5 Ways to Make Med Math Easier

In this video, we're walking through five ways to make med math easier. Med math or dose calc can be really stressful in nursing school. But thankfully there are some key strategies that you can use to make it so much easier. So we're going to talk about what those are in this video. Let's do it. So the first thing that you always need to make sure you are doing is starting with the end in mind. You need to know what units you need to end up with, at least at the end. What is the question actually asking you for? My friend, there have been so many times where I have gotten to a dose count question and answered it. The answer that I thought that it was asking for, but it was actually not asking for that unit. Read the problem again. Make sure you understand what the question is actually asking you for. What unit is it? Is it milliliters? Is it grams? Is it tablets? You have to know what the question is actually asking you for so that you can solve for that. So start with the end in mind. When you are solving med math problems, make sure to put the units on the right hand side of your paper so you know what you are solving for and you don't accidentally get the question wrong just because you were solving for the wrong thing. Now tip number two is to absolutely know your dose count conversions. Your school may or may not give these to you. Definitely plan for them, not giving them to you. You should have these memorized. You should remember them. So all your dose count conversions, make sure that you know them before you go into your ex. Now I have a free cheat sheet to help you out with this. You can learn them. That link is down below in the description for you to snag that after you watch this video. Now tip number three, and this is huge, huge, huge my friend. For med use dimensional analysis, not formulas. I get so much pushback on this constantly. This is probably one of the biggest controversial things that I say here on this channel. You should not use formula formulas when you are learning and doing answering dose calc problems. Here's why. When you are using formulas, they might work for some problems that you are answering in nursing school. But when you use formulas, especially as you advance through your nursing program, a lot of those formulas will end up breaking. They will not work as the problems get more complicated and complex. It depends on what the question is actually asking you for. What is your nursing school requiring of you in that question? And oftentimes any formulas that you use will not work because the problem is just too complicated. There's multiple conversions that you have to do and all of that. So I always recommend that you use dimensional analysis or what's also called the railroad track method to solve med math problems. It just makes it so much easier as you go, especially as you go through your nursing program, because you know that you're going to get it right every single time. The thing with formulas is that they will break as you advance to your program. And it's also tough because sometimes you don't know which one to use for which problem. So that can end up being really confusing. When you get to your exam, you're trying to figure it out. Don't do that to yourself. Don't add extra stress to yourself when you're taking that dose exam. So use dimensional analysis or that railroad track method, not formulas. Now, the next thing to keep in mind, and this is a really, really big one, I hear this all the time from nursing students. Do not tell yourself that you are bad at math, my friend. You can learn anything. I hear it all the time from nursing students. I'm bad at math and I can't do dose calc. I can't do my math and all the things. It's not true. You can absolutely learn how to do this, my friend. I am here for you. You can do this. If you're telling yourself you're bad at math, you're just going to get discouraged. It's not going to be fun and it's, it's going to be way more stressful, way more overwhelming than it has to be. So please, please, please don't tell yourself that you are bad at ma. Reality is you can learn how to do this. You will learn how to do this, and you absolutely can pass your dose calc exam. Now the key to this, of course, is tip number five, which is practice, practice, practice over and over and over again. It does take time. You are not bad at math, my friend. It just takes repetition. It takes practice to get it right. So make sure that you are doing any practice problems that your school gives you. If you're a nursing SOS member, we have an entire dose calc course with tons of practice problems for you. We also have all the videos that walk you through, step by step, how to answer every dose count question that you would need to answer on your exam in nursing school. So make sure that you check out those resources that are available to you because it's going to help you so, so much. We are absolutely here for you, my friend. The more practice you get, the better off you're going to be when you get to your exam. Now I have a very defined six step process that will help you pass your dose calc exam and get every single question right time and I'm going to walk you through how to do that in this video right here. So be sure to check that out. And if you love this video, write love in the comments below. Hit that like button. Share this video with a friend who might also need help with this. And my friend, go become the nurse that God created only you to be and I will see you over there in that next video.