drip rates for gravity flow infusions,
• Calculating infusion rates for infusion devices,
• Worked calculations of infusion rates for infusion devices,
• Calculating rates for syringe drivers,
• Worked examples of calculating rates for syringe drivers,
• Calculating IV drug doses for children and neonates,
• Worked calculation of IV drug doses for children and neonates,
• Summary,
• Key points to remember, 
• References and resources, and
• Online course assessment.

Comprehensive examples and exercises are included at the end of each lesson.

What are drug calculations?

Drug calculations involve the basic arithmetic operations to measure and ascertain exact drug/medication dosages as per prescription, including addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. In some clinical areas, some drug calculations can also include more advanced operations, such as manipulations of percentages, square roots, exponentiation, and logarithmic functions depending on how the medications or drugs have been prescribed or in line with local guidance or protocols.

Most nurses and other clinical staff will often be called upon to administer or supervise the administration of all types of medicines in different forms and strengths. As part of this drug calculations training course, you will learn how to do this safely and efficiently. However, the achievement of this aim requires the development of a certain degree of basic mathematical skills. The required level of basic mathematics is not high, but attaining it is necessary to ensure that the safety of patients is not compromised.

It is important to note that drug calculations appear to be impossibly difficult unless you break them down into small steps. They are vitally important to get right, yet so easy to get wrong. This online drug calculations course will now look at some commonly used drug calculations and the way that mistakes can happen.

This drug calculations training course covers a variety of numeracy based tasks which nurses, midwives and other clinical staff may be required to perform in practice. These include drug calculations and setting drip rates on the controls of intravenous infusion controllers.

Why are drug dosage calculations important?

Nursing competence in drug calculations has been a cause for concern (Duffin, 2000; Coombes, 2000). Hutton (1998a) suggests that a degree of ‘de-skilling’ has resulted from the increasing user-friendliness of drug preparations and widespread use of electronic drip counters.

The lack of basic math skills can be a major problem when it comes to nurses administering drugs to patients, often with very serious consequences. Poor drug calculations are still a significant source of drug error. Evidence has shown that many nurses are weak with drug calculations of all sorts. This comprehensive drug calculations course will help to review the major concepts related to drug calculations, help walk you through a few exercises and provide a few exercises you can perform on your own to check your skills. There are many reference books available to review basic math skills if you find that you have difficulty with even the basic conversion exercises.

Requirements

To complete this drug dosage calculations training e-learning course, you will need access to a computer device, e.g., desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone device

Career path

Our drug dosage calculations training courses are suitable for:

• Those who are looking to improve their knowledge of the subject area
• Those whose jobs require periodic continuing professional development (CPD)
• Those who need to show evidence as part of their professional registration requirements, e.g., doctors, nurses and allied health professionals

Assessment and certification

At the end of this drug dosage calculations e-learning course, learners will be required to complete an online assessment. On successful completion of the knowledge test (80% pass mark), learners will be able to download a FREE CPD certificate that is valid for one year.

Course accreditation

The content of this online drug dosage calculations training course has been independently certified as conforming to universally accepted Continuous Professional Development (CPD) guidelines.

Payment and additional information

After adding your drug dosage calculations e-learning course (s) to the shopping cart (by selecting Add to Cart), you will be able to make a secure payment using all major credit and debit cards.

Once you have purchased your drug dosage calculations online training course (s), you will be sent a confirmation e-mail. You will then receive a link and login details to access your e-learning course (s) within a few minutes of purchase.

How to access your drug dosage calculations training course

Follow the easy steps below to purchase and access your drug dosage calculations training course:

1. Pay for your courses (All major debit and credit cards accepted)
2. Once you have registered you will receive your login details within a few minutes
3. You will then be able to reset your password, log in and take your selected online course (s)
4. On completion, you will be asked to complete an end of course assessment (minimum 80% to pass)
5. You can immediately download, save or print your CPD Accredited Certificate
6. Let us know what you think of your online course, leave us a review!

What is Skills for Health’s UK ‘Core Skills Training Framework’ (CSTF)?

There is increasing recognition that there are wide variations in the quality and consistency of healthcare training provided across the UK. To minimise these challenges, LearnPac Systems works with various UK health and social care organisations to develop statutory and mandatory training courses in line with Skills for Health’s UK Core Skills Training Framework (CSTF).

This includes mandatory training courses in the Skills for Health’s UK Core Skills Training Framework – CSTF Statutory Mandatory Training Subject Guide Version 1.3 , Skills for Health Clinical Care UK Core Skills Training Framework Subject Guide April 2015 and other awareness courses for health and social care workers.

This online drug dosage calculations training course was developed in line with the CSTF learning outcomes.

Why choose our accredited e-learning courses?

The benefits of using our accredited e-learning courses in the workplace include:

• National Skills Academy for Health national delivery partner
• UK accredited e-learning provider
• An approved UK training centre
• Ofqual accredited qualifications
• Nationally recognised CPD certificates
• Free blended learning environment to support existing training
• Access your online training immediately
• Highly interactive e-learning portal
• Substantial cost reductions (no travel fees & other expenses)
• Embrace the benefits of eLearning for healthcare providers
• Significant man hour reductions
• Online training only takes as long as the learners needs
• Low carbon footprint through e learning
• Over 1000 online CPD courses
• Repository of online learning materials and assessment
• Fully qualified and experienced trainers, instructors and assessors
• Subject matter experts and content developers
• Convert your existing classroom courses to e-learning courses
• All training courses based on latest guidance and best practice

Drug Dosage Calculations Training – Level 2 Online CPD Accredited Course – Drug Calculations for Nurses & Healthcare Professionals – Avoid Drugs Errors