Were you guys allowed the use of a calculator when you took your dosage test?

[Wannabe_Doc]

The nursing program at my school does not allow the use of a calculator.I find this extremely ridiculous, since you have to get all 10 questions correct without one. Did your school allow calculators?

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

We were allowed to use them on every dosage test except for the IV calculations one, where we had to figure out mL/hr and gtt/min. Talk about a lot of long division...

[csmcj, BSN, RN]

We're allowed calculators, though we can't use our own. The school provides them for any test in which we have calculation questions. That said, it's been rare that I've needed one on any of our doscal tests. Most of the questions are simple enough to do in my head, and most of those that aren't I can do long hand faster than it would take to punch it into the calculator.

[That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

4th grade teacher " You arent going to carry a calculator with you everywhere so you need to learn to do math without one"

Present day: Say that to my iPhone...

[Tatinha]

Yes, my nursing school allowed us to use a simple calculator, but you had to show off your rationale (calculations) on paper along with your correct answers.

[LoriRNCM, ADN, ASN, RN]

I would never trust my dosage calculations in the real world of nursing without a calculator AND someone double checking me. That's what they teach us, I just hope in the real world of nursing that the nurses won't be like, "Check you? Are you serious?"

[THELIVINGWORST, ASN, RN]

I would never trust my dosage calculations in the real world of nursing without a calculator AND someone double checking me. That's what they teach us I just hope in the real world of nursing that the nurses won't be like, "Check you? Are you serious?" [/quote']

Idk man! I have yet to see anyone do it. But maybe I'm not looking hard enough

[mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN]

Former 5th grade teacher: show me you understand the algorithm/formula and do it by hand THEN you can use the calculator.

We had a dose calc every semester, had to make 100% with three tries.

In real life, at least at my facility, usually 2 nurses AND a calculator to do the calculations. Leave no room for error. Someone life may depend on it.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

We could only use a basic calculator: nothing scientific, nothing with memory. The school told us that the calculators we can get from the dollar store would be perfect.

[malamud69, BSN, RN]

Yes...we are in the modern/reality age and like so many things that schools seem to waste our time on these days I wonder why we must commit to memory useless things we can simply look up...

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

Calculators were allowed and in fact encouraged. Accuracy is all that matters when it comes to figuring out the correct dosage of Heparin or insulin! I think that's crazy that they don't allow a calculator!

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

Former 5th grade teacher: show me you understand the algorithm/formula and do it by hand THEN you can use the calculator.

We had a dose calc every semester, had to make 100% with three tries.

In real life, at least at my facility, usually 2 nurses AND a calculator to do the calculations. Leave no room for error. Someone life may depend on it.

We had to set up the problem correctly and get the right answer in the end, so each 10 question quiz was worth 20 points. Even if the question was "patient is to receive 650mg of X and the Pyxis dispenses 325mg tablets, how many tablets will you give your patient?" You'd better answer 2 and show how you came to that conclusion mathematically.

3 quizzes during every clinical rotation, 6 clinicals, plus a math quiz each week during skills, pharmacology and advanced skills. 80% required to pass. Students fail entire clinicals because of the math quizzes at my school

[Everline]

Yes. Our instructor supplied us with a simple calculator to use.