Throughout the course of the year, I have spoken to a number of nurses at careers events. A common theme has come up a few times now, so it’s something that I just can’t ignore!! I had to write an article about it!!

As the title of this article implies, it’s to do with the numbers. The numbers in nursing. And by this I mean the maths. The calculations. The stuff that goes on inside a nurses’ head.

You see, as nurses go about their daily tasks, they come across many calculations that they need to be able to do accurately, and often under pressure. The most obvious example is calculating the dosages of medications. It is often the role of the doctor to prescribe a medication, and the role of the nurse to administer it to the patient.

So no, I’m not saying that you need to become a mathematical whizz to be a good nurse. But there are some basic calculation skills you will need to master.

A paper published in a Greek Journal in 2013 was based around the results of a literature review of the mathematical knowledge and drug calculation skills of nurses and nursing students. It found that nursing students had poor mathematical knowledge and drug dosage calculation skills, and that professional nurses are more likely to have sufficient skills in this area. While the study stated that this might be an issue for nursing schools to focus on, My Health Career is of the opinion that it is up to nursing students both current and future, to be aware of this as one of the important competencies on the path to becoming a nurse, and to take responsibility for becoming proficient in this area.

Here is a video featuring a nurse who talks about some of the calculations they do on a daily basis:

Amanda – founder My Health Career. :-)