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Published on: July 24, 2021
How do nurses solve drug calculation problems?
1University of Greenwich, Avery Hill Campus, Eltham, London, SE9 2UG, United Kingdom. k.wright@gre.ac.uk
Unlabelled:
This article reports on a pilot study that examined the cognitive processes and strategies used by senior nurses to solve written drug calculation problems.
Methodology:
Verbal protocol methodology was used to gain and analyse data from eight senior nurses now working in the education setting. The data was analysed using verbal protocol analysis.
Results:
Nurses used a range of strategies to solve the problems, not just the nursing formula. The cognitive processes of the nurses showed a larger number of steps devoted to problem representation and only a few steps devoted to actually solving the problem.
Conclusion:
Nurse educators need to consider the importance of problem representation in solving drug calculations and in particular ensure that written questions are representative of clinical practice.
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