One teaspoon of medicine is equal to?

Appeared in: ISRO 2024

Explanation

The correct conversion for one teaspoon (tsp) in a medical context is 5 milliliters (mL).
This is a standard unit of measure used globally in healthcare to ensure accurate and consistent dosing of liquid medications.
The metric system is preferred for its precision over household measures, which can vary significantly.

Option A: 10 mL is equivalent to two teaspoons, not one. This would result in a medication overdose if administered instead of one teaspoon.
Option B: 15 mL is the standard equivalent for one tablespoon (tbsp), which is three times the volume of a teaspoon.
Option D: 20 mL is equivalent to four teaspoons. Administering this amount would be a significant overdose.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Medication dosage calculation and conversion between household and metric systems as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Accurate dosage calculation is a critical nursing responsibility to ensure patient safety. An error in conversion can lead to underdosing (ineffective treatment) or overdosing (toxicity).
Nurses must educate patients and their families to use only calibrated measuring devices (like oral syringes, droppers, or medication cups) provided by the pharmacy, and never to use household kitchen spoons, which are not standardized.
What if the medication was for a pediatric patient? The risk of harm from a dosing error is much higher in children due to their smaller body mass. A 10 mL dose instead of 5 mL could have severe consequences, highlighting the need for extreme precision.

How to Approach the Question

This is a factual recall question testing knowledge of standard medical measurement conversions.
Identify the unit to be converted: one teaspoon.
Recall the standard metric equivalent for this unit in a medical context.
Compare the recalled value (5 mL) with the given options.
Select the option that matches the correct conversion.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Medication dosage calculation and conversion between household and metric systems.
Stem keywords: teaspoon, medicine, equal to
Lead-in keywords: BEST, MOST RELEVANT CLUE
Negative lead-in flag: false

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E6 Nursing Fundamentals Potter Perry 12e Part 3 p. 140-142

E6 Nursing Fundamentals Taylor p. 848-850

Practise the full ISRO 2024

Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.