Math in EMS

[Michael]

been doing MATH and no one told me

"Well, what do you know about that! These forty years now, I've been speaking in prose without knowing it!" ~ Molière (1622-1673)

[web:79e88bf78f]http://www.comedie-francaise.fr/biographies/ima_bios/moliere.jpg[/web:79e88bf78f]

[iMac]

what is math?...It's interesting to see that some of the best paramedics out there are also the worst with their math. I have worked with a large number of paramedics who really only knew how to do the equations required to calculate drugs, anything else out of what is required in medicine and they had no idea.

[dropdeded]

Heres an online program I have, it lets you learn at your own pace. I SUCK at math but when I have time..... Its something like $19.00 a month, dont know if its worth it to you but if it is, good luck.

http://www.aleks.com/

[Medic_Kidd]

Yeah, I pretty much stink at math, but have gotten a little better since our instructor drills us constantly with drug calculations. Sometimes we get to use a formula sheet and calculator... sometimes not. When we do drip sets, she makes up random numbers for us to calculate. So we end up with 29,076 gtts/min. I don't know about you, but wouldn't that be a steady flow from a garden hose running into them?

Best of luck with your math in class. Hopefully it won't be too bad. Luckily I am getting better at it, so it all worked out for me so far.

[paraloco]

I sometimes use mathematical expressions in my documentation. ex. 2pack/day smoker x 25 years straight out of algebra 1

at the very least, you need to be able to manipulate fractions. How many of you chart with mathematical symbols, like less than, greater than, greater than or equal to, etc. I use them also on the mechanical checklist, ie., diesel > 1/2 tank, main O2 <500psi Do you chart pain as 2/10, 10/10 ?