HELP !first week in nursing school overwhelming

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i just started nursing school and the pressure is on its been 3 days and we have done so many chapters already .....then i found out we wont be allowed to procede in the program if we dont pass the the dosage exams ...you have to get less than two wrong ...so i was wondering if anybody could offer any advise on how to keep organised ,,minimize the anxiety and the best way to focus on the important stuff and not get flustered and also how to cope with the math .....im not really good in math at all need all the help i can get ............thanks in advance:idea::idea:

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

I've moved your thread to the Nursing Student Assistance Forum. I think you'll get more of a response there.

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i just started nursing school and the pressure is on its been 3 days and we have done so many chapters already .....then i found out we wont be allowed to procede in the program if we dont pass the the dosage exams ...you have to get less than two wrong ...so i was wondering if anybody could offer any advise on how to keep organised ,,minimize the anxiety and the best way to focus on the important stuff and not get flustered and also how to cope with the math .....im not really good in math at all need all the help i can get ............thanks in advance:idea::idea:

[color=deepskyblue]hey, before school started, i bought a book called calculate with confidence...it was recommended to buy by the teacher. i'm sorry but i don't remember who the author is.:uhoh3: if you want the author, i can look tonight when i get home. it helped me out alot!!!! i didn't really remember how to do fractions (multiply, divide, etc.)...shame on me, i know i kind of scanned through the book and saw some (what looked like) good dosage calculation questions.

maybe you can find a site online that has sample questions, or a book that you can practice out of. just throwing out ideas here...;)

hth

maya

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The Calculate with confidence book is by Morris. We used this book in Pharm 1 at my school which is basically all dosage calculations and then we move to Pharm 2 which is the drug part. I think the book is good at explaining the dosage problems. Good luck!

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, Emergency, SAFE.

The Calculate with Confidence book is the book that is required for my clinical math class. And let me tell you, after 7 years since my last math class that book has been a TREMENDOUS help. I would recommend it also...

http://www.amazon.com/Calculate-Confidence-Fourth-Deborah-Morris/dp/0323029280

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

there is a sticky thread on the nursing student assistance forum called dosage calculations. here is the link to it (https://allnurses.com/forums/f205/dosage-calculations-88867.html). there are also links there to web pages that have information on how to do dosage calculations.

i will often work calculation problems by dimensional analysis when they are posted on the student forums. just responded to one on the general nursing student discussion forum as a matter of fact (https://allnurses.com/forums/f50/med-calculations-246062.html). you have to know math to 8th grade or pre-algebra level at least. you also have to know how to work with fractions and ratios. i'm listing 3 websites that give you the basic rules of how to work with fractions. math is very logical. it is always worked in a step-by-step process. drug calculations almost always are plugged into the formula of dose desired divided by dose on hand. i underlined the words divided by because they basically mean you are going to deal with a fraction.

now, i saved the worst for last. drug calculation tests never go away. most employers make you take them also as a condition of employment. if you can't achieve a certain score on an employer's drug tests you won't even get to practice nursing in their hospital. the reason for this is that drug errors have become a big issue with medicare, medicaid and the medical insurance carriers. they have collected enough statistics to show that medication errors are responsible for extended hospital stays (translate that to higher costs of care) and deaths (translate that to lawsuits) in some instances. the fact is that many of the really silly questions you will have to solve on these drug tests were once commonly performed, but no longer are. it is good practice to learn to do them though. even the pharmaceutical companies are standardizing the dosages and the measuring systems being used in order to avoid the most common errors that occur.

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Specializes in ob/gyn med /surg.

when do you take the math test? i used calculate w/ confidence... it was great .. and very helpful.. let me know how you do .. and i am soo happy you will be a nurse soon...congrats

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Specializes in neuro/ortho med surge 4.

Hello,

I agree with you. Nursing school is overwhelming. I remember feeling the same way as you. I could not believe the amount of reading. After a couple of weeks you will see that you will be able to manage things. What I did was I would look to see when tests were scheduled and I would try to get all of the clinical paperwork and reading out of the way and use the weekend before for studying. Iususally could not get all of the reading done anyways. I found that most instructors test off of what they lecture on since they can not possible lecture on all of the reading. Take really good notes in class (I usually write the whole time I am in class) and use a taperecorder if the instructor allows it.

Try not to fall behind and keep us as best you can. Nursing school is tough and you will find your own way to get accomplished what you need to.

The first week is very overwhelming. It is like a shock to the system. Your second semester will be overwhelming at first also but at lesast you will be used to the heavy workload. Good luck. Just put one foot in front of the other and you will arrive at the finish line- I promise. ;)

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Specializes in trauma ICU,TNCC, NRP, PALS, ACLS.

Take one week at a time and organize your time base on priority. Right now the priority is to pass the math test; then after that proceed to the next task.

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Take one week at a time and organize your time base on priority. Right now the priority is to pass the math test; then after that proceed to the next task.

Thank you sooooooooooooooo much ....i feelll really encouraged wow

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WOW thanks everybody for your suggestions ...i`ll definately look take a look on all those websites and stuff ...and the book im using is actually dimensional math for meds .........so i`ll have to take a look on that .......thanks for the support ..nuff love to all of ya..:balloons:to days ma bday tooo lol........ plus its labour day so no school :balloons:

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Hello,

I agree with you. Nursing school is overwhelming. I remember feeling the same way as you. I could not believe the amount of reading. After a couple of weeks you will see that you will be able to manage things. What I did was I would look to see when tests were scheduled and I would try to get all of the clinical paperwork and reading out of the way and use the weekend before for studying. Iususally could not get all of the reading done anyways. I found that most instructors test off of what they lecture on since they can not possible lecture on all of the reading. Take really good notes in class (I usually write the whole time I am in class) and use a taperecorder if the instructor allows it.

Try not to fall behind and keep us as best you can. Nursing school is tough and you will find your own way to get accomplished what you need to.

The first week is very overwhelming. It is like a shock to the system. Your second semester will be overwhelming at first also but at lesast you will be used to the heavy workload. Good luck. Just put one foot in front of the other and you will arrive at the finish line- I promise. ;)

Thank you so much .....that right there is some good advice,,,,especially the part about reading the notes becasue its way too much too remember so ..i agree with you on the instructors only testing on wat they lecture.......definately hepful thanks again

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