math attack

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Specializes in Volunteered in an ER.

I'm waiting to get into LPN school and the thing that keeps me up at night is math. It's been 20 years and somehow I escaped having to take algebra in high school. Any suggestions while I wait?

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

Fear of math trips people more up than the actual math itself. By convincing yourself and having the self-fulling prophecy "I'm not good in math" you set yourself up for failure. So have a good talking to yourself saying "I can do anything that I'm taught to do. Math will not intiminidate me. I can do this!"

That's half the battle.

Good luck!

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HI!!

I finshed LPN school in June. Math scared the heck out of me too!!!!!!

But DO NOT let it stop you. As a matter of fact, don't even worry about it because you'll find that it wasn't worth your worry. It is not algebra or anything like that. Your instructors are there to help you. There were a few times a few of the other students in my class and I stayed after class with the instructor while she taught us. It then became fun.

Good luck!

While your waiting to get into school, just go get a book that will help you! Get a head of the game because your going to have to memorize the metric system.. but it's not too bad. :):):):monkeydance:

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I'm waiting to get into LPN school and the thing that keeps me up at night is math. It's been 20 years and somehow I escaped having to take algebra in high school. Any suggestions while I wait?

Here is a website MATH

You can go here and do some refresher stuff. It will help you to recall what you really already know, just stuffed away under recipes, diaper changing, and more useful information, LOL. It really is a great website. Don't let yourself get too worried, I was out of school 17 years and am making the highest grades in all, knock on wood, my classes so far.

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Specializes in Volunteered in an ER.
Here is a website MATH

You can go here and do some refresher stuff. It will help you to recall what you really already know, just stuffed away under recipes, diaper changing, and more useful information, LOL. It really is a great website. Don't let yourself get too worried, I was out of school 17 years and am making the highest grades in all, knock on wood, my classes so far.

I feel encouraged; thank you so much for taking the time. I'm taking the plunge...:smiletea2:

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Specializes in Volunteered in an ER.
HI!!

I finshed LPN school in June. Math scared the heck out of me too!!!!!!

But DO NOT let it stop you. As a matter of fact, don't even worry about it because you'll find that it wasn't worth your worry. It is not algebra or anything like that. Your instructors are there to help you. There were a few times a few of the other students in my class and I stayed after class with the instructor while she taught us. It then became fun.

Good luck!

While your waiting to get into school, just go get a book that will help you! Get a head of the game because your going to have to memorize the metric system.. but it's not too bad. :):):):monkeydance:

That is a RELIEF. Thank you!

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

there are lots of online math refresher websites. if you are disciplined you can relearn basic math on your own by just using these websites and working from a used pre-algebra book. pre-algebra covers math up to algebra which is what you need to know to do medication calculations.

there are a number of websites where you can work on honing basic math skills. a number of math textbooks now have videos that are sold or that you can buy that go along with their textbooks that have an instructor showing how to solve math problems. you might want to take a pre-algebra class. if you are disciplined there is a website where you can access an online math textbook companion website where you can work your way through the math exercises chapter by chapter of a textbook and be shown how to solve each math problem as well as be given unlimited numbers of similar problems to work as well. it is free and costs you nothing. the trick to becoming proficient in math is doing as many math problems as you can. the site is http://www.interactmath.com/ and i will save you a lot of grief and post the instructions on how to get yourself setup on the site (access to the site is free) if you'd like (i have them pre-printed in a file). let me know if you are interested and want the instructions. otherwise, here are some websites you might want to explore to help you bone up on your math skills:

the best advice i can give you as a potential nurse is that to perform any math on the job as a nurse it is helpful to know how to work with ratios and fractions. ratios are a form of fractions.

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I've never seen anything strike fear into people like math. My friend took College Algebra over the summer, begged me to help because "math is the devil." I was there everyday, gave a few pointers but basically slept thru all the 'lessons'... end of the day, she gets a B that the prof told her would have been an A had the motivation/interest been there.

Now, she's in her first semester of the nursing phase of the her program and the anxiety came right back after the first Pharm Calc class.... needless to say, its week 6, passed a few quizzes already and no complaints. Once you sit down & realize that math is the most mechanical subject there is, you'll be glad to have a math class to give you a breather from the rest.

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Specializes in Volunteered in an ER.

Oh wow...that's a lot of great information. I am a visual learner, so this will certainly help. I feel smarter just knowing I'm not alone. Thank you!:studyowl:

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Specializes in Volunteered in an ER.

Books like "Math for Meds" - are those helpful too?

That makes sense, that motivation would make a difference; I'll be sure to at least 'act' like I'm excited about it while I'm changing my own "math is the devil" attitude, and maybe I'll pass decently! I keep telling myself "I love math....I love math..." Thank you for your help.

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

math is so logical and defined its not funny. i decided to retake math classes from elementary algebra to trigonometry for fun a few years ago because i had a lot of trouble in my second quarter of calculus because my foundation in trigonometry was not good. that's how i discovered the interactmath.com website since it was given to us with one of our textbooks. it originally came as a cd with my elementary algebra book and in using it i began to realize how the exercises were structured as they went from easier to harder and harder. just one little concept was being added to the problems as you went up a level in the exercise problems. that's when i began to see how logical algebra and eventually trigonometry was structured. it really is not hard, but you have to start out by learning the very basic information. everything builds upon that and little by little more complicated things are added to the very simple basic stuff. and, it is true what they say. practice, practice, practice. you have to work problem after problem. you have to do this so you can learn to recognize the basic underlying patterns in the problems you are given so you can break them down and solve them. eventually, you begin to see that a huge problem filled with all kinds of terms is really a very basic problem that is just jacked up. but, you won't see it as that unless you've been practicing and working problems. what you want to achieve is seeing math problems as a challenge to conquer rather than something to be feared. that is the way a scientist thinks. and, remember, you are going into a profession that is based primarily on science, so you want to start changing your thinking to that direction--challenges, not fear. i've seen more nurses become mediocre nurses because of their fear of some piece of equipment or treatment a patient is receiving than taking on the attitude of it being a challenge and hitting the books in the library and finding out as much as they could about the subject. that, i think, is the difference between excellence and mediocrity. what kind of nurse will you be? a mediocre one or one who strives for excellence in their practice? in a way there is a bigger issue here that is all about one's character. because i guarantee you that while math may be a problem for you now, when you get into nursing school there will be many more problem subjects you will have to face and you will have to have the essential character within you to deal and conquer them. there are many lessons to be learned from one lesson.

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