I Need help with Medical Math...

Nursing Students LPN/LVN Students

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hello there. i'm not an lpn as of yet, but i will be in 2008 permitting if i pass the test. i'm not really good in math and i have disliked it all my life. as you know, nurses need a lot of math in order to do doseage calculations, ht. and wt., surface area, drug doseages for peds, monitoring iv, giving im, sq, or id injection etc...i hope math won't be my downfall as a nurse because i really love nursing! does anybody have any suggestions about an easier way to do mental math for drug calculations??? any help will be appreciated. thank you so much. :):):)

Thank you so much, I did not know that you could use a calculator in Nursing school and when you are a Nurse. I always thought that were not aloud to use a calculator at all. I will defintely buy a medical dosage book and ask my professor if I am aloud to use a calculator-I hope so!!!! I know that I did not post the original question but your advice is very helpful thanks so very much!!! Any other tips on how to improve math skills I would appreciate so much, thanks!!!

Please be aware that not all nursing programs will allow calculators, so it would be definitely in your favor to practice as much as possible without a calculator.

Kris

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hello peridotgirl,

don't be so scared about the math section. your pharmacology class will teach you how to do simpledosage calculations. you do not have to do any complex (well, i don't consider it complex) calculations. it is not calculus or physics. you just have to know a couple of formulas and you are all set. it is basic math. for example, if the doctor orders 500mg of penicillin and the pharmacy only has 250mg of penicillin available then you have to give your patients 2 tablets of that penicillin. 250mg+250mg=500mg. and the iv calculations might be alittle bit tricky but again just know the formulas and you will be fine. i am not saying it is very easy and anyone can just do these calculations, but ofcourse you gotta know what you're doing, especially when we are talking about meds. good luck.

angel

hello, agldragon. thank you for the support. i really appreciate it. i know the formuals are simple math, but i hope it won't be too complex. i'm only in high school, so i don't have a pharamcology class. i'm in the lpn program and we're going to learn about doseage calculations next semester. i thought, that since i'm horrible at mental math, that i would buy a medical math book for doseage calculations and start practicing. any suggestions on which on i should buy? plus, i heard that nurses are actually allowed to use pen and paper prn. but i try not to depend on it too much. :uhoh21:

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Please be aware that not all nursing programs will allow calculators, so it would be definitely in your favor to practice as much as possible without a calculator.

Kris

Thanks for the tip, I definitely want to know how to do the dosage caculations without a calculator. I just wanted to have the calculator as a back incase I needed a little bit of help. I do not really want to become dependent on a calculator. Question-do you know which fomula is easier to understand better for dosage calculations?

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Hi, missy120808, You are so most welcome. Don't be embrassed that you are bad with math. It does not matter how old you are; everybody has something that they are at their worst at. It does help to know that somebody out there knows what you're going through. You know- nurse -to nurse. And if you ever need any help with your nursing (are u going for your CNA?), don't hesitate to ask. I will continue to keep you posted. I'm thinking of buying a medical math book for calculating doseages so I can learn how to do this eariler. Plus, I'm bad at math, so I want to start doing them mentally before my teachers get around to teaching us how to calculate doseages. Please feel free to PM me at anytime. :nurse::nurse::nurse::):)

I am not going for my CNA right now because I am in school right now-online college and I am getting my Associates of Arts Health Administration Degree. I really hope that I can start Nursing School in Fall 2008 but if not I will start Fall 2009 and it I start Fall 2009 I will work fulltime for a year and save until I start Nursing School. I want to buy a math dosage book too so that when it comes time to start Nursing School I will understand and know what my teachers are teaching us:idea::idea::idea: Question-which formula do you use? I have never even done math dosage calculations before!!! I will be taking basic math and 2 Algebra classes this semester and I hope those classes will help me plus these classes will be a refresher since I haven't taken a math class in a really long time:lol2::lol2::lol2: !!!Any tips or advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated, thanks!!!

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Thanks for the tip, I definitely want to know how to do the dosage caculations without a calculator. I just wanted to have the calculator as a back incase I needed a little bit of help. I do not really want to become dependent on a calculator. Question-do you know which fomula is easier to understand better for dosage calculations?

Actually I found, for myself, that dimensional analysis works great. To make it more easier, I would put what I am looking for after the equal sign and then start working on the left side.

For example: If I am looking for ml/hr...I would start with = ml/hr, then I would look at the problem and would start with ml/(whatever) and work from there, making sure that what I want on the top staying there and what I want on the bottom (i.e hr) staying there.

Kris

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hello missy120808. I wish you good luck in college and in nursing school, when the times comes. The algerba 2 claasses are a great refresher and they will help in the math portion of nursing. So, far the math I've seen is basic math, so it shouldnt be too difficult. I use the ratio/ porportion formula for dosage calculations. The formula is D/H= X/V. Write the formula like a fraction that is up and down and cross multiply. D is the dose order, H is the dose on hand, X is the unknown, and V is the volume ( mg, ml, tablet). This formula can be used for calculating injections and oral meds. I hope this helps. :):):)

Here's a link that will offer you additonal formulas. This helped me a lot.

http://www.nursesaregreat.com/articles/drugcal.htm

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Actually I found, for myself, that dimensional analysis works great. To make it more easier, I would put what I am looking for after the equal sign and then start working on the left side.

For example: If I am looking for ml/hr...I would start with = ml/hr, then I would look at the problem and would start with ml/(whatever) and work from there, making sure that what I want on the top staying there and what I want on the bottom (i.e hr) staying there.

Kris

Thanks so much, I will definitley try that formula. I really appreciate your tips!!!

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hello missy120808. I wish you good luck in college and in nursing school, when the times comes. The algerba 2 claasses are a great refresher and they will help in the math portion of nursing. So, far the math I've seen is basic math, so it shouldnt be too difficult. I use the ratio/ porportion formula for dosage calculations. The formula is D/H= X/V. Write the formula like a fraction that is up and down and cross multiply. D is the dose order, H is the dose on hand, X is the unknown, and V is the volume ( mg, ml, tablet). This formula can be used for calculating injections and oral meds. I hope this helps. :):):)

Here's a link that will offer you additonal formulas. This helped me a lot.

http://www.nursesaregreat.com/articles/drugcal.htm

Thank you so very much, I really appreciate your help and support!!! You are very kind to take time out of your busy day to help me out and for that I truly apperciate that. I wish you the best, keep me posted ok!!!

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hello missy120808. I wish you good luck in college and in nursing school, when the times comes. The algerba 2 claasses are a great refresher and they will help in the math portion of nursing. So, far the math I've seen is basic math, so it shouldnt be too difficult. I use the ratio/ porportion formula for dosage calculations. The formula is D/H= X/V. Write the formula like a fraction that is up and down and cross multiply. D is the dose order, H is the dose on hand, X is the unknown, and V is the volume ( mg, ml, tablet). This formula can be used for calculating injections and oral meds. I hope this helps. :):):)

Here's a link that will offer you additonal formulas. This helped me a lot.

http://www.nursesaregreat.com/articles/drugcal.htm

I just checked out the website you suggested and it is wonderful and very helpful thanks so very much!!! Question, if you come across or have any more helpful websites for nursing would you let me know? I would truly apprecite it, thanks!!!

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Thank you so very much, I really appreciate your help and support!!! You are very kind to take time out of your busy day to help me out and for that I truly apperciate that. I wish you the best, keep me posted ok!!!

hello, missy120808 you're welcome. It's no problem, really. This is the weekend, so I'm not that busy. It's no bother helping you. I'm happy to do it because that is what nursing is all about, helping others. I just found a website that shows how to read syringes. After all, a nurse can be excellent in calculating dosages, but she still has to know how to read the syringes in order to administer the correct amt. of meds. this is the link

http://www.polk.edu/INSTRUCT/Mash/annette_h/NUR%201140C/ReadingSyringes.html

:nurse::nurse:If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask.

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hello, missy120808 you're welcome. It's no problem, really. This is the weekend, so I'm not that busy. It's no bother helping you. I'm happy to do it because that is what nursing is all about, helping others. I just found a website that shows how to read syringes. After all, a nurse can be excellent in calculating dosages, but she still has to know how to read the syringes in order to administer the correct amt. of meds. this is the link

http://www.polk.edu/INSTRUCT/Mash/annette_h/NUR%201140C/ReadingSyringes.html

:nurse::nurse:If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask.

Thank you so very much, you are very helpful and kind!!! I really and truly appreciate your help!!! I will definitley ask for hep if I need it and thank you for the support. I wish you the best and good luck in school, keep me posted ok!!!

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Thank you so very much, you are very helpful and kind!!! I really and truly appreciate your help!!! I will definitley ask for hep if I need it and thank you for the support. I wish you the best and good luck in school, keep me posted ok!!!

You're welcome, missy120808.Thanks for the good luck in school. I really appreciate it. I'll need all the luck I can get. I wish you good luck too in your online college classes. How are they going, by the way? What classes are you taking? I have my Practical Nursing class tomorrow in school. It's all day long and that makes me a very happy camper. I'll make sure to keep you posted! I wish you all the best. :) Go nursing:nurse:!!

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