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Nursing vocabulary · Medication Administration

Dose

Meaning in nursing, with examples

/doʊs/nounCore term

In nursing, dose means: The amount of a medicine given at one time, such as 500 mg, or the total amount given over a period.

In Turkish: doz

How it is used

Nurses check, calculate, give, miss or withhold a dose. Common phrases: 'the next dose is due at two', 'a loading dose', 'a once-daily dose'. 'Dosage' is a more formal word for the amount and how often it is taken, as written on labels.

Example sentences

  1. The next dose of vancomycin is due at 6 p.m.

  2. Can you check this dose with me before I draw it up?

Common collocations

  • give a dose
  • miss a dose
  • the next dose
  • loading dose
  • dose calculation
  • administerTo give a medicine or treatment to a patient, by any route, according to a prescription or protocol.
  • medication chartThe form or electronic record where a patient's medicines are prescribed and where nurses sign for each dose they give or do not give.
  • five rightsA checklist nurses use before giving any medicine: the right patient, the right drug, the right dose, the right route and the right time.
  • withholdTo not give a prescribed dose of a medicine for a period of time, usually for a safety reason such as low blood pressure or a planned operation.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Medication Administration

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.