title: Pediatric Nurse Performance on a Medication Dosage Calculation Assessment Tool.
abstract: Nurses who care for children must be competent to perform medication dosage calculations because most pediatric doses are weight based and obtained from adult formulations.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the study was to describe and compare nurse performance on a medication dosage calculation assessment tool, considering work unit, years experience, and certification status.
  
  
  METHODS
  A secondary analysis of data from 851 Registered Nurses (RN) was completed. Multiple regression was used to model the effect of work unit, certification, and experience on score.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean assessment tool score was 92.4 (47-100). The work unit and the interaction between certification status and experience were significant in relation to score on the calculation assessment.
authors.affiliation: Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA. Electronic address: debra.ridling@seattlechildrens.org.
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ridling
authors.affiliation: Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA. Electronic address: pamela.christensen@seattlechildrens.org.
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.affiliation: Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA. Electronic address: leslie.harder@seattlechildrens.org.
authors.forename: Leslie R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Harder
authors.affiliation: Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA. Electronic address: nancy.gove@seattlechildrens.org.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gove
authors.affiliation: Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA. Electronic address: stephanie.gore@multicare.org.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gore
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D000328:Adult; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002983:Clinical Competence; D054796:Drug Dosage Calculations; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010371:Pediatric Nursing / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Dose calculation; Medication calculation; Medication competency; Medication error; Medication safety