Improving Nursing Student’s Confidence with Dosage Calculation After Implantation of a Comprehensive Teaching Strategy

Abstract

Correct calculation of doses is crucial for nursing students to administer medications safely. Studies show students’ prior experience with mathematical calculations and their self-beliefs in their own mathematics abilities correlate with student success on dosage calculation assessments. Few studies have evaluated a pedagogical strategy designed to strengthen math confidence and learning outcomes of those undergraduate nursing students. The purpose of this study was to describe the experience of nursing students acquiring confidence with dosage calculation skills after the implementation of a comprehensive dosage calculation teaching strategy. Participants ( n =12) were recruited from a four-year nursing program to measure student confidence and experience with a comprehensive dosage calculation teaching strategy using a mixed methods exploratory descriptive survey design. Descriptive statistics and measures of central tendency were used to analyze quantitative data. Grounded Theory methods were used to analyze qualitative data. Students reported high levels of confidence post intervention in the majority of dosage calculation skills. Repetition and review of dosage calculations concepts improved student confidence with dosage calculation.