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| *Ostroff, Fair and Company>>>Health Care |
Question for Nurses (or similar) I'm enrolling in a nursing program (Pls see details)? |
I have a passion for the medical industry, this is what I want to do. I am getting frustrated because my passion is being fizzled by my lack of mathematics skills. Even the entrance exam is filled with complex fractions, geometry etc that I just am having a hard time grasping. I am very competent in basic math like adding, subtracting, multiplication, division and BASIC fractions, but all this other stuff is just doing my head in. I'm even considering not doing this as a career if I have to perform complicated math on a daily basis. My question is, how complicated is the math you do in your job on a daily basis, I know you have to measure meds like give a patient 150mg etc, I have a small child that needs medicine daily so I am used to this, but how complicated does it get. Should I just look for a different career (that doesn't involve math?). THANKS Hello: Hi hun,first of all I want to say that I am very happy to hear that you want to become a nurse,congratulations. However,with that being said,this profession is not an easy one if you struggle with mathematics because I use math on a daily basis figuring out medication doses,helping patients figure out how much meds they need to take,helping to calm down hysterical parents whose children are ill and they need to know NOW how much medicine their child is to have,etc.. There is NOTHING WRONG with getting with a math tutor and maybe they can figure out why you are struggling or have a hard time understanding the more complex mathematical skills that you need in order to become a nurse. I say if you have the DRIVE,the PASSION,and THE DESIRE to DO WHATEVER IT TAKES to become a nurse than GO FOR IT! We NEED PEOPLE LIKE YOU WHO WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Please seek some sort of tutoring and or even talk to a college counselor and see if maybe they can find resources for you in order to help you with your mathematic skills. A winner never quits and a quitter never wins! It sounds like you have the drive and the desire to become a nurse,so now it is time to put your plan into action and you can accomplish anything that you put your mind,heart,and soul to! Good luck and Best wishes ((HUGS)) Source(s): Nurse and Mother The first person gave a great answer. I wanted to add that I think that technology in nursing has made it much easier in terms of the math aspect. The hardest thing for me going into nursing was having to get some basic algebra in order to take chemistry. I had to get a tutor - my school offered free student tutors who were excellent. And then, once in nursing school, the same sort of calculations I learned for chemistry were used to figure out IV drip rates. You get problems like this (and this is about as hard as it will get): Your IV fluid comes in 1000ml, the medication that is added to the fluid is 20 milligrams. You have tubing that is 15drops per milliliter. If you have an order to administer the fluid at a rate of 20 micrograms per minute, how many drops per minute will have to flow through your pump, and how many milliliters? I can do it, but it takes me a little more time, and I always am unsure of myself (even when right) so I always ask another person to double check my equasions. It's nice working as a nurse in my facility though, I never have to calculate complex IV drip rates or anything because we have computerized pumps that do the conversions and calculations for you. But IMO, that's the most complex math aspect of nursing in terms of figuring out things. Passing pills and those kind of dosages are easy.There's a lot of numbers to remember (not exactly math) like common lab results that eventually you will want to know the range of normal off the top of your head. RN The math is hard in school, but once you get into the field, you wont need that math b/c you will have a calculator. Don't give up on your dram just work a little harder. Find someone who can teach you the tricks on how to pass the test... You already have some good answers, I just want to add that computers help and work great for a lot of the drug math but not always. The hospital changed vendors for some of our drugs and it changed the calculation that figured the drip rate for you and you have to do it by hand. Hopefully you will find a tutor or an instructor that can make it easy for you and when you find a way that works use it. Some nursing instructors are bent on you using their way when it is not the only way. And by the way we are not all ladies. RN/RRT |
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