Dosage Calculation Policies

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hi all! i am hoping you can help me out with this. i am currently enrolled in an adn program in ny. it was required that every student pass a dosage calculation exam on the first day of class with a grade of a 90. if a 90 is not achieved, then the student has the opportunity to take the test within one week, and must again achieve a grade of a 90. i unfortunately got a 70 and then an 80, so i am not allowed to enter my pediatrics class. it got the wheels turning and i have now set up a meeting with the dean to discuss improving the policies. i'm wondering what policies are in place at your school in regards to dosage. any ideas that you feeling truly work and any ideas that you have to improve the policies. thank you for your help!

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At my school, you have 3 chances to pass the calculation test with a 100% every semester. If you do not pass you are not allowed to attend clinical and take a remediation course.

There is no way that you can change that policy. You said that you made an 80% on your test. Think about it, you have a 20% chance of screwing up a dosage and really harming or even killing someone. Would you want a nurse that only made an 80% giving you drugs? Personally, I do not. There is a good reason why the school has that policy. Talk to your dean to see how you can achieve that 90% you need to proceed to you pediatrics class.

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Most programs have a similar requirement.

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dude you have it so easy, then. in my program we had to get 100% or else we were out. and i agree with u of a person up there - i personally would NOT want a nurse that couldn't even get above 80% on dosage calculations. you have peoples lives in your hands & you do NOT want to kill someone. think about it - every problem you messed up and got wrong on your exam - that's probably someone you just killed with the wrong dosage.

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Our program is the same... we have to get 100% or we are out of the nursing program.

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our program is similar, except that we get 3 tries to pass the exam. on your second exam you are penalized by taking 2 points off our final exam grade.

with our program if you cannot pass the dose calculation test you are immediately booted from the program.

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at my school we have to get a 100..and u have 3 chances...I dont believe this is harsh at all...it is a huge potential for a lethal med error.

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2 chances to make 90 each semester for us. As long as the converting/rounding rules are clearly stated, it's fair. If they're not, try to clarify them.

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At my school, you have 3 chances to pass the calculation test with a 100% every semester. If you do not pass you are not allowed to attend clinical and take a remediation course.

There is no way that you can change that policy. You said that you made an 80% on your test. Think about it, you have a 20% chance of screwing up a dosage and really harming or even killing someone. Would you want a nurse that only made an 80% giving you drugs? Personally, I do not. There is a good reason why the school has that policy. Talk to your dean to see how you can achieve that 90% you need to proceed to you pediatrics class.

That's exactly how our program is.

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We have 3 tries to pass with a 90% (used to be 95%) or better each semester. First semester we're given the chapters to study throughout the semester on our own, and we take the test right before finals. Every semester after that, we take it before clinical starts, if we don't pass, we're done for the semester. I think we would then have the opportunity to try again with the next class, but I'm not positive on that.

I'm with others, dosage calc is serious business, so I understand the policies. Actually, I think ours is pretty lenient. The only room for improvement that I can think of would be to offer review sessions for those who struggle. Unfortunately, with instructors spread so thin as it is, that may just not be feasible.

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We get two chances to pass with 100% or you are forced to withdrawal from the program.

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Ok well, I have my meeting with the dean of the program to discuss some changes, and have already made some strides in getting other professors on board. Let me clarify by saying that I have taken a total of 6 dosage calculations exams since my first semester, and have received 5 100's and one 95. I also took the non required dosage calc class and received an A (with no grade less than a 90 on the quizzes.) However, I haven't done pediatrics and there were no review courses offered. My school doesn't require you take a review class if you fail...they just send you on your way. I agree that an 80 percent leaves a 20 percent margin of error. A 90 leaves a 10 percent margin of error. Neither is acceptable.

I wasn't asking for anyone to tell me how terrible of a nurse I was going to be. Thank you for your opinions, but instead of attacking my knowledge, please offer some solutions as to how your programs give you the chance for success. Is it all self study? Do you cover questions in class (we walk in the first day of the new semester and have to sit for the exam.) Are there review classes offered if you fail the first test?

Please don't tear me down any further. I've done that enough for myself.

Thank you

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