A nurse is preparing to administer iron dextran 75 mg IM to a client who is pregnant, has iron deficiency anemia, and cannot tolerate oral iron supplements. Available is iron dextran 50 mg/mL. How many mL should the nurse administer? (Round the answer to the nearest tenth. Use a leading zero if it applies. Do not use a trailing zero.) mL

To calculate the volume of iron dextran to administer, use the formula: Volume = Desired dose ÷ Available concentration. The desired dose is 75 mg and the available concentration is 50 mg/mL. Dividing 75 mg by 50 mg/mL gives 1.5 mL. This is already expressed to the nearest tenth with no trailing zero, so the answer is 1.5 mL. A common error would be inverting the formula, which would give 0.67 mL — that is incorrect. Another potential mistake is confusing units, but since both the ordered dose and the available concentration are in milligrams, no unit conversion is needed here. Iron dextran is given via the Z-track IM method to prevent tissue staining and irritation, which is particularly important in pregnant clients who cannot tolerate oral iron. The keyed answer of 1.5 is confirmed correct. Always verify that the calculation yields a clinically reasonable volume for an IM injection; 1.5 mL is within the acceptable range for a single IM injection site and does not raise a safety concern requiring further verification.