Calculator not permitted?!

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The school I'm going to doesn't allow its students to use calculators for dosage calculations. This scares me.

are dosage calculations possible, and comprehensible without calculators?

When I was in nursing school there was actually a nursing math course that every student was required to take during the first semester of the program. At the end of the course there was a dosage calculations exam, and we had to score 90% or higher otherwise we would be withdrawn from clinicals. We got a second chance to take another test and if we didn't pass that one it meant automatic adminsitrative withdrawal from the nursing program---even if we had passed the med surg classes and the clinicals for that semester. They would give a similar math exam at the beginning of every semester all the way up until the very last nursing course, and even if you got the the last semester and failed the math test you would get kicked out of the program. They were very strict about it. And no, we were not permitted to use calculators either.

I think its silly to not permit calculators because they save time and reduce errors.

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Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.

Either way.... we are PAYING the school to TEACH US TO BE A NURSE! Why can't the school do this without potentially running away with our money? Basically what I'm saying is: Are we failing as students or are they failing as teachers?

Uhh, the math required for pharmacy is BASIC GRADE SCHOOL MATH!!!!! It is not rocket science.

If one got out of grade school without being able to manually do the calculations required of nurses, then they should be suing their grade school, or at the outside, the high school that permitted them to get a diploma.

And school is not generally requiring major math to be done in your head...there is generally some writing implement and something to write on.

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After reading through this, I can sum up my thoughts, too :) :

* You absolutely have to know basic math, and have these skills down, in order to pass nursing classes. If you don't have them now, GET THEM before starting. Find a tutor. Do it.

* Some schools will allow you to use calculators AFTER you have shown all your work on the paper. My school did this. The idea was that they could follow EVERY SINGLE STEP of your math equations, not a division left undone. The calculator was used only to verify answers, and we were allowed to do that. And only with the calculator the SCHOOL provided for that test period.

*It's downright foolish, IMO, to do math calculations for actual nursing situations WITHOUT double-checking them with a calculator. Math mistakes happen, mental mistakes happen, and even if you get them correct in your head 99% of the time, what about that last time you might not have? How many times do we hear "Safety First"? It's only sensible, as a safety measure if not for convenience, that we DO check our Mental Math on a calculator before administering anything.

My husband is an engineer, and a darned clever one at that ;). He can do math in his head that FREAKS me out--I've tested him. And yet, when discussing this exact issue, he tells me that he never, EVER relies on a calcuation in his head--he checks it on a calculator. This from a man who can do mental calc that amazes me, and he checks EVERYTHING on a calculator.

The way he figures it, if his building falls, people die.

I owe patients the same assuredness, don't I?

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Calculators are not always around. You need to understand the numbers that need to be inserted into the equation in the first place.

You are not going to pull a calculator out for each med that you give. You need to be able to double check it on a piece of paper.

And most exams that you will come across do not permit the use of a calculator.

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I think it would take more time to do it on paper than with a calculator. But I'm not disagreeing, a calculator won't always be around.

I am just hoping no one expects me to do this crap in my head.

As far as math help, currently I'm enrolled in a community college and one of my classes is prepatory algebra. It's non-transferable, EXPENSIVE, and hopefully it'll be worth it.

My problem mostly, is that I had bad teachers in jr high, and in 5th & 6th grade, when I needed to be in school the most, I was homebound due to a terminal illness - the whole thing that made me want to become a nurse in the first place. Even when I caught on, I'd forget, so maybe I have a learning disability, or maybe those two years being homeschooled ruined me.

Either way if I'm handing someone $10,000.00 to teach me to be a nurse, I'd expect them to teach me to be a nurse...even if I have some faux-paws.... :o

But, many thanks to you all for the advice. I need it.

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Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.

My problem mostly, is that I had bad teachers in jr high, and in 5th & 6th grade, when I needed to be in school the most, I was homebound due to a terminal illness -

...even if I have some faux-paws.... :o

And speaking of faux pas?

(I suppose that if you are deceased, your math skills will be poor...but I don't know that you will pass the physical required of nurses if you are minus a pulse.)

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No calculators for our math tests either. Luckily ... Sister Samurai (that's what I used to call the tough as nails nuns at my catholic school) drilled math into my head in grade school.

Gotta love those nuns. You hate them at the time, but really appreciate them once you get to college.

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I also wanted to add, a calculator can make errors to so you gotta be careful with that

Amen.

No matter whether you use pencil and paper or a calculator, you have to double check your answer.

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And speaking of faux pas?

(I suppose that if you are deceased, your math skills will be poor...but I don't know that you will pass the physical required of nurses if you are minus a pulse.)

LOL! I imagine the terminal illness turned itself around. Still, funny thoughts :)

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Well everyone... I'll be honest here. :crying2: I can't divide to save my life. I've had tutors in high school and whatnot, I just cannot divide. I also could never simplify fractions. I would get taught how to do it,and once I was done being taught, I would forget everything I learned about it.

The way to not forget is to do about 5 or 10 problems, on your own, while the teacher is there with you. Then do a few more the next free time you have. Keep practicing until you can do them easily.

It takes me more repititions than some of my more math-savvy friends, but this way does work.

Don't give up until you try it.

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:heartbeat I think that anything that will reduce medication errors shouldn't be discouraged. Using a calculator ensures accuracy,so that one will be sure he's givng the right dose. it promotes patient's safety.

A calculator doesn't insure accuracy. It's easy to enter an incorrect digit, or misplace a decimal, or turn the equation around.

You still have to double check, and have at least a ballpark idea of what the correct answer is, so that you know if the answer you get is reasonable.

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We're allowed to use calculators in clinical and in class, but we have been warned that we will not be able to use them when writing the CRNE.

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