Finallyy

Your sarcasm is appreciated. I was given a prognosis and I obviously beat it or I wouldn't be sitting here today. If I ever make it far enough to become a nurse, I'll actually have some compassion too.

I think it would take more time to do it on paper than with a calculator. But I'm not disagreeing, a calculator won't always be around. I am just hoping no one expects me to do this crap in my head. As far as math help, currently I'm enrolled in a community college and one of my classes is prepatory algebra. It's non-transferable, EXPENSIVE, and hopefully it'll be worth it. My problem mostly, is that I had bad teachers in jr high, and in 5th & 6th grade, when I needed to be in school the most, I was homebound due to a terminal illness - the whole thing that made me want to become a nurse in the first place. Even when I caught on, I'd forget, so maybe I have a learning disability, or maybe those two years being homeschooled ruined me. Either way if I'm handing someone $10,000.00 to teach me to be a nurse, I'd expect them to teach me to be a nurse...even if I have some faux-paws.... But, many thanks to you all for the advice. I need it.

Lachrymologist - you can relate to me because most people out there are like you and I. I went to the doctor's office the other day, and talked a lot with the LPN. She told me she is terrible at math, this was as she was taking my weight and reading my weight correctly. I'm supposing you and I have basic math skills when it comes to basic numbers..... but tell me to divide a decimal by an outrageous number, and I honestly don't know anyone who CAN do that in their head!!! It's obvious that you need to know how to do these things without a calculator. When I was a cashier at a major grocery store, and the computer screwed up, I had to figure out the problem with pen and paper, and I did successfully. But..... at the very least we should be able to check our work as we go along with the equation. If I screwed up somewhere along the equation, it'd be nice to know exactly where I screwed up. I keep hearing all these LPNs saying they're no good at math either....yet they have done it. So, here's hoping that the teachers can teach dosage calculations in a comprehensible way, INSTEAD of throwing you an equation and saying, "ok, figure it out." Either way.... we are PAYING the school to TEACH US TO BE A NURSE! Why can't the school do this without potentially running away with our money? Basically what I'm saying is: Are we failing as students or are they failing as teachers?

Well everyone... I'll be honest here. I can't divide to save my life. I've had tutors in high school and whatnot, I just cannot divide. I also could never simplify fractions. I would get taught how to do it,and once I was done being taught, I would forget everything I learned about it. *sigh* I guess I'm just mentally preparing myself to fail. I know in my heart and from personal experience that math has sunk my boat so many times before. How do the teachers teach the equations? Do they make it easy for you to understand? Because when I look at the sample problems you guys have showed me, I get completely confused and I draw a blank. I think I understand the forumulas more than the ratio proportion method.... but regardless. I need to start thinking of a new career. This crushes me. I have wanted to be a nurse so bad; I'll be at a total loss if I fail.

Well I usually make littly tiny errors with division and whatnot without a calculator. Now that I know I can't use one........ What type of math is involved in the dosage calculations that would possibly require the aide of a calculator? I mean....is it pretty comprehensible to the point where a calculator isn't needed much anyway? God I'm upset about this.

The school I'm going to doesn't allow its students to use calculators for dosage calculations. This scares me. are dosage calculations possible, and comprehensible without calculators?

In Hospitals? Specialty clinics? How far away did you have to drive? If it was in hospitals - what department?

Ok! Thank you so very much. Your advice was very helpful and put things into perspective. I'll go check out those forums. Thanks again!

I guess no one intends on replying...... good night, see you all in the morning.

Ok gang, I just came back from a bookstore and was reading some prepatory books for the NCLEX-PN and I read some of the sample questions and guessed every single one of them WRONG. Granted, I haven't even started LPN school yet - but hopefully you don't have to cram in LPN school because if you cram you won't retain your knowledge..... The sample questions scared the crap out of me. There seems to be so many trick questions on the NCLEX-PN. Do LPN schools effectively prepare you for the test itself? PLEASE help! I love you guys all so much for all the support!

Hmm....maybe your program has pre reqs because it's at a college? the LPN school I chose is at a vocational school, and the only pre requisites is an entrance exam, a background checm and a drug test. for the forumula you gave as an example...can you use a calculator for assistance?

Hi everyone - I'm still here.... Thank you all for the comments, I need all the help I can get.... I'm still going through with it. I have heard so many great things about it that all these bad things I'm hearing aren't making any sense to me. I'm completely confused. The LPN that works at my doctor's offices are like friends to me... and I can see myself doing what they do. I was just really surprised when I heard that it was "soooo hard," because the LPNs at my doctor's offices made it sound very comprehensible. Another question - I looked at the curriculum for LPN and I didn't see any chemisty or biology - it was mostly practical stuff like "skills for nursing." I'm supposing this would mean there is no chemistry or biology for the LPN school I chose? I realize that if I was to give a patien 250mg of a medication and was handed pills that were 100mg each, I would give two pills plus a half pill. I am good at common sense stuff like that. I also give my dog insulin with a certain amount of CCs I'm good with that too. Does it go much deeper than that?

From what I have been hearing, LPN school is almost like bootcamp. Is this true? Is it the bookwork that's so hard, or the clinical? My friend said both. I almost felt as if she were jealous that I was considering such a profession. She insisted it was "just" an LVN, NOT an LPN. I tried explaining to her that it is known as an LVN -or- an LPN depending on where you're from.... Either way I keep hearing horror stories about how terrible the schooling is, and how many people fail out. I'm scared of failing out. Yet whenever I talk to my friends who are LPNs - they say they are so glad they did it. My one friend is an uncertified nurse's aide and she said that the nurse's aides do the dirty work while the LPNs do the other stuff and paperwork. Anyway..... all advice given to me is appreciated, no one around me will talk to me about this because they aren't familiar with it at all. they don't even believe me when I tell them some of the things that have to do with nursing.... *sigh*

I agree. She made me feel terrible. She also told me that most of the math will be fractions - fractions are my weakest area of math. I'm just so insecure now. Any advice from anyone is really appreciated....

I'm on my way to beginning LPN school at my local vo-tech. I was excited about it and confident in myself because I grew up with a terminal illness that familiarized me with the medical field. I'm great at terminology, familar with procedures, know where organs are located, etc. because of growing up with several medical conditions. Then I talked to a good friend whose mother and father is an LPN and she turned my whole world upside down!!!!! She warned me that it's TERRIBLY, dreadfully difficult and that I will be "weeded out." She said the soursework is heavy, intricate and difficult. I realize the instructors will be unsupportive probably because they aren't "regular" teachers; they themselves are nurses. I also realize that no school is going to be easy! I guess my weak points are algebra and chemistry..... which is ultimately why I didn't opt for a nursing major in college. It's just too much math and science - so I heard that LPN school is more hands-on and more "practical" procedures...I felt so happy to hear that! I graduated from high school last year, and I have no interest in liberal arts education from colleges. I want a skill, a profession, and since I'm already semi-familiar with the medical field....I thought LPN was perfect for me. Now I am scared to death. Please help!