Is it going to get harder than this

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I finally got the math part down, and am happy because it is not my strong suit. We use the formula:

15g : X :: 30mcg : 5 ml

(I am making up numbers- they may not compute)

I have really gotten good at this....but I fear they will start throwing in more crazy equations.

If I have this mastered am I going to be OK or is the worst to come?

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It will get harder, I excel in math above all else so its different for me, get yourself a nurse entrance exam practice book. The only reason I suggest this is that those books have a ton of math in them and every type of math as well, flip through the books first and check how much math is in them and buy the one with the most math.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

I disagree. :)

I think you are in good shape! With that problem set-up you should be able to solve most anything they throw your way. Have you done drip factors yet? They can be a bit tricky but with practice and your basic knowledge you will be golden.

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Specializes in Home Health, Podiatry, Neurology, Case Mgmt.

i always though the ratios were the worst! After i got the hang of that, the new stuff they threw at me seemed to just "click" into place. I really feel like once i got through my nursing math i started doing much better in real life every day math...getting change back, figureing how much off when i went to a sale ect. Math was never my stong suit and it still isnt now, but once you get the grasp you should be good to go! Good luck and keep it up!

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I disagree. :)

I think you are in good shape! With that problem set-up you should be able to solve most anything they throw your way. Have you done drip factors yet? They can be a bit tricky but with practice and your basic knowledge you will be golden.

Not yet but sounds like I have the basics so I am feeling better about it- thanks!

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

I liked dimensional analysis to figure out nursing math. It takes a bit longer, but I can always figure out the answer. Drip factors drove me literally insane, but I did get an A in the class. Just recently, I had to take an on line exam from home for an agency. It was not timed, but, they said that they do 'observe how long it takes you to complete it'. It was unexpected, because I was told that I was to take one test, and discovered it was three, including the dosage calculation one. Once I was logged on, I could not go back out, or blow the exam and had to call the agency to have them reissue me another access code number. Somehow, the examples just came to my head, I answered 60 questions, which included many IV drips, and I got an 85%...making it a pass.

You have to keep practicing them! Use the math formula that you are most comfortable with and keep doing the examples in the book. It does pay off!

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

possibly not. see the links on this sticky thread for help. there are several tutorials there that should be helpful to you:

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I got a nursing math calculation workbook from the library. I found that I needed to master the basic concepts of dimensional analysis before I could really feel comfortable with different drug calculations. There's the med calculation formula and the IV formulas that you'll want to know. I'd do as many problems as you can until you get it-you'll get it!

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