Hospital Pharmacist
2007;14:78
March 2007

News summary

Doctors need training in drug dose calculations

Training given during medical school to perform drug dose calculations should be reinforced during doctors' first year of practice, according to a report published last month in the International Journal of Clinical Practice (2007;61:189).

Researchers analysed the results of nearly 3,000 doctors who participated in an online test involving drug solution calculations expressed as percentages, ratios and mass concentrations. They found that, among doctors working in hospitals, there was a significant relationship between number of years of experience and test scores.

Doctors were more likely to make mistakes when the concentrations of drug solutions were expressed as ratios and percentages.