Calculator not permitted?!

Nursing Students General Students

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The school I'm going to doesn't allow its students to use calculators for dosage calculations. This scares me.

are dosage calculations possible, and comprehensible without calculators?

Specializes in med-surg, BICU.

I just graduated from nursing school in January 2006 and we did not use calculators at all. NEVER NEVER NEVER. And we survived. Not being able to use the calculator was no big deal for me because the math is not hard. Its not algebra or calculus. I was surprised when I found out that other schools actually allow this (using calculators), and of course the were very surprised when I told them that my school never allows this.:) And when i took the stateboard exam I was praying to get math questions, but I got NO MATH at all. I passed.

Specializes in everywhere.

In my nursing school, we were not allowed to use calculators. We had to make 100 on our dosage tests. We had three chances to make that 100, if you did not, regardless of your other grades, you failed. I'm with some of the other posters here, sometimes there is not a calculator available (someone put one in their pocket, the batteries are dead on the one you can find and no other batteries are available, etc) and you have to figure it out.

Thanks Marie. :) Anyway, I have until next August to hone my math skills. I'll be using my Dimensional Analysis for Meds book quite a bit.

Lachrymologist - you can relate to me because most people out there are like you and I. I went to the doctor's office the other day, and talked a lot with the LPN. She told me she is terrible at math, this was as she was taking my weight and reading my weight correctly. I'm supposing you and I have basic math skills when it comes to basic numbers..... but tell me to divide a decimal by an outrageous number, and I honestly don't know anyone who CAN do that in their head!!!

It's obvious that you need to know how to do these things without a calculator. When I was a cashier at a major grocery store, and the computer screwed up, I had to figure out the problem with pen and paper, and I did successfully. But..... at the very least we should be able to check our work as we go along with the equation. If I screwed up somewhere along the equation, it'd be nice to know exactly where I screwed up.

I keep hearing all these LPNs saying they're no good at math either....yet they have done it. So, here's hoping that the teachers can teach dosage calculations in a comprehensible way, INSTEAD of throwing you an equation and saying, "ok, figure it out."

Either way.... we are PAYING the school to TEACH US TO BE A NURSE! Why can't the school do this without potentially running away with our money? Basically what I'm saying is: Are we failing as students or are they failing as teachers?

Either way.... we are PAYING the school to TEACH US TO BE A NURSE! Why can't the school do this without potentially running away with our money? Basically what I'm saying is: Are we failing as students or are they failing as teachers?

You know, it's not really a nursing instructor's job to teach you basic math. That was the job of your elementary school, junior high, and high school teachers. The nursing instructor is there to teach you to take those basic math skills and apply them to nursing problems.

If you didn't get out of secondary school knowing how to do simple calculations, then yes, you either need to get some remedial training or reconsider your career options. I can't imagine an engineer being allowed to slide because he wasn't good at math. It's a requirement of the job.

There are easy calculations that you can do on paper to figure it all out. I hope that all schools teach them, basic algebra. We all had to take it. They also make a gtt dosage calculator.

No calculators allowed in my pharm class. I'm not the best when it comes to math (as seems to be a very common attribute) but you're not expected to do it all in your head. You have paper and pencil and the instructors are there to teach you how to use the formulas. When it comes down to it, it's a matter of using the skills learned way back when. Simple division/multiplication will come back to you with some practice.

We don't need to be so dependant on calculators and computers, we're all intelligent adults (they make mistakes too, it's good to be able to double check)

RNin'08

~my reality check bounced~

You know, it's not really a nursing instructor's job to teach you basic math. That was the job of your elementary school, junior high, and high school teachers. The nursing instructor is there to teach you to take those basic math skills and apply them to nursing problems.

If you didn't get out of secondary school knowing how to do simple calculations, then yes, you either need to get some remedial training or reconsider your career options. I can't imagine an engineer being allowed to slide because he wasn't good at math. It's a requirement of the job.

I agree, very well said. There is too much to teach in nursing school to spend time teaching basic math skills. It is why there are pre-requisites, there are the foundation to nursing classes as should basic math skills be the foundation to drug calculations. Bottom line: You can do this because you have basic math skills, all you need to do is get a tutor and review. You can either spend time trying to change the policy of the school or spend time working on your basic math skills.

You can do it!!!!

Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
we were allowed to use calculators, but had to show our work - for example, the initial set up of the problem before you use a calculator.

We had to do this too.

Also we were only allowed to use basic calculator, not the TI-83 that did everything.

Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
Either way.... we are PAYING the school to TEACH US TO BE A NURSE! Why can't the school do this without potentially running away with our money? Basically what I'm saying is: Are we failing as students or are they failing as teachers?

They are teaching people to be a nurse, but with the idea that the people have already come to a certain point in learning.

When i came to school in 2002, the instructors didn't know that my last high school math class in 1995 consisted of 36 (that's not a typo) students, and a teacher who would angrily scream "WHAT PART IF THIS DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?!! IT IS NOT THAT HARD, JESUS!!!!!!" if you asked a second or third question about what she taught. Nevermind she was horrible at teaching, my seat was appx. 22 ft. away from the front of the room, and she had a mouse-like voice when she wasn't yelling. If it hadn't been for a volunteer tutor, i never would have made it. Luckily that teacher wasn't back for the next year, but supposedly the class size wasn't any smaller.

So needless to say, when i found out math was a big issue with the NET, i figured i had little or no chance, but i took it anyway, and receive my acceptance letter a few weeks later. And i thought that i'd bomb Dose Cal, yet it came very easy for me. The IV section was a little bit of a hurdle, but extra time devoted to it, and i got through it with a high grade.

Specializes in Neuro/Med-Surg/Oncology.

> I can't fat finger a pen/pencil and paper.

> If I make a make a mistake on a calculator, I can't see where. If I write everything out, I can.

>A calculator can become a crutch and people view them as failsafe.

>The calculator is not what keeps you from making med errors. Your knowledge does.

Okay. It turned into four cents. I should have used my calculator. ;)

I'm thankful for the good teachers that I had when I was younger. Math did not come easy to me. In fact, I used to get upset because my younger brother could do my math homework. I was able to get better at math by practicing. I started doing all the problems instead of those assigned. I started having my rotten little brother tutor me in math using his book which was two years behind mine. His book did explain things better. My high school math grade went from a D to a B so I was happy. My brother's grades improved also as he had problems in English and science.

Anymore, I see basic math like placing IV catheters, applying bandages, and basic care. In order to do the task efficently and properly takes practice and sometimes more practice until the technique is ingrained in your mind.

I feel badly for todays students who are allowed to rely so heavily on technology at such a young age. They're crippled when that piece of technology is unavailable or unusable. When was the last time someone counted change back to you at a convenience store?

I still cannot find fault with a nursing or vet tech program that doesn't allow calculators in its core courses. Calculators are not allowed for vet techs during the VTNE (Veterinary Technology National Exam). Sadly, the powers that be are trying to change that rule. People should be able to do most basic math in their head or on paper. Just like people should be able to write legibly using a pen and paper. It's too bad that those skills are no longer taught much in school.

Just my thoughts,

Fuzzy

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