math classes

[Jenn CLPN]

I am currently taking pre-reqs for the nursing program. I was wondering if anybody else has problems in math? We have to take algebra and applied algebra and math reasoning, and its hard. I have always had a fear and anxiety about math. Now its getting worse. I cant imagine not going to RN school because i couldnt get through the math courses.......

[bergren]

Jenn

BTW - this is a forum for nurses who work in schools, but I'd still like to address your question.

Sorry to hear the math is posing a problem. In nursing, you will be using math all the time - calculating medication dosages, trying to figure out how many pills or cms equal the dose, IV drips, converting pounds to kilos, and more. Try to concentrate on REALLY "getting it", and not just making it through the class. Get a tutor and drill on the problems. When I took math in college as a prerequisite for a master's program, I was paranoid because I'd been out of high school and math classes for 12 years. I did ALL the problems in the back of the chapter for homework, not just the ones assigned. To prepare for the test, I did them all over again. If I could not get the right answer, I tried to read the book until I understood what I was doing wrong. Then if I got to class and STILL couldn't get the right answer, I asked the professor or the teaching assistant for help.

By the time I got to the test, I was so confident, I did not freeze up.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Cali]

Are you in a BSN or ADN program? I'm starting pre-req's for the ADN program and we only have to take Math 100 which is Elementary Algebra.