The physician orders Lanoxin elixir 80 micrograms by mouth for a patient with congestive heart failure. Available: 50 micrograms per milliliter. How many milliliters will the nurse administer. Round to the tenths or first decimal place.

Step 1 is to convert the ordered dose from micrograms (mcg) to the units available in the medication supply, which is also micrograms (mcg), which is already done, so the order is 80 micrograms and the available concentration is 50 micrograms per milliliter. Step 2 is to calculate the volume to administer using the desired dose ÷ concentration. 80 micrograms ÷ (50 micrograms ÷ 1 milliliter). Step 3 is the calculation:. 80 ÷ 50 = 1.6 milliliters. Step 4 is to state the final calculated answer and check the required rounding. The question asks to round to the tenths or first decimal place, and the result of 1.6 milliliters is already to the tenths place. The nurse will administer 1.6 milliliters. .