Unfair Math Policy

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:angryfire I need to vent! Our Program has been Honored by our State for success because we have had a 99% pass rate for 6 years now. Our school is very hard to get into. You must have a 3.5 GPA or better and they only accept the top 30 out of each semester (usually over 150 applicants)! Then there's the math policy.... Each semester you are granted 5 attempts to score 100% on the math portion. If you do not pass the math you fail the entire semester regardless of you class standing! I made it through the entire semester with a 89.5 and I was unable to pass math so they failed me. I had to beg readmittance into 101. On the first day back they announced a brand new policy "Now we may use calculators!" I was thrilled because every time I failed it was a lousy little error that a calculator could have prevented. Since then three other schools in my state have changed this policy. When I aced the math exam on the first try with a calculator I went from happy to furious!!! I did not have a marginal grade! My transcript reflect 9 failed credit hours and I am having to sit through every lecture again! All of my friends say "yeah but you are getting a second dose of the fundamentals", "you can relax this semester", "They probably changed the policy because of you". First of all, they should have allowed me to retest that day with a calculator (the day the change was announced) and let me move on. The change has to go through a series of meetings and policy reviews it did not happen over night. I have been an LPN for 16 years and I know how some of these things work...Meanwhile I have to sit and feel sorry for myself, all my classmates act like I can't relate because I already passed what they are struggling with, and I'm out another semester worth of tuition. I wonder if anyone else has been through this.... :angryfire

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I feel for you, I hate math. I sit here today and wonder if I had to do it all over again if I could make it. We also had to pass a math test every semester, and score 99. I dreaded it and knew every time that it would be the end to me! I do not think it is fair, as long as you can score at least 80%. I know it was always explained to us that it just takes one math error to hurt a patient, but they are forgetting one thing...we have co-workers we all can turn to. I always double check any math with a co-worker as an extra precaution. I always kind of felt like it was a money scam, the ones that failed had to repay for another semester no matter their grades in their classes. Just hearing your experience brought back all those uneasy math feelings for me. :rolleyes: I wish I had some comforting words for you, but when things are this unfair it is hard to understand and know what to say. :o

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Specializes in Utilization Management.
we have co-workers we all can turn to. I always double check any math with a co-worker as an extra precaution.

Sometimes you don't have a coworker. Depends on where you work. Home health care or LTC on nights, for instance.

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Specializes in MICU for 4 years, now PICU for 3 years!.

We have two chances to pass with a 95%, which for our test is a 19/20. Our instructors always told us, would you want someone medicating/treating you with some IV med that only passed their math test with 80%??? I sure wouldn't! As Angie said, there isn't always someone around to check your math, and you don't always have a calculator to rely on. It may not seem fair to you, but put yourself in the situation that you are in the hospital and your nurse is unable to do the math herself.... kinda makes you scared doesn't it??

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We have two chances to pass with a 95%, which for our test is a 19/20. Our instructors always told us, would you want someone medicating/treating you with some IV med that only passed their math test with 80%??? I sure wouldn't! As Angie said, there isn't always someone around to check your math, and you don't always have a calculator to rely on. It may not seem fair to you, but put yourself in the situation that you are in the hospital and your nurse is unable to do the math herself.... kinda makes you scared doesn't it??

I agree w/this poster. I would not want an RN taking care of me who couldn't get 95% on the math test. This is also why our RN program has a 75% as the "passing" score with a C- , which is higher than most normal college courses.

We have two chances to pass w/ 95% and if you don't pass on the second try, you go on a "math pause" where you have to do math remediation (take a dosage/calc class) and are forced to sit out the next semester. You don't fail your class you took...so lets say you took fundamentals and then failed the math test. You would still get your 89.5% in your fundamentals class, but you would be unable to go on to the next course the following semester. Instead you would sit it out, take a math class, retake the test again, and then you could come back the next semester.

I am suprised you get 5 chances....I have never heard of a school offering that many attempts....and our school has NEVER allowed calculators (which doesn't really make sense because in the real world you WILL have access to calculators even if you don't have a coworker available)

I understand the frustration you are going through, I've never failed a math test, but many of my classmates have gone through that and have been held back b/c of it...and its a bummer.

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Specializes in Trauma ICU, MICU/SICU.

I'm sorry that you failed r/t math, but I don't agree that the policy is unfair.

We also had to pass med math with 100% and had 2 attempts. Since it is r/t medication calculations is why they are so anal about it. As a nurse with 16 years, I'm sure you can understand the policy.

Our school like many others is also very competitive. It's not to be mean there are just way more applicants than slots. When I got in there were over 400 applicants for 70 slots. The fall, there were 700 applicants for 70 slots. The minimum gpa that has been getting in is 3.8.

Best bet is to let it go, move on, and stay focused on your goal.

Good luck.

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Specializes in LDRP.

Thats not unfair-thats more lenient than most schools. If you have 5 chances, one should be able to get 100%. We have 2 chances to get a 90% on a 10 question math dosage test, at the beginning of each semester. If not, you're out. No calculators, either.

Anyways, nurses need to know their math. you can have a calculator, but you can't guarantee that you will always have one, that someone else will always be with you to double check, etc.

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In my school, you have to pass all of your pre-reqs and nursing courses with a 75 in order to get through. We also have a math test to take every semester. 25 questions. You can use a calculator and you have 3 chances to get a 100. If you don't get a 100 the first time, you have to wait 5 days before you take it over again so you can study more. If you don't get a 100 the second time, you must schedule a meeting with the head of the nursing department to review what you did wrong. If you still don't pass, you're out. There is absolutely no room for errors when it comes to medications. It can lead to a life and death situation.:o

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There is absolutely no room for errors when it comes to medications. It can lead to a life and death situation

I absolutely agree......

This is why nursing schools are so strict....

YOU COULD KILL SOMEONE!!!!!!

I would want my nurse to be able to pass her math test...especially when given FIVE chances....there is NO excuse

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

"Math error"=MED ERROR.

'Nuff said. :stone

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Passing any course is a C- which at our school is 80. You have to pass the math with 100 or you get booted. You have to take the math test EVERY semester. If you flunk it any time you get booted.

I agree with previous posters...would you really want someone who couldn't figure out even basic dosage calculations as YOUR nurse?

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we are given 1 chance to pass and it has to be at 100%. i agree with other posters, a math error is a med error and it's too important to let slide. we of course are allowed to use calculators for our tests, just as we would in a clinical setting. my only advice is check, check and check your calculations again and again! :)

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