Is math in nursing hard? Maybe I should reconsider nursing?

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I am in College Algebra now. I have a B+. Math has NEVER been my best subject like most people. I just practice, practice, and practice again. I am extremely proud of that B+, because I literally worked hard for it. With math, I have to literally spend hours on it to get it to the point where I can even do it in my sleep. I know that nursing contains math. I know I have to learn dosage calculations, and IV calculations, etc. I am very intimidated and nervous because I feel like math in nursing will keep me from being a nurse. I have an A in A&P 2 and I received an A in A&P 1. Science is great. I love it. It's just math. Is math in nursing school hard? I mean do the teachers teach you how to do the calculations? I heard that nursing schools have dosage calculation tests on the first day and if someone doesn't pass it, then they're kicked out of the program! I love to help people. I will nor have I ever let anything deter me from becoming a nurse. It is a passion. That is why I strive so hard in college algebra. I do not want math to keep me from my dream/ goal. However, dosages are very serious and I do not want to mess that up. Advice? Opinions?

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I'm not very good at math either. I have to work so hard to get good grades and to learn. But when you get to nursing, the majority of your math skills will be focused on fractions, proportions, decimals...Its not that bad. There will be formulas for IV calculations etc...Some people I know in nursing school say that its not nearly as hard as you anticipate it to be. It won't be easy, but not impossible. I wouldn't change your major at all! Congrats on your B+! that would feel like an A to me...haha

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I'm not very good at math either. I have to work so hard to get good grades and to learn. But when you get to nursing, the majority of your math skills will be focused on fractions, proportions, decimals...Its not that bad. There will be formulas for IV calculations etc...Some people I know in nursing school say that its not nearly as hard as you anticipate it to be. It won't be easy, but not impossible. I wouldn't change your major at all! Congrats on your B+! that would feel like an A to me...haha

Thanks Maddiem. You made me feel ALOT better!

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Specializes in Oncology/hematology.

I am a math geek. I love it. But, yes I think you can make it through drug calculations without being super strong. You will need to memorize conversions such as 30mL=1oz, and a lot of others, but, once you get that down, it's just setting up long rows of fractions that you multiply. And, if you set them up right, they should cancel out either the denominator or the numerator. It's not as hard as people make it out to be.

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A friend of mine just graduated nursing school about 6 months ago and she's not good at math either, but she told me it just comes second nature by the time you get out. So I'm hoping she's right! lol My CC has a nursing math class you can take before the dosage calculations test, it's 4 weeks long and they meet once a week. I'm definitely going to be taking that. And they use, which I've also read on here is a good book, it's called Calculate with Confidence. Maybe get that and start studying here and there.

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.

The level of math required is 7th-grade pre-algebra. If you can manage a B+ in college algebra then you have the skill and the smarts to succeed in the rudimentary math of nursing school.

Not all schools require 100%, some permit remediation, and some do not require a test until some way through the program. If it's of particular concern, question the specific school(s) that you're interested in about their requirements.

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Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.

Take a deep breath and know this...nursing math is not nearly as difficult as algebra! Yay! :D :D :D

Once you learn how to set up your dosaging problem (e.g. gtts/min, mL/h, capsules/dose, etc.) it's pretty easy. I think the stressor for dosaging math comes from the pass/fail nature of the course. Many programs require you to get a 90% or better on your dosage calculations test and grade on a pass/fail basis.

Think of it this way: you really don't want to harm (or kill) 10% of your patients by making a medication error, so having such a high pass rate makes sense. Now, in the "real world", you will have computers double check this for you. The biggest issue you'll have as an RN is ensuring you're picking up the RIGHT medication in the RIGHT dosage. However, you need to know how to do everything manually, so you know when to question an order. And, as always, there's a risk the computers could go down.

If you know how to add, subtract, multiply & divide fractions, you're golden with dosaging math! I highly recommend the book "Math Attack - Strategies for Winning the Medical Dosaging Math Battle". It terrific! It walks you through 4 different ways to approach solving a dosaging equation. You pick the formula that makes sense to you. For example, I learned that using the proportional method works best for me for simple dosaging and the fraction method works best for me when solving IV-related dosaging.

Don't stress about the math...you'll be surprised at how simple it is when you break it down into logical chunks.

Good luck!!!

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The level of math required is 7th-grade pre-algebra. If you can manage a B+ in college algebra then you have the skill and the smarts to succeed in the rudimentary math of nursing school.

^ True. You'll never use most of what's in those college algebra classes. I never took algebra in college. I had it in 7th and 8th grade high school. For nursing, I studied from a GED Math Review book and truthfully, all the algebra and arithmetic I needed was right there.

In nursing school, you'll need to know how to do ratios, solve equations for an unknown, and convert units of measure (weight and volume). Convert temperatures from degrees F to C and vice versa. Convert weight between lbs and kg. You'll need to know how to convert med-related units between SI units ("metric") and English, and maybe apothecary, but all of that information will be covered in whatever drug calculations book your school uses. Most of the time, my school gave us the conversion factors they wanted us to use on the tests, to ensure that everyone was using the exact same one and thus would round off to the same answer at the end. But you'll still need to know (or learn) something about SI units and what power of 10 goes with what prefix, and things like that.

Math is a system. That's the beauty of it. You figure out the rules of the system, and then it always works the same way. No gray areas, lol.

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

the instructors do spend time instructing, as the concepts need to be explored and you need to have the opportunity to practice. But practice is the key. Most nursing students LOVED having math questions on tests because they are always either right or wrong whereas the multiple choice questions can be tricky. Don't worry. You will probably do fine.

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Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

Math scares the carp out of me!! Never even had algebra in HS, wasn't required "back then". The math exams in nursing school nervous as heck. I bought nursing calculation workbooks, asked for additional help in the ATL and ASC and searched the web for nursing math examples. Over time it became less daunting and believe it or not, my final year in school, 90 math questions, I only got one of them wrong. A heparin question. And then in my very next clinical rotation, the client I was assigned was on a heparin drip and for "fun" calculated the drip rate/pump setting on my own and discovered a critical med error that was made when the pump was set up in the middle of the night. My client was being over-medicated big time b/c the pump was set wrong. Still not a lover of math, but after that I knew I knew enough to be a good nurse in that department!!! You can do it!

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I am in College Algebra now. I have a B+. Math has NEVER been my best subject like most people. I just practice, practice, and practice again. I am extremely proud of that B+, because I literally worked hard for it. With math, I have to literally spend hours on it to get it to the point where I can even do it in my sleep. I know that nursing contains math. I know I have to learn dosage calculations, and IV calculations, etc. I am very intimidated and nervous because I feel like math in nursing will keep me from being a nurse. I have an A in A&P 2 and I received an A in A&P 1. Science is great. I love it. It's just math. Is math in nursing school hard? I mean do the teachers teach you how to do the calculations? I heard that nursing schools have dosage calculation tests on the first day and if someone doesn't pass it, then they're kicked out of the program! I love to help people. I will nor have I ever let anything deter me from becoming a nurse. It is a passion. That is why I strive so hard in college algebra. I do not want math to keep me from my dream/ goal. However, dosages are very serious and I do not want to mess that up. Advice? Opinions?
It's good to know I'm not the only one feeling this way.
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It's good to know I'm not the only one feeling this way.

Of course not! You're not alone!

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