Concerns about numeracy skills of nursing students

Accurate mathematical calculation is a critical skill that nurses must demonstrate in order to administer medications safely. The ability of undergraduate nurses to calculate the correct dosage of medication consistently has been a concern of schools of nursing for a long time. This study explores the ability of a group of nursing students to calculate mathematical drug problems within an English University. A convenience sample of 37 second year nursing students volunteered to complete a 10-item drug calculation test, requiring understanding of simple division and multiplication, percentages, ratio and proportion, conversion of units and multiple-stage procedures. The students' median correct score was 6 out of 10 (range 0-9). No one achieved full marks. Only 3 were able to achieve 9 out of 10, indicating that, on average, students were unable to achieve 90% mastery. This finding supports past literature and is of concern. It is of concern that these student nurses did not have the ability to perform drug calculations at a 90% mastery level. It has been recommended that admission requirements be reviewed, and that students are tested throughout their programme and that skills are reinforced both in the classroom and practice setting. This could be achieved using a variety of methods, supporting a teaching and learning framework to integrate analytical and procedural competence underpinned by the creation of national standards. Also, both educators and practitioners must take responsibility for ensuring adequate support and guidance are available to student nurses.