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.
Agreed. Khan academy is tremendously helpful even in subjects outside of math. It's also a huge factor to have mind over matter, if you've already told yourself that you'll never understand math then guess what? You'll never understand math! You have a goal to be a nurse though, and you're going to need to pass math (and for most schools you need a 90 or higher, many require a 100 on dosage calc tests- if you don't pass after 3 tries, you're out). So learn to enjoy it, even if you're faking it until you finally do start to like it. I think I saw that you're taking geo next year- this is actually kind of fun so try to start there! You have time to pin math down before you apply to nursing schools. Does your school offer summer school classes? Maybe a remedial level math class will be helpful, I struggled with math too (failed algebra in high school, I couldn't grasp the concept either) and took a remedial summer math and it made all the difference in the world. It's a slower pace so that new material isn't being dumped on top of material that you already didn't understand- in the remedial class you have a chance to build a solid foundation before putting anything else up.
The best thing to do is focus on what is WITHIN YOUR control. Get a tutor. I am very sorry that the teacher is failing you. That is awful. Unfortunately, in those cases (having experiencing this myself in high school) the student has to take it upon themself to succeed. Messed up? Yes. But I'm afraid if you wait for someone else or the teacher to actually teach you like they are supposed to, it will be too late and affect you and your grades negatively. You can report what is going on, but let the parents and school handle the politics. What you need to do is focus your energy on your grades and understanding the math so YOU can improve. Focus on you and what you can do (realistically) to give the situation a better outcome. The teacher may be at fault here, but pointing blame will not help the situation. Taking it upon yourself to get him fired will not help your grades right now. Report the behavior. Get a tutor to help you for right now. Hopefully, you will have teachers in the future who are helful.
I too was horrible in math when I was in high school. But I managed to make it through nursing school as well as grad school with great grades. I will just say that you will have to work extra hard to understand the math concepts. Also, it has been studied that for some people, they understand math better as they get older and their brain has finished developing. Good luck!
It's already been mentioned, but there are three key resources for people having trouble with math:
Khan Academy
Khan Academy
and Khan Academy
You will not find a better resource for math. It's fun and easy to use and the explanations are clear and easy to understand.
If you haven't yet, go to Khan Academy and set up your account. Do math there every day.
(no, they don't pay me anything to promote them)
You won't be able to pass dosage calculations without mastering some algebra. Also, with the right encouragement, you may find that you like math more than you thought you did. If you find you don't mind it so much after a while, I'd stick with Khan Academy and work on statistics there. You may need to take a statistics course in your nursing coursework, and Khan Academy's lessons will probably be more than enough to help you succeed with that.
Good luck, and let us know in a few weeks how things are going!
What PaulBaxter said. I'm sorry you had a bad experience with a difficult teacher. Warning: you are probably going to have similar experiences in nursing school and in life. Bottom line is to find what YOU can do to get what you need. And Khan Academy is AWESOME. As has been said, the explanations are clear and understandable, the testing is actually fun and all the math you will need to be a nurse is there. Really, you must have a basic competency in sixth grade math to be a safe nurse but you can and will acquire it. Especially if you use Khan Academy. Go try it now and start feeling better about yourself and your prospects.
At some point in your life in college you'll face the facts that math is needed to get into nursing school, probably Statistics, College Algebra, and or Liberal Arts. Its okay that your not good at math, especially if your in high school. I was one of many students who were in your shoes, and it was because i didn't take high school seriously. The thing about college is that you realize that you have to work hard to realize your goals. Math is no exception, if you don't slack off, take good notes, and study, you will be fine. You can try this now to help you through high school math or any other subject your having difficulty with. The point is anybody can pass and understand math If you actually PUT EFFORT into it. Your not trying hard enough, I'm sorry if im being to harsh, but we live in a world of technology, if your teacher is garbage (which everybody encounters AT LEAST ONCE in life) there is always tutors, the internet, YouTube is SO HELPFUL, you mentioned in a comment you take good notes, i don't see why you shouldn't be receiving good grades. I get it math isn't your strongest subject, and neither is mine, but you have to try harder, that is the only way you will be successful with math! Good luck to you my fellow future nurse!
I failed almost all of my high school math classes (and failed out of high school, generally). That was fifteen years ago; I'm a straight-A student in a BSN program now. I would seek tutoring and counseling resources if I were you. You should also talk to a guidance counselor at school about the possibility of having a learning disability, especially if you're doing well in other classes but struggling in math. Statistics is very different from Algebra, so chances are that you will still do well in that class--it's more about concepts than abstract numbers. Sometimes it's just a matter of learning a different way of doing things. I never understood even the most basic fractions, decimals or how to do cross multiplication, etc. and to an extent, I still don't unless I can apply it to something. In school you have to do dosage calculations at the beginning of each semester and pass with 100% in order to stay in your program. This is a safeguard to keep nurses from harming patients because medication administration is no joke. But, you may find (as I did) that this is easier to grasp than the sort of Algebra you learn in school. It's also a very limited set of calculations that you will do over and over in your career. Other than that, there's no math. I'd also recommend that you take a deep breath and remember that your math skills in high school do not define your career or your capability as a professional. You will improve, if you commit yourself to doing so! Good luck!
I believe if you have the desire to be successful, the enthusiasm to pursue what you ultimately want to do with your life, then YES! you can overcome this difficulty with math---no doubt! Just start training yourself like an athelete would do for their sport. They often practice "muscle memory"---not to imply our brains are muscles, but repition is key in this instance.
Start by practicing and reviewing either on a daily basis or every other day or a chapter a week. (Or whatever regime you can fit into your current schedule- you get the picture).
What you learn in high school is only a base, but not what you'll use as an RN. It's kind of "specialized" type of math you use as an RN. You'll end up learning ways to calculate meds, amounts and applying them to your patient's needs. You can learn this with practice, memorization and rote learning. There's books available that specifically train RN's all they need to know to safely administer meds. One I used was called "Calculate with Confidence" and before I started nursing school, I went through it from cover to cover. I spent extra time on sections that stumped me. Now, granted I never had much trouble with math but I did have a bit of a mind block with standard vs. metric conversions and had that to overcome---which this text certainly helped to do.
Don't let the fear of math, or thinking you "can't get it" stop you. I had a fear of taking an anatomy class and dealing with cadavers. My husband would say "how are you going to be a nurse if you have that fear?"---I said that I planned on working with live people and not in a morgue! (Anyway, that's another story). Fear put me back a few years in achieving my nursing degree. Sometimes, it takes time before you realize in order to get what you want out of life, you have to do some things you don't want to do, but you grow from pushing forward and the struggle helps you gain confidence. That confidence will come in time for you too.
You can learn math. If you seriously suspect a learning disability, seek help on how to work with it so that you can pursue your dreams. You need to have a working understanding of it in order to get into nursing school. I'm very sorry to read through the pages I missed before to see what kind of a teacher you're dealing with and it's terrible that no parent has come forward to the school to have this investigated, but because no one is doing so - you're stuck with this teacher and his part in your math class is not something that you have any control over. Do what's in your power to change, if that means seeking help about a learning disability - do it. If it's just mind over matter, change your perspective. If you need a tutor, get one. Try different study habits. Try Khan Academy. Work with a friend who understands and can explain it to you without making you feel badly. You can do this! I wish I could help you more directly because it's so easy to see how capable you are. Please do what you can to make it work.
I'm terrible at math. Because numbers have no meaning to me, I find them difficult and immediately forget them. My grade four teacher had a total meltdown in the middle of the year and since I was already having difficulty, I just never learned fractions (I took every fraction I ever encountered and turned it into a decimal). In high school I took geo trig and general math to get my diploma, because I could not do algebra. I had the problem of scoring in the 90th percentile in all other areas so my teachers just felt I was being lazy and would not help me. I also have difficulty with time (but that is because I'm left handed).
Once I got into nursing school I was required to do some remedial work because my math scores were so woeful on the placement tests. It turned out the problem I had was with methodology. I could never understand the way ratios and fractions were explained. After melodramatically throwing things and sobbing because I still couldn't understand what 7x was, I went out and got a preparation book for SATs that was so simplistic it told you what a number was. It also happened to explain fractions and ratios differently, and suddenly I understood. I learned grade four math at 30 years old.
To answer your question, yes you can be a nurse if you're not strong in math. I started nursing before there were pocket calculators and IV pumps. Math was never my forte. I calculated drip rates using a pen/paper and obviously with the advent of calculators/IV pumps it became much easier. When going back to college for my nursing degree I utilized a math tutor. The experience was invaluable and I encourage you to do the same. Believe in yourself, get the math help that you need. Don't be dissuaded and persevere. You will make it. Good luck!
I wasn't required to take more than algebra 1 in high school, so I didn't. In college, I was afraid of having to take any math, but finally decided my goals trumped my fears of math. I signed up for my remedial math class, and was pleasantly surprised. I actually *like* math, and I pulled an A in both math classes I've taken so far. On my math midterm and final last semester, I got 100% on both of them. I knew I did, too. I handed my paper to the teacher and said, "I think I got 100% on this." He looked right at me and said, "I bet you probably did." The keys to my success in math at college:
1. seek help early and often
2. do as much math at the math tutoring center as possible so I can ask for help if I get stuck - ask CHALLENGING, DEEP, PENETRATING, THINKING questions of the tutors, and work several hypothetical problems in addition to the ones in my homework
3. email contact and office hours visit with my professors - often... weekly at least, and ask lots of hypothetical questions so that the concepts are solid in my mind
4. ask math-y friends on FB if I am stuck on something after the tutoring center is closed
5. use khan academy and purple math and youtube videos of all sorts to help me understand math concepts
6. review my notes often - write math notes with enough actually written in English to explain steps, or help you follow logic
7. pray for help. I'm a spiritual person, and I seek truth. Math is truth. It is logic. I have prayed that truth would be revealed to me, and I believe it has helped me a great deal. If praying is too abstract for you, then think of math as a universal truth and know that the universe will reveal the truth of it to you.
frenchtoastwaffles, BSN, RN
306 Posts
Agreed. Khan academy is tremendously helpful even in subjects outside of math. It's also a huge factor to have mind over matter, if you've already told yourself that you'll never understand math then guess what? You'll never understand math! You have a goal to be a nurse though, and you're going to need to pass math (and for most schools you need a 90 or higher, many require a 100 on dosage calc tests- if you don't pass after 3 tries, you're out). So learn to enjoy it, even if you're faking it until you finally do start to like it. I think I saw that you're taking geo next year- this is actually kind of fun so try to start there! You have time to pin math down before you apply to nursing schools. Does your school offer summer school classes? Maybe a remedial level math class will be helpful, I struggled with math too (failed algebra in high school, I couldn't grasp the concept either) and took a remedial summer math and it made all the difference in the world. It's a slower pace so that new material isn't being dumped on top of material that you already didn't understand- in the remedial class you have a chance to build a solid foundation before putting anything else up.