Failed my 1st math proficiency test

truern · Mar 17, 2006

nadj, do a search here for some of the math threads. There have been some great online sites with practice problems posted about on allnurses. There have also been some helpful threads about specific problems students have.

You just need to practice, practice, practice....and CHECK YOUR ANSWERS.

And yes, I think everybody faces the dreaded drug calc tests. In my program, we have to pass one each semester before we're allowed to go to clinical.

Do you remember the four that you got wrong? Maybe we could help you understand those.

nadjjaa · Mar 17, 2006

Actually, the scary part is that I didn't screw up on the dimensional analysis part, and I knew my equivalents....I was simple math errors (we can't use calculators), a misplaced decimal point and a case of not reading directions well enough. If it was just simple case of not knowing how to set up the problem, I might actually feel better, but it was just simple stuff and I'm worried I'm going to do it again. Yes, I know next time I need to work the problems two, maybe even three times and READ directions. But I'm just freaked out, there's so many ways you can screw up a single problem!!

We're on spring break now, and I can't talk to my teacher about it until we go back. Huh, you'd think I'd be happy to be on spring break, but it started on a real sour note for me....

Guardian Angels · Mar 17, 2006

You aren't the first and won't be the last - You will appreciate that you now know what you need to learn! This will actually help you when it comes time for medication calculations - Better wrong on a sheet of paper than in someones body.... Just do research and practice - there are loads of sites out there and then you will be able to pass with flying colors both on paper and with people

MellyOne · Mar 17, 2006

Don't stress too much...you know what you need to fix. We have dosage calc tests before every clinical rotation, and I'd say that as many as 40% fail them the first time around. Second time, they usually pass. Not a huge deal. You can do it!

PS Stress can make missing those little points a little easier...just another reason to relax and just do the best you can :)

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Mar 17, 2006

It was simple math errors (we can't use calculators), a misplaced decimal point and a case of not reading directions well enough. . .but it was just simple stuff and I'm worried I'm going to do it again.

I hear you. These "little" goofs can bring you down a grade or two as you have discovered. This is what I was advised to do on math tests.

I take a breath and slowly force myself to read the directions before I start each problem and not run through them thinking "yeah, yeah, I know what they want". I underline what seems to be the ultimate, final answer that is wanted. I also circle any special instructions, like if they want the answer in a specific type of unit so I can find it quickly when I look up to it as I'm finishing off the problem.

As I am recopying a problem, as in doing the next step of the problem, I keep one finger tracing along the equation I am copying and I also speak what I am writing down silently to myself as I write it. I have seen my math instructors do this time and time again when they work problems on the board. They have one finger on the term of one equation while the marker in their other hand is copying it and they are usually also saying it out loud. They don't make too many mistakes in front of the class.

If you know that you make mistakes with decimal points (I, with positive and negative signs) then you want to double check your work with those problems all the time. If there is another way to work the problem, do that. If there is a way to take the answer you got and use it to work back to what you started with, try that. If that is not working and you suspect you might have a wrong answer, move on to another problem and go back to this one later and work it from scratch to see if you get the same result. Don't sit there spinning your wheels trying to figure out where you are wrong. You won't see the error right away and you will only be wasting your time at that point. There are techniques you can use to clear decimals out of equations so you have integers only. You might want to try doing that.

Don't turn your paper in when you've finished. If you have time left, go back over the problems. Look to see that your answer matches and makes sense with what was asked for in each question and it is given in the units asked for, that you answered all parts of the questions as sometimes there are two parts to a question. Then, turn it in. Don't be concerned that you are the last person to turn an exam in--it's your grade.

Good luck next time.

nadjjaa · Mar 17, 2006

Thanks for that advice, I'm sure it will come in useful. I'm going to sit down with the instructor and personally go over the problems I missed. I've been told that the test will be the same next time, only the problems will have the numbers changed slightly.

I don't know if I can do anything about my stress level. If it were like any other test where we rec'd a grade and that was it, I wouldn't worry, but if I don't pass the test in three tries I'm done, regardless of the grades I've been getting. I know I can do better, otherwise I wouldn't be getting decent grades in the other stuff......it's just so stressfull and I can't seem to forget that!

rpv_rn · Mar 17, 2006

You can do something about your stress level. Before you go into the test, take deep breaths - you will concentrate more on your breaths than worrying about the test. Right before the test, go outside, take a 5 - 10 minute walk as you take deep slow breaths. Try this before all your exams. It will help reduce your stress level.

Those students who try to cram or sit waiting become very anxious & stressed.

purplemania, BSN, RN · Mar 17, 2006

the decimal points and not reading the problem close enough are exactly the problems we have in the clinical settings, which is why your school is training you to solve problems now. Practice math daily. Even if only a few problems. Do you need a tutor? Can we help online?

nadjjaa · Mar 17, 2006

No, I don't think I need a tutor. I think I just need to be more careful.

Don't get me wrong, I understand why these tests are so important. I understand that a misplaced decimal point IS a huge deal and that it can make the difference between medicating and killing a pt. I'm not complaining about the test or that we have to get 95% to pass. I do wish, however, that there weren't so many ways to get kicked out of nursing school.

I just need to practice some more with some sample problems. Anybody know any good sites??

CseMgr1, ASN, RN · Mar 17, 2006

don't feel bad. i failed my first math test before starting clinicals during my freshman year, and my instructor made a big deal out of it by writing in big, red letters: clinical warning! (as

if i didn't already know). :angryfire that made me mad, and i wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of me flunking the second test and out of school. i aced the second test with 100%. that nipped her use of her red pen in the bud! you can do it, too!

nadjjaa · Mar 17, 2006

Thanks....I think my instructors were actually sad for me. I have great instructors. Another thing I keep thinking about, I am the Vice Prez of our class, and I keep thinking how bad it would look if I failed!