For those who have gone before me.....

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Hi all. I post on here when I can. I am a new RN student and have been INSANELY BUSY. I am on break right now and have a little bit of time so I am visiting the board. :typing

Ok.. here are my two questions. I am having difficulty learning the medical equations for administering nursing meds where you have to convert mg to g and cross multiply and so forth and find X. Do we really need to do this in hopsitals?? I understand we need to know it for background learning purposes, but I have heard in the hopsitals they have machines that do the figuring for you. All you have to do is punch in the amounts. This is so??

Also...I am finding that I have to "teach myself" a ton of the info. Is this par for the course?? This is typical?? There is a LOT of info. to read. I understand. Yet I feel like I am teaching myself just about everything. Is this is typical?? The particular school I am going to has one of the worst NCLEX pass rates in my state. Over half of my class is failing. I am one of the few who is passing. I study all the time. All the time. :uhoh3: I have a B average. Low C is considered failing. I am holding on, but by my toenails. Does all this sound typical??

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it is easy to know about conversion of mg to g

and the formulas for calculation

but I'm not able to comment about the machines used in hospitals, although I have seen them, I haven't personally used them

about teaching yourself the information - there is a lot to cover, and studying all the time is the way to succeed

all the best to you

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Specializes in Surgical Services.

Yes, it is typical to have to "teach" yourself a lot of information. The Instructors can only teach you so much and then you have to learn a lot of the other basics. As for the equations, you will normally have the Rx that does that for you but you need to understand it to verify that you are giving the correct dose.

I am a new grad and I find that I was not taught 1/100 of what you will learn as you start to specialize but I also know a lot of information about every detail of nursing.

Hang in there and if there is anything that I can do to help...PM me.

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Specializes in Surgical Services.
it is easy to know about conversion of mg to g

and the formulas for calculation

but I'm not able to comment about the machines used in hospitals, although I have seen them, I haven't personally used them

about teaching yourself the information - there is a lot to cover, and studying all the time is the way to succeed

all the best to you

Easy for you but not for the OP. I could tell you anything is easy but it may not be true for you.

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Is there a small "pocket" book or website that has the basic equations broken down that I could understand... like to find weight dosages you need to know X,Y,Z.

For flow rate you do A,B,C.

Any suggestions?? We are having to teach ourselves the equations. There has been no instruction at all from the professor. We had to teach ourselves "on the computer" how to do all these medical equation problems. NO INSTRUCTION from the professor whatsoever on how to do them... she does not discuss the processes nor how to find the correct answers. We are totally on our own.

THANK YOU everyone for the suggestions! :specs:

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Hi Epona - there is a book called Math for Meds which I'm sure you can find on ebay or Barnes & Noble. Its a wonderful book. I am the most math illiterate that ever graduated and this is the book I swear by. It is very, very important to ensure you have a solid understanding of how you got your dosage calculation. The Pyxis and pharmacy are your back-up systems. However, YOU are the one giving the med and will be held responsible. Good luck - once I memorized a couple of forumulas I did fine.

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Yeah, I study all the time. I can't say I've had to teach myself everything (well, I did in micro) but the nursing instructors will tell us what we need to know that wasn't gone over in class. As for dosage calculations, they'll be on NCLEX for sure. I was fortunate; I had excellent math instruction at my school. I'm in my last semester and I don't need to study those before exams anymore. This website might help. I referred to it from time to time for practice:

http://home.sc.rr.com/nurdosagecal/

Good luck!

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Here is another site that might help...

http://www.accd.edu/sac/nursing/math/default.html

Peace,

Tripps

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I'm a new grad in a CCU. As for the math conversions and such, I find both. Sometimes the IV pumps do the math for you when hanging dopamine and finding mcg/kg/min and so forth. But there's also times when I need to do the math myself when having to adminster so many mg of medicine out of a vial with more than what's needed...that sort of thing. Something I do with those equations is set the equation up to where everything possible cancels out. If you're trying to find mL/hr , then set up the mg so they cancel out...if that makes sense.

And about teaching yourself... I'd normally sit through class and take notes, not fully comprehending and grasping it all...until I went home later that day and read up on it with the book. But if I went straight to the book without sitting through lecture, it probably would have been a lot tougher to understand. It sounds like you are doing the best you can with the circumstances you're in. Keep it up!

Good luck to ya

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Goofy as it may sound "teach" some one else how to the calculations I use an ACCN one page fomula sheet I got on rotation to this day- I used M and M's and did it with my kids and family - Goofy I know but it forces you to understand it and break it down. Kids thought it was fun to "eat the meds" I got pratice and some time in. You can do this in study groups to we all took turns "teaching" a unit helps you think through and review - School is no easy task, and give your self credit, you are passing I used to say C stands for continue all the time (even if that 78 would be soild any place else) if you get a 90 (a be where I was) I gave my self an inner A - Give your self credit, I know a few people who passed by 2-3 points all through school and they are awsome nurses!

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