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?

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

This is school where one is learning and being tested, not work.

No one is objecting to the need for calculators in maintaining accuracy on the hospital floor. But in school, one should be expected to prove that they know basic math. And this is essentially very basic math that any degree seeking student should be able to do without a calculator.

[StudentOfHealing]

This!!!!

..... No one here is saying they can't... Its a whole lot simpler and safe. (:

[StudentOfHealing]

It's basic math not that hard. It's scary to think nurses can't do simple dosage calculations without a calculator.[/quote']

No one is saying they can't without a calculator

Exactly what posters said above. It is much simpler and safer. I can do long division. I have no issues with math. A timed test doesn't mix well with long division and long hand multiplying. We get 60 seconds per math question. We also need to get a 90%. The state of Texas permits the use of the NCLEX generated calculator for a reason.

I would hope nursing students learned long division in 3rd grade and were tested then, not now. I doubt many disciplines test their students to see how efficient/fast they are at long division.

[realnursealso/LPN, LPN]

It's basic math, not that hard. It's scary to think nurses can't do simple dosage calculations without a calculator.

I totally agree. Why would you need a calculator? We had to do our calculations on our own.

[SilleLu]

We had to do some longhand and calculators were allowed on others.

What I though was crazy is that 80% was passing. So if I were to give you 10 meds today, you'd be ok with two of them being wrong?? I agree with the ones that have to get 100% to pass.

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

Yes, they provide us with calculators on any exam that includes calculations. In the real world, we use calculators.

[Jill2Shay]

Yes, and they provided them.

[Stoogesfan]

We were not allowed to use calculators.

[RedSoxFan84]

We could not use a calculator, and had to get a 100% on our last dosage exam. All you can do is practice, practice, practice; it will make it easier!!

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

I would hope nursing students learned long division in 3rd grade and were tested then, not now. I doubt many disciplines test their students to see how efficient/fast they are at long division.

I would hope that they were tested on basic grammar, writing skills and spelling. However, given what I have seen and the exams that I have graded, many of them would have failed miserably. I have also dealt with many nursing students that could not perform basic math functions.

In school, nursing students are required to either test out or take some classes that they should have previously taken and passed in grade/high school. There is subtantially variation regarding what is satisfactory, depending on the schools the student may have attended. That is the reason some schools require proof that the student can do basic math.

I have known many disciplines that test students on the basic knowledge that forms part of the foundation of their practice.

[SaoirseRN]

It seems silly. It isn't your long division skills being tested, but rather your understanding of how to calculate the dosages. No calculator is going to provide a correct answer if you don't understand the process, so for those not allowed calculators it seems as though all that they are doing is making a lot of extra work that in the end, doesn't matter. Calculators are readily available at work. Isn't it more important to test your understanding of how to calculate a dose than whether you can do long division?

[scrlet]

We are allowed calculators, but we have to show all of our work for every question. So they are more for us to check our work.