Drug Calculation and the Mathematics required for Nursing

Mathematics is a very old discipline and the teaching of mathematics has a long tradition. However in today’s university the need for students to apply some form of mathematics in their studies is ever increasing, and none more so than in the case of nursing. During 1999 the publication of the Government’s ‘Making a Difference’ document set out an agenda for significant change in the way that preregistration nurses are educated and trained to meet professional standards, the needs of the NHS and the complex demands of health and social care in the 21st century. In response London South Bank University (LSBU) launched a new curriculum for pre-registration Nursing in September 2000. The new programme was developed with educationalists at LSBU and colleagues in health and hospital trusts. Nursing had previously been taught and studied in teaching hospitals and separate from the traditional university system, but the modern nursing student is now part of the university system. At LSBU students do their practical work in local hospitals and the majority of their studies at one of LSBU’s campuses.