Addressing numeracy challenges in education

Numeracy plays an essential role in nursing practice, underpinning vital tasks such as drug calculations, fluid balance management, and patient monitoring. However, many nursing students struggle with the mathematical skills required to succeed in these areas, particularly when faced with the pressure of formal assessments. This is a significant issue, given that the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) mandates a 100% pass rate for drug calculation assessments by the end of a nursing programme to ensure patient safety (NMC, 2018).

In my university, we have an innovative approach to healthcare numeracy education designed to improve student outcomes and confidence. By aligning teaching with real-world nursing practice, simplifying complex exam questions, and incorporating more engaging, practical assessments, this model has achieved considerable success in helping students overcome the barriers they face with numeracy.

For many students, numeracy is a source of anxiety. The concept of maths anxiety, a form of performance anxiety linked to negative emotional responses to mathematical tasks, has been widely documented in education research (Dowker et al, 2016). Nursing students, in particular, may experience high levels of stress when required to solve mathematical problems in timed, highstakes exam settings. This anxiety can lead to poor performance in drug calculations and other numeracy-related tasks, which can be problematic given the importance of accuracy in health care. Incorrect calculations of medication dosages or fluid balances can have serious, even life-threatening, consequences.