How hard is nursing school for the student who is average or below at math & science?

aachavez · Jun 14, 2013

I'm absolutly horrible at 'college' math (algebra, geometry etc) However, math in nursing I find to be much easier to comprehend. I have not had any issue at all with math questions on tests or calculating meds, it's mostly multiplication and division.

Science is a bit more tricky... you really do need to understand the concepts in A&P, micro, and bio. It was challanging for me, but I worked really hard at it, studied a lot and got help when I needed it. If you do not do well in the sciences, the nursing material is much harder. You really do need to be competent with the sciences to really understand what you're learning.

sharpeimom · Jun 14, 2013

Is the club still opened for membership? If so, sign me up too.

Begin at the basic level and don't psych yourself out. Quit telling yourself how dumb you are, because you aren't.

Use the learning center, ask your professor lots of questions too. That's part of her job. She has office hours to help

students. Remember too, if you have a question or don't understand, neither does everyone else. Many people are afraid

they will sound dumb if they ask questions or say they don't understand, when just the opposite is true.

Join a study group. Hire a tutor. Find what works for you because we each learn differently.

Trenata · Jun 14, 2013

I got a book called, Davis's Basic Math for Nurses (works from very basic math through algebra) and a Basic Drug Calculations book. When ever I sit down and do math, for some reason, I make silly little mistakes. Just practicing over and over again has helped me be more confident and memorize basic concepts that were always a challenge for me. I am not a nursing student yet, but I am working to overcome my lifetime fear of math that has always held me back.

I finally figured out how to study science for me too. If you can figure out what type of learner you are, you can maximize your learning style. I do best reading the material, hearing a lecture, and watching a video. I need all this for the material to stick. I have to go to youtube a lot and find videos related to the subject material.

priorities2 · Jun 14, 2013

I was never a math and science person. I got a 29 on my ACT, but my reading was like 35 so my math and science were pretty average. I just worked really hard and thought really hard about the material... made sure I could explain back what I was learning. I'm a verbal learner, so it helped to go study in tutor rooms or study groups where I could talk concepts through. YMMV. Good luck!

phuretrotr · Jun 14, 2013

Just because you did not do well or are not naturally gifted does not mean you can't do it. I actually dropped my Chemistry course my last semester of my senior year or else it would have a been an F. I thought this would lessen my chances of getting into nursing school because they highly recommended 2 semesters of Chemistry. But come ACT time, I scored a 92% in my sciences and got into a 4-year BSN program right out of high school.

I had bad marks too, but don't let that stop you from applying yourself to other things that could trump those not-so-hot scores. If you keep trying with that vision of school ahead of you, you'll make it.

LoriRNCM, ADN, ASN, RN · Jun 14, 2013

Is the club still opened for membership? If so, sign me up too.
Begin at the basic level and don't psych yourself out. Quit telling yourself how dumb you are, because you aren't.
Use the learning center, ask your professor lots of questions too. That's part of her job. She has office hours to help
students. Remember too, if you have a question or don't understand, neither does everyone else. Many people are afraid
they will sound dumb if they ask questions or say they don't understand, when just the opposite is true.
Join a study group. Hire a tutor. Find what works for you because we each learn differently.

I love your shar pei!!!

ruby1989 · Jun 15, 2013

I was never a math and science person. Science wasn't too bad because I've always found it pretty interesting, but the math that comes with some sciences scared me.

Throughout grade school, high school, and even college I was lucky to get a C in math. Most of the time that C was actually a C-. I remember being in small classes in high school consisting of the mathematically challenged students. Upon being accepted to college I remember having to take a math assessment test. I got a 4% on it. I'm not kidding. The math tutor said it was the lowest he ever saw. I couldn't even get into the math course I needed to take at the time.

Flash forward to my crazy dream of becoming a nurse. I was angry at math for holding me back all these years. And then I realized I was the one holding me back. I gave up all this self-doubt and insecurity. I channeled that anger into intense studying and for the first time I understood math. People in my class came to me for help. I began helping people in math class and chemistry class. I became a science and math person. I was no longer this person who flooded herself with self-doubt.

I wanted to go into nursing more than anything. I started just last year working on my pre-reqs. I remember taking A & P over the summer. I told myself if I didn't do well on the first exam I would withdraw from the course and take it in the longer fall session. Well, I'm a stubborn person and I don't just withdraw. I pulled through that course with flying colors. It give me such a rush of confidence that I could get an A in a science course. Me, the same person that would have been happy to get a B in science. I'm not even sure if I ever got a B in science before.

I guess the point of this rant is, don't ever think you're not good at science or math. Never. One of these days it will just click for you like it did for me.

I start nursing school in the fall. If you would have told me several years ago that I would be taking math/science classes and doing well in them, I would have thought this person existed only in a parallel universe.

LoriRNCM, ADN, ASN, RN · Jun 15, 2013

I was never a math and science person. Science wasn't too bad because I've always found it pretty interesting, but the math that comes with some sciences scared me.
Throughout grade school, high school, and even college I was lucky to get a C in math. Most of the time that C was actually a C-. I remember being in small classes in high school consisting of the mathematically challenged students. Upon being accepted to college I remember having to take a math assessment test. I got a 4% on it. I'm not kidding. The math tutor said it was the lowest he ever saw. I couldn't even get into the math course I needed to take at the time.
Flash forward to my crazy dream of becoming a nurse. I was angry at math for holding me back all these years. And then I realized I was the one holding me back. I gave up all this self-doubt and insecurity. I channeled that anger into intense studying and for the first time I understood math. People in my class came to me for help. I began helping people in math class and chemistry class. I became a science and math person. I was no longer this person who flooded herself with self-doubt.
I wanted to go into nursing more than anything. I started just last year working on my pre-reqs. I remember taking A & P over the summer. I told myself if I didn't do well on the first exam I would withdraw from the course and take it in the longer fall session. Well, I'm a stubborn person and I don't just withdraw. I pulled through that course with flying colors. It give me such a rush of confidence that I could get an A in a science course. Me, the same person that would have been happy to get a B in science. I'm not even sure if I ever got a B in science before.
I guess the point of this rant is, don't ever think you're not good at science or math. Never. One of these days it will just click for you like it did for me.
I start nursing school in the fall. If you would have told me several years ago that I would be taking math/science classes and doing well in them, I would have thought this person existed only in a parallel universe.

You sound alot like me! I don't know what my TEAS math score was but it wasn't good. Thankfully I made up for it with the English portion of the test. I spent middle and high school barely passing any math course I took. Didn't do much better in the sciences. English and Art I was a whiz kid. Somehow, after several college level science courses, I am getting As in the sciences. Math is still a challenge for me and I am going to feel that pinch when it's time for my ADN to BSN. But for now, my dosage and calculations course and my Math for Allied Health course will get me through. I learned enough in those courses to make me confident that I can do "nursing math".