What are resources you used to be quicker at nursing math?

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Specializes in Detox.

I'm currently in a pre-nursing course at an adult school. If I can manage passing the class and securing an interview, I'll be starting their VN program in January.

So far, I can see that math plays a huge part in the assignments. I've been practicing the worksheets they gave me on things like military time vs. AM/PM, temperature conversions, and dosage calculations (conversions and measurements).

Are there any methods, tricks, or tips on how to master these skills faster? I know most of it is considered simple math but I seem to struggle with it or am slow to solve them.

If you guys can tell me what worked for you, that would be awesome!

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I made flashcards, lists, and practiced problems in the math textbook that is required for my program. Flashcards helped me the most for the household/metric conversions. I think of military time, temperature, and my preferred dosage calculation method as formulas that I memorize so I’m never lost. When answering a problem I just remember the formula and plug in the values, then do the calculations. I know some of my classmates made visuals to better understand the household conversions and military time.

If the actual calculations are the challenging part, I would suggest specifically practicing the division, multiplication, etc. to master that first.

Remembering that the metric system is just multiples of 10 helps when converting between units. When going from a bigger unit (ex: grams) to a smaller unit (ex: milligrams), you move the decimal point 3 places to the right. When going from small to big, it’s 3 places to the left.

Hopefully you’ll find what works for you!

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Specializes in Mental Health.

Learn dimensional analysis and you can throw all the equations away forever. It’s intimidating for some people at first, but IMO it’s way easier than memorizing 25 different equations.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

One caution: Accurate is 1,000,000,000,000 times more important than quick.

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Specializes in ob/gyn.

As someone who struggles with even "simple" math, I agree that learning dimensional analysis makes things a lot simpler and faster while still being accurate! I linked the book I used below. It has tons of practice problems with step-by-step instruction. Also, setting your phone to military time can help you get used to it.

https://www.amazon.com/Clinical-Calculations-Made-Easy-Dimensional/dp/1496302826

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