Health Care Skills: Math and Medication Dosage Skills
By School Companion


I borrowed Math and Medication Dosage Skills from the library expecting to be shown how to use math with medications, Nursing or other Health Care fields. Well, my expectations were somewhat wrong. Thus, I wondered how I got such a wrong expectation and what should I tell you to expect.

In the beginning, I judged the DVD by its title. Therefore, I would say the title was misleading. I do not think their intent was to teach math skills after watching the video, but, in my opinion, the title implies otherwise. Also, if I would have noticed the length of the DVD, I would have known this was not an in-depth math lesson. It is only eight minutes long. Just think if I would have paid $69 plus for this DVD, I would have been very upset. Actually, I didn’t pay, and I was still somewhat perturbed. Thankfully, I took advantage of my tax dollars and borrowed it from the library.

Now, let me enlighten you of a more realistic expectation. There were two knowledgeable speakers both from the same community college representing the Pharmacy Technician program and the Nursing program. They shared their expertise throughout the video. View Math and Medication Dosage Skills to learn what particular math skills are needed for Health Care careers in general and administering medication. In addition, tips to remember were given throughout the video. Tips such as use a calculator, practice math skills and double check labels were recommended. Examples of application were given and demonstrated with real world examples. As far as math, it was pointed out that the main thing to learn for medical math is Algebra, conversions and decimals. However, if a student mastered the basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division which is used in conversions and algebra, they would do well in their health care profession. Therefore, a more appropriate title was displayed at the beginning of the DVD, Quick Tips to Health Care: Career and Skills.

In summary, the presentation was well done. In hindsight, I would assume one of the objectives of this presentation was to relieve any math anxiety for students, and its price reflects a license for school use. Yet, I still believe the title is misleading about the contents. I’ll leave it up to you whether you think it’s worth the price.