Nursing Rounding Rules Cheat Sheet
Injections: When giving more than 1 mL: Calculate to the hundredth and round to the tenth: 1.26 mL = give 1.3 mL 1.75 mL = give 1.8 mL
Injections: When giving less than 1 mL: Calculate to the thousandth and round to the hundredth: 0.823 mL = give 0.82 mL 0.666 mL = give 0.67 mL
Oral Medications: SCORED Tablets Calculate to the tenth and round to the nearest half tablet: 1.5 tablets = give 1 1/2 tablets 1.7 tablets = give 2 tablets Oral Medications: ALL other oral pills Calculate to the tenth and round to the whole number: 1.4 tablets = give 1 tablet 1.9 tablets = give 2 tablets
Oral Medications: Oral LIQUIDS: Calculate to the hundredth and round to the tenth: 2.32 mL = give 2.3 mL 2.36 mL = give 2.4 mL
IV Problems: When calculating drops or drop factor: Calculate to the tenth and round to the whole number: 4.4 gtt/min = give 4 gtt/min
IV Problems: When calculating mg/min, mcg/hr, mL/hr , units/mL Calculate to the hundredth and round to the tenth:
1.45 mg/min = give 1.5 mg/min 20.25 mcg/hr = give 20.3 mcg/hr 2.12 mL/hr = give 2.1 mL/hr 20.35 units/mL= 20.4 units/mL Adult Body Weight: Calculate to the hundredth and round to the tenth: 7.35 kg = 7.4 kg
When working with fractions that have repeating decimal: It is recommended that you leave the fraction intact while working through the problem: 1/6 = 0.16666 -- leave as 1/6 to calculate the problem
IV Problems: When calculating drop factor: Calculate to the tenth and round to the whole number