Hello, I'm 16 years old and my dream is to be a registered nurse with a specialty in either forensics, psychiatric, or women's health. Overall, I would say I have a high intelligence in every subject except for math, I may even go as far to say I have a learning disability when it comes to it. My weakness is so strong sometimes I have to use a calculator for simple division, multiplication, addition, or subtraction. At work I can take a 30 minute break starting at 4:43 and it can take me about three minutes to figure out when to get back. I almost failed Algebra 2 this year, I cannot remember my grade in Algebra 1 from last year, but it was very low. In my medical class I take as an elective, I am very good at it. I understand anatomy, biology, pathophysiology, infection control, patient care, etc extremely well, even better than all of my class, I may have the highest grade there with a 97%. Even in my basic high school classes I have A+ to B+ in all of my grades, nothing lower, except my Algebra 2 grade, which was a failing grade for 18 weeks, I passed for the year by two percent. My question is, can I still be a nurse while I am terrible at math? I am terrified to think my weakness could potentially end a life.
As for parents, no idea, I don't know the students' parents and how they react to that sort of thing. Mine just accepts it.
I'm sorry your parents are failing you. Refusing to demand action against a teacher who treats students that way is abdicating their responsibility.
I think you're probably not terrible at math at all, you just haven't been taught properly. Is there a summer school option, with a different teacher? What kind of tutoring services does your school offer? Could you try one of those math tutoring places? (Kumon, Mathnasium, etc.) Is there anyone in your family who is good at math and could evaluate your capabilities?
You sound like me. I was always good at reading, English, history, etc., but I could look at 2+2 =5 for an hour and not see the error. I tested out of English when I went to college, but had to take their second to lowest math class (basically high school algebra).
Somehow as an adult I got better at math. Maybe there was too much stress with school, I don't know.
I recommend practice. I actually used the Praxis prep book (the Praxis is a standardized test for student teaching) to study for my math entrance exam when I went back to school. Check your library to see if they have that or something for SAT or ACT. It's all about high school math, there might be college level in those prep books as well. That's what worked for me. I spent hours every day for a month and I passed my test. I actually took two math tests, one was a year after I did all that studying and I still passed without any new studying. Then when I was in nursing school I practiced for hours every day before every math exam. I passed every math test, I even got a couple of 100s! Honestly, the math for nursing is not very difficult, it's more an issue of setting your math problem up correctly.
The school I went to had peer tutors and an academic resource center that students could use for free. Also, in the nursing program there was someone that was there just for help of any kind. I forget what her title was, but you could go to her for anything.
So don't let your math skills (or lack thereof) hold you back if you really want to be nurse. There are things that you can do yourself and there will be resources at your school.
I'm sorry your parents are failing you. Refusing to demand action against a teacher who treats students that way is abdicating their responsibility.
Can I second this! It clearly doesn't sound like a big deal to you but this is wrong. If things are truly how you say they are, attention needs to be brought to the situation. Things like this happen and continue because people allow it.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" -Edmund Burke
Also, I believe this is something you should get used to. From my understanding, being a patient's advocate is a large role in nursing.
Hey! I'm late to the party but I have a math-based learning disorder and I'm actually doing well with MedCalc.
The trick is to work out what your problem actually is. Are you better at verbal tasks, such as English, History, etc. while having issues with anything visual/spatial? Or is it more of an issue of the numbers jumbling up in your head (dyslexia-like)?
Either way, you are going to want to convert the math into a format†your mind can understand. In my case, it's the former because I have nonverbal learning disorder (It also causes issues with body language and tone of voice which in turn causes poor social skills, which is why it is often mistaken for an autism spectrum disorder. So if you have issues with social skills as well, this could be worth looking into. I've compensated for it by manually learning how to read body language and understand tone of voice. A counselor I saw was actually shocked that I have it because I really don't act itâ€-so there is hope!).
For the first issue:
1. Convert to a more or less if-then†format. Proportions also work well. That's what I do for MedCalc. Unit analysis or whatever your school will wind up calling it is perfectly useless if you're not visual. As a rule, in college, no one cares how you solve a problem as long as you don't use the peeky-poo-at-your-neighbor's-paper method.
2. Proportions are awesome because they are basically an if-then statement. If you can convert any problem into a proportion, do so.
For the second issue:
1. You're probably more visual. Try to convert the numbers into shapes†in your head. Begin to see the shapes†as representative of a given quantity-teach yourself to say, imagine eight units of something when you see 8â€. For the tens place, imagine eight boxes, each with 10 units in them, giving you 80â€.
2. Unit analysis will be your friend.
I hope this helps! If anyone more visual wants to add to my second part please do! And if you have an issue not listed here, describe it to me. I'm very interested in neurology and have taught myself about various issues; because I know firsthand how valuable it is when someone knows what you should do to learn. I was lucky enough to have a professor who, on her own time during office hours, essentially taught me how I should learn. I'd figured some of it out beforehand, but I wasn't 1/100 as efficient, and I couldn't do everything I can do now.
You're 16. Your experiences are hardly worldly, leave the politics of your school to the adults and work on that math! How involved are your parents in your education? Who is making tutoring arrangements for you?
I'm sure people have, in many schools across the United States terrible teachers get away with things; harming students physically and mentally, not educating and doing their job. I would think if there are so many students failing a class, they would consider fixing it? We also have very low Keystone scores for Algebra 1, I'm surprised we haven't been shut down, only 38% of students passed their first time. I guess being buddy-buddy with the superintendent, principals, and guidance counselor has its perks?
Wait. You're wearing scrubs and doing math calculations now, as a 16 year old? Things are not adding up with your story (talk about bad math!). And people wonder why I'm opposed to non-nursing posters.
I sure there's always a calculator in my scrubs for simple math, but I will struggle without a visual conversion chart. But I guess that is something you get used to as a nurse?
Maybe you aren't good at math NOW...BUT keep working at it. Do what you need to do to understand it. It is highly important as a nurse. Don't focus on the fact that right now you don't understand it. That will get you down. But you will understand it! Instead, use that thought to motivate you to become better at it. Nurses are persistent. You CAN do this! Don't give up if this is your dream. The truth is, you can not be a SAFE nurse if you don't get the math as it is very much something that is used daily by nurses, some more than others. And that is the goal of nursing programs, to establish safe, competent,entry level nurses. So understanding the math is important.
Honestly, I believe in you! I, myself, struggled with math in high school but found a good tutor to help me. I learned and found myself taking Chem 1, Chem 2 and physics in college prior to nursing school. So, the moral of my story is that anything is possible if you have the determination to find the answer. Get a good tutor. Start from square one. Relearn the math. Its not the easy road, but it's the right road to take to becoming a safe,persistent nurse. Its hard, but its worth it! Hang in there. You can do this! :)
Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
Wait. You're wearing scrubs and doing math calculations now, as a 16 year old? Things are not adding up with your story (talk about bad math!). And people wonder why I'm opposed to non-nursing posters.
I think she meant she *will* keep a calculator in her scrubs when she becomes a nurse.
You can and people do manage to get by with poor math skills. Instead of understanding the concepts, if you merely get by, you can learn to do what is needed by the recipe method. It's like not knowing how to cook but knowing only one or two recipes. It's what I did.
My problem is typical and I think often the reason that any student has trouble with math. It's simple. When you build a house, if any part, lower than the roof is weak, then the entire structure becomes shaky and weak.
In my case, since I was moved school to school, I never learned the foundation and once was even placed in Algebra II with never having had Algebra I.
Remedying this is doable, but is not easy, but there are a few ways.
One is to look up community education and find courses that are as low†as your weakness is. For instance, do you understand order of operations—if not, you will make mistakes, possibly someday, deadly ones. Start low, even if it means doing elementary school math, for there you learn stuff like order of operations—and there you develop a good foundation for the High School classes. I'd say focus on Algebra I and know it inside and out, and you can then be done with math.
Another way, one that I, and I'm near sixty, was very excited to find a month ago is to do the Plato (Edmentum) course. In 2001 when I was doing my nursing Associates Degree I had troubles and the college had Plato in their learning lab and it helped me. It's an internet connected (so it's connected to a mainframe computer) that is simply a series of math courses. But I was impressed in that it really was not simple at all for it kept returning me back to grade school and to things like Order of Operations. In other words it looked for weak areas in my background and sent me to study that area.
Plato has not been available to individuals since then, for I've checked every few years, it's only been available to schools. But this year a place called Homeschool Buyers Co-op cut a deal with them and now, while aimed at home-school kids, anyone can use the program. I've been using it for a month, and have 24 hour online access and yes, it brings me back to grade school and over and over I see my weak areas and correct them. I've always wanted to learn math and now I am.
That place allows you to buy online access in two hour increments, for instance 9am-11am, for a year for about $80 and I'd recommend the Supplemental pack for $30. Realize that it'll take a hundred hours or two—but at the end you WILL understand all concepts because the program will not let you progress until you do. (If interested just search for them, and once you have found them, go to Math and then look for Plato.
I've learned by the recipe method, and have managed to never have any (deadly) issue and you can too, but here I am 40 years beyond grammar school thrilled to learn what I never did learn.
I will openly fault schools for letting kids progress in grade without basic foundations in math—doing that is just taking the easy way out while leaving kids to grow to adults without a good foundation, and that's where I suspect your issue is. Good luck and keep us updated, and oh, by the way, consider becoming an EMT, you'll probably like it.
I spent the summer before taking my nursing exam working through it and now I can honestly say math is the easiest part of nursing school, because it is concrete unlike much of the critical thinking you have to do in nursing.
Also, I have to say I never did get math before. Now that I do dimensional analysis (that is how you solve med calculation problems) it makes much more sense. I think if you start from the beginning and work, work, work...that you too can master it. I would even suggest tutoring at one of those tutoring centers. They can identify your weaknesses and help you overcome them.
First off, sorry about you're teacher, I hope you don't have him again for Geometry.
Second, look into the pre-reqs for the nursing programs around you that you would plan on applying for. You can see what math class they require for their ADN program. For me it was "Fundamentals of college Math" which was really just a semester of going back through everything you learned in high school. I am taking stats now for the BSN, it's much harder. After you find out what kind of math you're going to need, search online for worksheets and practice problems. If you're only 16 you will have time to hone your math skills.
Red Kryptonite
2,212 Posts
I'm sorry your parents are failing you. Refusing to demand action against a teacher who treats students that way is abdicating their responsibility.
I think you're probably not terrible at math at all, you just haven't been taught properly. Is there a summer school option, with a different teacher? What kind of tutoring services does your school offer? Could you try one of those math tutoring places? (Kumon, Mathnasium, etc.) Is there anyone in your family who is good at math and could evaluate your capabilities?