Numeracy skills of nursing students

Eastwood, Kathryn; Boyle, Malcolm; Williams, Brett; Fairhall, Robyn

doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2010.12.014

Cited by 57 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…[23,24] The questionnaire consisted of twelve questions with five mathematical questions and seven drug calculations. The drug calculations incorporated commonly used drugs and situations that were familiar to paramedics, e.g.…”

Section: Instrumentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[1,20,21] Research into the calculation ability of Australian paramedic students has found conceptual errors were the most common followed by arithmetical and computational errors. [22,23] This error classification system has been described and utilised in other research and will not be elaborated upon here. [22][23][24] One of the studies by Eastwood et al [25] found that paramedic students were unable to do long division without a calculator and that the mean score for mathematical and drug calculation accuracy was 39.5%.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[22,23] This error classification system has been described and utilised in other research and will not be elaborated upon here. [22][23][24] One of the studies by Eastwood et al [25] found that paramedic students were unable to do long division without a calculator and that the mean score for mathematical and drug calculation accuracy was 39.5%. In a study of paramedic self-reported medication errors Vilke et al [26] found that 63% of the reported errors were related to drug dosage.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drug calculation ability of qualified paramedics: A pilot study

Boyle¹,

Eastwood²

2018

World Journal of Emergency Medicine

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BACKGROUND:The inability of paramedics to perform accurate calculations may result in a compromise of patient safety which may result from under or over dosing of drugs, incorrect joules for defi brillation, or a major adverse event such as death. The objective of this study was to identify the drug calculation and mathematical ability of qualifi ed operational paramedics. METHODS:The study used a cross-sectional design with a paper-based calculation questionnaire. Twenty paramedics enrolled in an intensive care paramedic course were eligible to participate in the study. The questionnaire consisted of demographic, drug calculation (seven questions), and mathematical (fi ve) questions. Students were given no notice of the impending study and use of a calculator was not permitted. RESULTS:All eligible students participated in the study. The average time employed as a paramedic was 7.25 years, SD 2.5 years, range four years to twelve years. Four (20%) students got all 12 questions correct, and fi ve (41.6%) got 50% or less. The average score was 8.6 (71.7%) correct, SD 2.8 correct, range 3 to 12 correct questions. There were eight (40%) conceptual errors, 12 (60%) arithmetical errors, and fi ve (25%) computational errors. CONCLUSION:The results from this study supports similar international studies where paramedic's ability to undertake mathematical and drug calculations without a calculator varies, with some results highlighting the paramedics mathematical skills as a potential risk to patient safety. These results highlight the need for regular continuing mathematical and drug calculation practice and education to ensure a lower error rate.

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Section: Instrumentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drug calculation ability of qualified paramedics: A pilot study

Boyle¹,

Eastwood²

2018

World Journal of Emergency Medicine

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“…O'Shea (2003) found that Irish students perform particularly poorly on biology questions that require mathematical tasks presented in a non-routine format. A study of Australian nursing students by Eastwood et al (2011) highlighted basic mathematical errors in their calculation of drug concentrations, a skill commonly encountered in biology orientated jobs. A decade-long survey of biology students, focusing in the area of plant physiology, revealed persistent weaknesses in students' abilities to answer quantitative questions (Llamas et al, 2012).…”

Section: Numerical Proficiency In Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

A Simulated peer-assessment approach to improve students’ performance in numerical problem-solving questions in high school biology

Scott

2016

Journal of Biological Education

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Basic mathematical fluency is a prerequisite for success in a wide array of areas in biology and it has been noted that many students are deficient in this skill. In this paper, the use of a simulated peer-assessment activity is investigated as a method to improve performance in numerical problem solving questions in high school biology. Additionally, the benefits of using simulated, rather than real, student's answers in peer-assessment is discussed. The study involved a small cohort of students who carried out a simulated peer-assessment as a classroom activity and their improvement in performance and attitude towards the activity was measured. The results demonstrate that a simulated peer-assessment activity is suitable as a replacement for standard peer-assessment and that students' attitudes favour the simulated approach.

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“…In the same sense, Gross (2000) indicated that a lot of teachers from different countries complain about students' poor comprehension of basic quantitative concepts. This includes students of scientific disciplines such as Medicine (Sheridan and Pignone, 2002), Nursing (Eastwood et al, 2011) or Biosciences (Tariq, 2002). In fact, the idea that Biology has often been considered the ideal career for students inclined to science but mathematically challenged has even been pointed out in an editorial note in the "Points of view" section, which appeared in the journal Cell Biology Education (2004; www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC437648).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%