Nursing Unit Conversions
The conversions nursing students move between daily, with the rule for each direction.
CARE Nursing · carenursingprep.com
Nursing Unit Conversions
Everyday conversions
The same constants CARE's converters use.
| Pounds ↔ kilograms | Divide pounds by 2.2 to get kilograms; multiply kilograms by 2.2 to get pounds.Weight-based orders are written in kilograms; scales in the US often read pounds. |
|---|---|
| Fahrenheit ↔ Celsius | Subtract 32, then multiply by 5/9 to get Celsius. Reverse it — multiply by 9/5 and add 32 — for Fahrenheit.Charted temperatures and reference ranges are not always in the same scale. |
| Inches ↔ centimetres | Multiply inches by 2.54 to get centimetres; divide centimetres by 2.54 to get inches.Height is recorded in both, and growth charts and BMI formulas expect metric. |
| Ounces ↔ millilitres | Multiply ounces by 30 to get millilitres — the 30 mL/oz figure used for intake-and-output charting.Intake is often reported by the cup or ounce and charted in millilitres. |
Metric ladder
| kilo- → base | × 1,000 |
|---|---|
| base → milli- | × 1,000 |
| milli- → micro- | × 1,000 |
| Direction check | Smaller unit ⇒ bigger numberMoving to a smaller unit always makes the number larger. If it got smaller, the operation was inverted. |
Time
| 1 hour | 60 minutesDrip-rate formulas need MINUTES; pump rates need HOURS. |
|---|---|
| Common infusion times | 30 min = 0.5 hr · 90 min = 1.5 hr |
Educational reference for exam preparation and coursework.
Sources
- Conversion constants shared with CARE's interactive converters — read 2026-09-03