math keeping students from graduating

Boog'sCRRN246, RN · May 15, 2009

What kind of math are they teaching that you think you will "never use"? All the math I learned in my Pharmacology course is used almost on a daily basis.

donsterRN, ASN, BSN · May 15, 2009

What kind of math are they teaching that you think you will "never use"? All the math I learned in my Pharmacology course is used almost on a daily basis.

I was going to ask the same question.

I use math daily in school, and in my preceptorship, and I expect I'll do the same as a staff nurse. Passing dosage and calculations questions is vital to your success as a nurse. I'm sorry that you feel that not enough teaching was attributed to math, but if you were struggling, there are any number of resources available to you, both in the bookstores and online. One of the best is Math for Meds, by Curren.

I cannot emphasize enough that nurses do use math, and calculating dosages is a skill that requires lots of practice.

I wish you the best of luck and much success.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · May 15, 2009

If I were having that much trouble with math I would take one of the tests over to a math counselor for review and ask what remedial math course they would recommend and then take that remedial class. Because I took the math sequence a few years ago from pre-algebra to trig I often tell students that Pre-Algebra (or 8th grade math) is pretty much the level of math you need to work med calc problems. Med calc are word problems. When I took pre-algebra the course included how to answer word problems. The difference between nursing problems and math word problems is the nursing jargon that is used. The last Beginning Algebra instructor used to constantly tell us students to "draw a picture" when we had a word problem. You can actually do that with many of the drug problems. Many of them are so reality based it isn't funny. And, unlike algebra, they go in one direction--up and increase in value, usually. You will almost never get negative answers on drug calculation problems. I can't tell you how many times at work a nurse would do a calculation, draw something up in a syringe and say, "this can't be right" because she could see it wasn't right. Her mind "drew a picture".

Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN · May 15, 2009

failing the transitional course twice , first time by 1.44 points and second time by 1.2 points. i have trouble with math and not enough teaching was atributed to math. the reason why nursing school does not focus on teaching math is because dosage calcs are basic algebra, which is a prerequisite for the nursing program. you should already know this material. math quizzes are 7 points of your grade. this does not seem unreasonable at all. i have even bought books to help me but all i ended up doing is wasting my money and time. have you sought help from your instructor or tutoring? i passed my nln and hesi diagnostics only to be brought down by math that you will more than likely never use. this statement concerns me greatly. nurses use math daily, and peoples lives depend on their accuracy. if your school passes you without proving your proficiency on dosage calcs and you promptly kill someone with an overdose, can you imagine the repercussions? you need a separate class of math for meds in texas because alot of good nurses are not being utilized due to this ??? i don't understand this comment. i went to school in tx and we did not have a separate class. we took a few minutes once a week out of our pharm class and did a few practice problems, but basicially it was our responsibility to know how to do it, and if we did not, to seek help. the math involved in this is basic algebra. someone who cannot pass the tests should not be a nurse. sorry to be harsh, but people's lives are at stake.
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