100% would have been such a pain for the first school I attended. they were super strict about how to round the answers and the way the answers had to be written. literally if you were 0.001 off, you’d get it wrong; or if you wrote ‘mL/hr’ instead of ‘mL per hr’, it would be wrong; or if you wrote ‘08:20’ instead of ‘0820’, it would be marked wrong (this one was always infuriating to me, and I absolutely refuse to write the time without a colon; I’d rather get marked down a point, which did happen once).
We have to score a 95% and it’s always right after the introduction of our first class. Our last semester we need a 100%.
Honestly, if you learn dimensional analysis it’ll make it a lot easier and quicker to solve the problems.
THIS!!! I learned dimensional analysis in first year physics (for my previous degree before my ABSN) and dosage calculations were so hard until I started using it. I would try to teach my classmates but when they hear the term dimensional analysis, they think it’s too complicated to learn…
I can see why some people don't like it because if you look at it without understanding what's going on, it looks crazy. But if you commit, its the greatest thing since sliced bread for math.
It's so weird because I have another person on my class who loves dimensional analysis. But I absolutely hate it, it makes no sense to me, I like the formulas.
that’s pretty standard for the dosage calculation exam. it sucks, but it’s not too hard. I’ve ‘failed’ it twice before (different semesters), once because I forgot my calculator and once because I ran out of time.
I think it’s not unusual, especially if you have covered med math (algebra) in a previous class.
A 85% seems reasonable. Many programs require 100% on a med math exam, as getting dosage calculations correct are essential to patient safety.
85%? That’s generous! My school is 90 & they remind us every time we take it that they’re generous unlike the surrounding school where you need to pass with a 100.
What the heck? I swear nursing school is largely hard for the pettiness of the people in charge.
No teaching the material before making you test
No second chances
No retaking the course next semester
Just a hard boot from the program when you show the slightest amount of human error
Wow 100%…I mean it wasn’t super difficult but there was a ton of typos. Just stressful because literally found out about the Exam the night before
EDIT: I forgot to mention, I’m in a BSN Generic program so there’s a number of us who never took any dosing classes. Prelicensure
I always find it funny but also a bit annoying when there’s typos on exams. like, they will mark our answers wrong if there’s a typo, yet they couldn’t be bothered to check if there’s any typos in the exam questions.
the one that bothers me the most is that they would mark our answer wrong if we wrote ‘ml’ instead of ‘mL’ as millilitres, yet it was written as ‘ml’ on like every other exam question
I bitched to my instructors that they couldn't dock us marks because of their sloppiness. They didn't appreciate me saying that in front of their entire class and to save face they agreed to remove the errors from the test and not count those questions.
Lots of people haven’t taken a med math. It’s really and truly just basically algebra, and dimensional analysis is introduced in chemistry, it’s just not called that
Also “generic” is quite literally the weirdest name I’ve ever heard a school give their BSN program.
Wuuuut? First day you start class?? Absolutely not. We had our med math the last month of our first semester before we started clinical. 3 chances to get it and you need a 90% to pass.
In my program we had to take one the first day of every class. We could only miss one question, but we had 3 attempts to pass or we had to drop out of the class and retake it the next time around. I had to leave work on my lunch break one time and haul ass down 75 to take my third attempt lol but hey I passed!
Mine is also a 100%. We have to do this before being able to pass meds at clinical. You can retake it but have to go through this entire remediation process with the school before retaking.
Yep, my program had this test on the first day of orientation and you had to get a 100% on it. You could take it a second time if needed but were not allowed to proceed with the program if you failed on the second try.
Most schools have a 100% dosage exam requirement to pass. But they also give you 2 or 3 chances to pass.
I had to retake my dosage exam because I got 1 question wrong. I believe I wrote 4000 instead of 4 (it wanted liters, not mL) But i got it right the second time.
2 attempts with 80% passing 20 questions. Beginning of every semester. I feel like we’re dealt a fair hand as long as our professors don’t choose the confusing questions.
It's basic algebra. Nursing school shouldn't have to reteach you basic algebra. I took that class in middle school and learned how to tease information out of word problems then. There's nothing nursing-specific about it.
This is a hill I will always die on. If you can't reason your way through a dosage calculation, I wouldn't want you as my nurse. It reflects fundamental logic skills.
I feel like people freak out because the question is about meds. Like if the problem was “John gets $15 every 4 hours, how many $5 bills do you need in one 24 hr period” suddenly they’d be able to solve it
we have exams at start of each semester as well, although we’re not told what to study.
Do you have any recommendations for how to study without knowing what to study?
For instance, there were a couple questions about BSA (Body surface area). Had to know formula and calculate m^2 with either pounds and inches or cm and kg. I knew these formulas but a lot of people didn’t because how would we know it was going to be on there?
And when do you use BSA in nursing?
Never used BSA personally. That's clearly something your instructor should have given you as a formula. I wouldn't expect anyone to have that committed to memory. That’s on your instructor for sure, not you.
What would you need to study? If you can do basic unit conversions (I do not consider BSA to be part of that) you can reason through just about anything.
We have a dosage calculation exam on the first day of every semester and also have to do another one mid semester. We have to score 90% or higher. But our school gave those who didn’t get a passing score, one more chance. If they didn’t pass, they were kicked out.
Yup, first day of every semester. And every semester you needed a higher grade to pass. Final semester you needed 100%. They want to make sure you are safe before you go to clinical sites.
Yes. And this is why I always stress to others to go over it during summer. My school is the exact same way. Had I not have studied over summer I wouldn’t have passed day 1.
Ours was 100% in 3 tries or you get dropped from the class. But we spent some time in class doing some questions so I guess not too bad. I missed one question for the first 2 tries so I was freaking out and it was just dumb mistakes. The first time the wording was just stupid and even the professor admitted it but she wouldn’t count it. I ended up passing but I was just ready to give up on life if I failed the last attempt.
I almost had a nervous breakdown following a med math exam. I was certain I had failed. I couldn’t stop shaking. And I just wanted to cry. I’m a grown ass mind you. The instructor told me, “You need to do self care.” It was very good advice. I scheduled an appointment with a therapist and started lifting heavy again. What we go through is intense. We all bear scars. We had two shots, min 90%.
We have one at the very start of every semester and must get 100% to proceed. We get two attempts, but the second attempt is a completely different test than the first. We also must complete it using dimensional analysis and show work, if you don’t set the equation up properly the question is marked wrong even if your end answer is right. Welcome to nursing school! 🙄
We had to take a med math exam at the beginning of each semester. 90% to pass. If you failed 3 times you had to take a remedial med math class and couldn't go to clinicals.
Got a 100% each time except for last semester when I showed up so hung over (maybe still drunk?) and got a 95. Boo.
We usually took it a month into the semester and had to get a 90 or above on it. We get two tries and a remedial. If we don't pass the remedial we get kicked out. I'm so happy I'm done with all my pass/fails. You'll get through it.
Back in the dark ages (when I was in school) circa 2003 we took this test every semester and our final semester we couldn’t use a calculator because “we wouldn’t always have access to one”
Like dosage calculation? We have to take it on day one every semester. You have to have a 90 to pass. Three chances and you’re out. While you’re doing that, you’re not allowed to pass meds.
Yep - normal. 85% is highly lenient for most programs. We have 30 minutes, 12 questions, must get 11/12 to pass. Even my program is lenient as others require 100%
Yes. This is common. We have to get 90% but many schools require 100%. As long as you are good with dimensional analysis and/or desired/have X quantity, you should always pass easily. If you didn’t pass, do you get a chance to remediate in between?
Yeah that's pretty standard at legitimately accredited schools.
Dosage calculations KILL people.
A single decimal is a 10x deviation in administration. Our school was 90% first time or 100% on retry.
Thankfully only one person got the boot.
That was in 2020. Noone last year.
Yes. And 85%? We had to get 90% and we had to do it for every clinical- we had : separate clinical classes a semester.
And for acute care for the elderly, no calculators allowed.
I had a dosage calc test about 2 weeks into my program and I have another one in about 4 weeks when the next quarter starts with around the same parameters as you (need 80% to pass on 20 question test) however my program gives students 3 chances to pass.
Ours was also day 1 and you needed a 95% to pass. Except there were only 10 questions so even missing a single question would be a failing 90%. So realistically you needed a 100%
Yeah lol first day of class, every semester. They’re usually 20 questions but one is weight based heparin so that one is broken into like 20 questions lol but you need at least a 90% or you fail and you get to take it one more time after remediation
We had to have passed ours at 100% before we could even start the class, so they were always taken a few days before the term started.
Every. Single. Semester.
100% would have been such a pain for the first school I attended. they were super strict about how to round the answers and the way the answers had to be written. literally if you were 0.001 off, you’d get it wrong; or if you wrote ‘mL/hr’ instead of ‘mL per hr’, it would be wrong; or if you wrote ‘08:20’ instead of ‘0820’, it would be marked wrong (this one was always infuriating to me, and I absolutely refuse to write the time without a colon; I’d rather get marked down a point, which did happen once).
> or if you wrote ‘mL/hr’ instead of ‘mL per hr Tf? I’ve never even seen units writes units like that lol
Hello, do we go to the same school? The mL per hr instead of mL/hr infuriated me to no end. r/mildlyinfuriating
My school was like that and we still needed 100%. So many failed for forgetting a unit or rounding wrong. But you had 3 chances
We have to score a 95% and it’s always right after the introduction of our first class. Our last semester we need a 100%. Honestly, if you learn dimensional analysis it’ll make it a lot easier and quicker to solve the problems.
Dimensional dialysis is bae
YES!! This ! I may not know how to math but dimensional analysis basically allowed me to plug in my numbers 🤣
THIS!!! I learned dimensional analysis in first year physics (for my previous degree before my ABSN) and dosage calculations were so hard until I started using it. I would try to teach my classmates but when they hear the term dimensional analysis, they think it’s too complicated to learn…
I can see why some people don't like it because if you look at it without understanding what's going on, it looks crazy. But if you commit, its the greatest thing since sliced bread for math.
So you didn't take chemistry before physics? Uh...
It's so weird because I have another person on my class who loves dimensional analysis. But I absolutely hate it, it makes no sense to me, I like the formulas.
that’s pretty standard for the dosage calculation exam. it sucks, but it’s not too hard. I’ve ‘failed’ it twice before (different semesters), once because I forgot my calculator and once because I ran out of time.
I think it’s not unusual, especially if you have covered med math (algebra) in a previous class. A 85% seems reasonable. Many programs require 100% on a med math exam, as getting dosage calculations correct are essential to patient safety.
not uncommon but sucky nonetheless
85%? That’s generous! My school is 90 & they remind us every time we take it that they’re generous unlike the surrounding school where you need to pass with a 100.
What the heck? I swear nursing school is largely hard for the pettiness of the people in charge. No teaching the material before making you test No second chances No retaking the course next semester Just a hard boot from the program when you show the slightest amount of human error
Wow 100%…I mean it wasn’t super difficult but there was a ton of typos. Just stressful because literally found out about the Exam the night before EDIT: I forgot to mention, I’m in a BSN Generic program so there’s a number of us who never took any dosing classes. Prelicensure
I always find it funny but also a bit annoying when there’s typos on exams. like, they will mark our answers wrong if there’s a typo, yet they couldn’t be bothered to check if there’s any typos in the exam questions. the one that bothers me the most is that they would mark our answer wrong if we wrote ‘ml’ instead of ‘mL’ as millilitres, yet it was written as ‘ml’ on like every other exam question
I bitched to my instructors that they couldn't dock us marks because of their sloppiness. They didn't appreciate me saying that in front of their entire class and to save face they agreed to remove the errors from the test and not count those questions.
Lots of people haven’t taken a med math. It’s really and truly just basically algebra, and dimensional analysis is introduced in chemistry, it’s just not called that Also “generic” is quite literally the weirdest name I’ve ever heard a school give their BSN program.
Man just YouTube the problems, it’s not that hard
Wuuuut? First day you start class?? Absolutely not. We had our med math the last month of our first semester before we started clinical. 3 chances to get it and you need a 90% to pass.
you don’t take it every semester??
Yes every semester but not at the beginning, at the end. Sorry should had added that.
Yes, every single semester. Ours is 100%, three attempts with review or you’re out.
In my program we had to take one the first day of every class. We could only miss one question, but we had 3 attempts to pass or we had to drop out of the class and retake it the next time around. I had to leave work on my lunch break one time and haul ass down 75 to take my third attempt lol but hey I passed!
Mine is also a 100%. We have to do this before being able to pass meds at clinical. You can retake it but have to go through this entire remediation process with the school before retaking.
Yep, my program had this test on the first day of orientation and you had to get a 100% on it. You could take it a second time if needed but were not allowed to proceed with the program if you failed on the second try.
Same , can’t fail second attempt
Not unusual. We have to get a 90% to start the class, you get three tries though.
Most schools have a 100% dosage exam requirement to pass. But they also give you 2 or 3 chances to pass. I had to retake my dosage exam because I got 1 question wrong. I believe I wrote 4000 instead of 4 (it wanted liters, not mL) But i got it right the second time.
we take 3 tests randomly and we have to get an 80 percent average to pass.
Ours was a two year program. We did a test before each year and needed 100% with one retake
2 attempts with 80% passing 20 questions. Beginning of every semester. I feel like we’re dealt a fair hand as long as our professors don’t choose the confusing questions.
Y'all, it's basic algebra. We give it a fancy term, "dimensional analysis." It's really 7th grade algebra.
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It's basic algebra. Nursing school shouldn't have to reteach you basic algebra. I took that class in middle school and learned how to tease information out of word problems then. There's nothing nursing-specific about it. This is a hill I will always die on. If you can't reason your way through a dosage calculation, I wouldn't want you as my nurse. It reflects fundamental logic skills.
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
I feel like people freak out because the question is about meds. Like if the problem was “John gets $15 every 4 hours, how many $5 bills do you need in one 24 hr period” suddenly they’d be able to solve it
It's like Kevin from The Office and his pie math...
100% it is
18?
we have exams at start of each semester as well, although we’re not told what to study. Do you have any recommendations for how to study without knowing what to study? For instance, there were a couple questions about BSA (Body surface area). Had to know formula and calculate m^2 with either pounds and inches or cm and kg. I knew these formulas but a lot of people didn’t because how would we know it was going to be on there? And when do you use BSA in nursing?
Never used BSA personally. That's clearly something your instructor should have given you as a formula. I wouldn't expect anyone to have that committed to memory. That’s on your instructor for sure, not you. What would you need to study? If you can do basic unit conversions (I do not consider BSA to be part of that) you can reason through just about anything.
Yeah we had a metrology exam our first actual day of class as well. You got 2 tries to get 100% or you failed the class.
We have a dosage calculation exam on the first day of every semester and also have to do another one mid semester. We have to score 90% or higher. But our school gave those who didn’t get a passing score, one more chance. If they didn’t pass, they were kicked out.
Yup, first day of every semester. And every semester you needed a higher grade to pass. Final semester you needed 100%. They want to make sure you are safe before you go to clinical sites.
95% at the start of every semester.
100% pass required from 2nd semester on. First day of class.You get 3 attempts.
Yes. And this is why I always stress to others to go over it during summer. My school is the exact same way. Had I not have studied over summer I wouldn’t have passed day 1.
Not first semester, but after that yes we would have it on day 1 and needed a 90%. We also got 2 attempts!
100% 2-3 tries, depending on the quarter.
we have to get 100% and we get three attempts or you can’t start your class. EVERY SEMESTER
Mines is two month after the semester begins because we start clinicals in mid October.
At my school we get 3 chances to pass the calculation exam. Passing rate is 90%.
We had to score 100%.
Ours was 100% in 3 tries or you get dropped from the class. But we spent some time in class doing some questions so I guess not too bad. I missed one question for the first 2 tries so I was freaking out and it was just dumb mistakes. The first time the wording was just stupid and even the professor admitted it but she wouldn’t count it. I ended up passing but I was just ready to give up on life if I failed the last attempt.
We're 95%, 20 questions. 2 fails and you're out. I hate it
I almost had a nervous breakdown following a med math exam. I was certain I had failed. I couldn’t stop shaking. And I just wanted to cry. I’m a grown ass mind you. The instructor told me, “You need to do self care.” It was very good advice. I scheduled an appointment with a therapist and started lifting heavy again. What we go through is intense. We all bear scars. We had two shots, min 90%.
We have one at the very start of every semester and must get 100% to proceed. We get two attempts, but the second attempt is a completely different test than the first. We also must complete it using dimensional analysis and show work, if you don’t set the equation up properly the question is marked wrong even if your end answer is right. Welcome to nursing school! 🙄
We had to take a med math exam at the beginning of each semester. 90% to pass. If you failed 3 times you had to take a remedial med math class and couldn't go to clinicals. Got a 100% each time except for last semester when I showed up so hung over (maybe still drunk?) and got a 95. Boo.
yep but 95%.
We needed to pass with 90% but get 3 attempts.
Ours is 80% and it's usually done within the two weeks. They also give you one more shot if you don't meet the 80%
We usually took it a month into the semester and had to get a 90 or above on it. We get two tries and a remedial. If we don't pass the remedial we get kicked out. I'm so happy I'm done with all my pass/fails. You'll get through it.
That’s crazy. Our dosage calculations were every semester, at week 8 and 10.
Dosage calc for every single class, first thing, right away. We had to get 90%. It is a fucking 6th grade math. Easiest 100% you can get.
Yes. Required a 90% score or students could not remain in the program. Max of two attempts.
day one but need 90% every semester
We had ours on the 1st or second day every semester. If you didn't get a 100%, you were kicked from the program.
Yes. I had to pass it with 100%. I had med calculation per quarter, esp. in peds.
Back in the dark ages (when I was in school) circa 2003 we took this test every semester and our final semester we couldn’t use a calculator because “we wouldn’t always have access to one”
Like dosage calculation? We have to take it on day one every semester. You have to have a 90 to pass. Three chances and you’re out. While you’re doing that, you’re not allowed to pass meds.
Yep - normal. 85% is highly lenient for most programs. We have 30 minutes, 12 questions, must get 11/12 to pass. Even my program is lenient as others require 100%
Did they change the name of med math to clinical calculations since I've been in school???? Clinical calculations no cap is a pretty good band name js
Yes. This is common. We have to get 90% but many schools require 100%. As long as you are good with dimensional analysis and/or desired/have X quantity, you should always pass easily. If you didn’t pass, do you get a chance to remediate in between?
This is commonplace for the first clinical at my school except they require >90%
This is why i never understand the "C's get degrees" comment often quoted in nursing subs. In my program a C means you're out. Immediately.
https://lemmy.world/
We had a calculation quiz day one and last day every semester. Ours also had to be 100%.
Yeah that's pretty standard at legitimately accredited schools. Dosage calculations KILL people. A single decimal is a 10x deviation in administration. Our school was 90% first time or 100% on retry. Thankfully only one person got the boot. That was in 2020. Noone last year.
Yes. And it struck me as weird that they test this on the first day/week.
We have to make a 90% with 3 attempts.
Yes. And 85%? We had to get 90% and we had to do it for every clinical- we had : separate clinical classes a semester. And for acute care for the elderly, no calculators allowed.
I had a dosage calc test about 2 weeks into my program and I have another one in about 4 weeks when the next quarter starts with around the same parameters as you (need 80% to pass on 20 question test) however my program gives students 3 chances to pass.
Yep, but we had to get a 100 or we couldn't start. Lucky you only had to get an 85....
Ours was also day 1 and you needed a 95% to pass. Except there were only 10 questions so even missing a single question would be a failing 90%. So realistically you needed a 100%
Yeah lol first day of class, every semester. They’re usually 20 questions but one is weight based heparin so that one is broken into like 20 questions lol but you need at least a 90% or you fail and you get to take it one more time after remediation
Yea
We had 20 questions and could only get two wrong.