Increasing nursing students' understanding and accuracy with medical dose calculations: A collaborative approach

Mackie, Jane; Bruce, Catherine D.

doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2016.02.018

Cited by 42 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…8,37 A further suggestion is for a greater integration of the MCA into undergraduate and postgraduate teaching programs for nurses and health care professionals as it has been established that an increase in training in a particular subject can increase knowledge in that particular area. [38][39][40][41] This work has focused on the MCA and its implementation within England and Wales. However, it is suggested that these findings are transferrable on a wider global scale where the assessment of mental capacity takes place.…”

Section: Implication For Nursing Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

The Mental Capacity Act: 10 years on – the key learning areas for healthcare professionals

Marshall¹,

Sprung²

2018

NRR

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The Mental Capacity Act (MCA) became statute law in England and Wales from October 2007 and was described as a visionary piece of legislation for its time, which had the potential to give people a voice and an opportunity to be heard. However, 10 years on, the Act is not being utilized in the UK as was intended. A scrutiny report published by the House of Lords in 2014 1 identified that the MCA was not embedded into the everyday practice of health care professionals due to the lack of knowledge, understanding, and confidence in the application of the basic principles of the MCA in clinical settings. The Department of Health produced a response document, which placed improvements in the implementation of the MCA at the forefront of the political agenda in order to empower and safeguard those deemed the most vulnerable in society. It is envisaged that this response will require a shift in the culture of health care professionals to view the MCA as a mandatory part of clinical practice and not an option. With the prevalence of people with impairment of mind or brain set to rise in the coming years, it is of vital importance that the MCA is used proactively in order to provide a protection for both patients and practitioners.

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Section: Implication For Nursing Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

The Mental Capacity Act: 10 years on – the key learning areas for healthcare professionals

Marshall¹,

Sprung²

2018

NRR

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“…[5] Factors that have an impact on the ability to correctly calculate medication doses have been identified as lack of proficiency in numeracy, challenges in correctly conceptualizing the problem, math anxiety and lack of self-efficacy, teaching strategies, and lack of practice opportunities during education to solidify this skill. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] The aim of this study was to explore which factors are the key predictors of performance on a medication dosage calculation test. The variables studied were: level of math anxiety; program of study; the number of study strategies used to prepare for the test; arithmetic ability; age; and math personality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This study was done with first year nursing students at a Canadian university. While only limited work assessing capacity has been published, [9,12,17] anecdotal evidence from both faculty and students indicate that a problem in accurately calculating medication doses exists in most Canadian schools of nursing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relationship between math personality, math anxiety, test preparation strategy and medication dose calculations in first year nursing students

Osahor

Woodend

Mackie

2019

JNEP

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The objectives of this study were twofold: (1) To determine the predictors of performance on a medication dose calculation test in first year baccalaureate nursing students. The variables studied were: level of math anxiety; math personality; arithmetic ability; program of study; age; and the number of strategies used to prepare for a medication dose calculation test. (2) To determine the factors that affect math anxiety. The variables studied were: arithmetic ability, program of study, math personality, the number of test preparation strategies used and age. Participants consisted of a convenience sample (n = 163) from the first year of a Canadian baccalaureate nursing program. Participants completed a mathematics test, which served as a baseline measure of arithmetic ability. They also completed a series of online questionnaires on math anxiety and math personality, age and program of study (compressed program vs. collaborative program). Participants then completed a medication dose calculation test after which they were asked how many different strategies that they had used in preparation for the test. Performance on the medication dose calculation test was regressed on arithmetic ability, mathematics anxiety, program of study, mathematics personality, the number of test preparation strategies and age. Math anxiety was regressed on pretest score, program of study, math personality, the number of test preparation strategies used and age. The variables found to predict performance on the medication dose calculation test were anxiety and program of study. Of the predictors investigated, only the “Inchworm” math personality and number of test preparation strategies used by students significantly predicted anxiety. Strategies to improve nursing students’ ability to perform dosage calculations should incorporate anxiety-reducing tactics as anxiety was found to be a key predictor of performance on the medication dose calculation test. These strategies should focus on supporting students who possess an “inchworm” math personality.

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“…Ensuring that all nurses are provided with the fundamental numeracy skills required to perform medication calculations remains a challenge in Australian undergraduate nursing education (Mackie & Bruce, 2016). This is exacerbated by the changing needs with increased student diversity (Measor, Wilcox, & Frame, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of mathematics self‐efficacy on numeracy performance in first‐year nursing students: A quasi‐experimental study

Gregory

Villarosa

Ramjan

et al. 2019

Journal of Clinical Nursing

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Aim and objectives To examine the factors that influence nursing students’ mathematics self‐efficacy, the effect of numeracy instruction on self‐efficacy, and the association between self‐efficacy and numeracy test performance. Background Medication administration errors, including administering incorrect dosages or infusion rates, can result in serious harm to patients. Hence, it is essential that nursing students are adequately prepared with the necessary numeracy skills during their nursing program. Design This quasi‐experimental cohort study used a pre‐ and post‐test survey design. The study complied with the STROBE checklist for cohort research. Methods In total, n = 715 undergraduate first year nursing students participated in the study from June to October 2017 at a single multi‐campus university in the Western Sydney region of Australia. Data were collected at three time‐points: (a) baseline, including assessing pre‐instruction mathematics self‐efficacy (NSE‐Math scale); (b) 6‐week follow‐up; including assessing post‐instruction mathematics self‐efficacy; and (c) numeracy test performance was collected at 7‐week follow‐up. Findings At baseline, those with high NSE‐Math scale scores were more likely to be male and have at least high school advanced mathematics level education. Following structured numeracy instruction, NSE‐Math scale scores increased significantly, and those who obtained a satisfactory grade in their numeracy assessment were more likely to have high NSE‐Math scale scores and high academic performance in the previous semester. Conclusion The study shows that structured numeracy instruction improved mathematics self‐efficacy, which in turn influenced numeracy test performance. Relevance to clinical practice Using a structured medication numeracy pedagogical approach, to teach skills in nursing undergraduate programs, provides students with the foundations to improve mathematics self‐efficacy and to be successful and safe with medication numeracy calculations and administration in clinical practice.

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Increasing nursing students' understanding and accuracy with medical dose calculations: A collaborative approach

Cited by 42 publications

References 21 publications

The Mental Capacity Act: 10 years on – the key learning areas for healthcare professionals

The Mental Capacity Act: 10 years on – the key learning areas for healthcare professionals

The relationship between math personality, math anxiety, test preparation strategy and medication dose calculations in first year nursing students

The influence of mathematics self‐efficacy on numeracy performance in first‐year nursing students: A quasi‐experimental study

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Increasing nursing students' understanding and accuracy with medical dose calculations: A collaborative approach

Cited by 42 publications

References 21 publications

The Mental Capacity Act: 10 years on &ndash; the key learning areas for healthcare professionals

The Mental Capacity Act: 10 years on &ndash; the key learning areas for healthcare professionals

The relationship between math personality, math anxiety, test preparation strategy and medication dose calculations in first year nursing students

The influence of mathematics self‐efficacy on numeracy performance in first‐year nursing students: A quasi‐experimental study

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The Mental Capacity Act: 10 years on – the key learning areas for healthcare professionals

The Mental Capacity Act: 10 years on – the key learning areas for healthcare professionals