Am I Smart Enough?

Hello,

In my opinion, you only need to be good at basic math and Algebra. You do not need Calculus to become an LPN or RN.

I too spent most of my life struggling with math, but was able to make it through nursing school. I found that I never really understood the basics of math and it isn't a way of thinking that comes naturally. Spending significant time with Khan Academy (a free online resource) and going all the way back to pre-school level math gave me the basics I'd always been lacking. I really needed things broken down to a much more basic level than any instructor had ever done for me. I still don't particularly like math, but I can do alright in it This may be a resource that can help you as well.

Also you won't need to do calculus in nursing school - if you can get through algebra and statistics you will, in all likelihood, be just fine.

My sister was just asking me the same question because she's struggling in her math class as well and my advice was , from what I've heard from actual nurses, you don't need to be a mathematician , you only need to know basic math. However, in my school they actually do include math in a lot of the actual nursing classes. This math is primarily for dosage calculations and Dimensional Analysis. My math classes were not easy at all but they were most definitely doable.

I have taught pharmacy calculations to pharmacy technicians and pharmacists, and if you learn it correctly in the beginning, it is very simple. Practically all dosage problems, unit conversions, IV drip problems, mEq problems can be solved with the same method. You are only changing the units from what you are given into the units of the answer. You will be provided ratios in the problem which are the tools you will use to change the units. For example, you have an order for 500 mg and the drug is available in an oral suspension of 250 mg/5 mL. How many mL do you administer? The given is 500 mg, the ratio is 250 mg/5 mL and the units of the answer are mL.

500 mg (5 mL/250 mg) = 10 mL. The mg cancel out and you are left with mL. This is a very simple example, but much more complicated problems can be solved the same way.

A lot of sites list formula after formula, but you don't need all those silly formulas if you learn this method.

Feel free to pm me if you want more information or some information on this subject.

Brad Wojcik, PharmD

P.S. The ratios can be flipped upside down if needed, as in the above example. The ratios always equal 1, so all you are doing is multiplying by various forms of 1. Pretty simple, huh?