What field of Nursing has the least and most math?

What do you think?
I am going out on a limb and assuming you are making a decision on what specialty to enter.It is my opinion that choosing a specialty based on how much math is involved is nothing short of limiting yourself.I have never seen floor nursing involve math beyond basic algebra and memorizing or knowing what formulas to look up and use. Plenty of the math is done electronically or by the pharmacy. The convenience is there but, of course, the ultimate responsibility lays with you as a nurse. Learning math is far from impossible and far from the most difficult thing you will encounter as a nurse. I say broaden your horizons completely, go where your heart tells you to go and not where you think your math class grade says you belong.

Adult ICUs omg, they have 20 pumps running at the same time, meds change frequently, meds are due frequently. I have been told that peds and OB requires less math, bc you don't pass a lot of meds.

i would think psych would be less math lol

Quote from healthstarAdult ICUs omg, they have 20 pumps running at the same time, meds change frequently, meds are due frequently..

Dimensional analysis is just about the only math I've ever used in the course of my career. However, most if not all nursing programs require candidates to be proficient in intermediate-level algebra or better, so I should think the OP would want to get those requirements out of the way before considering any nursing specialty...just sayin'.

There is no field in nursing where you don't do some form of math calculation. Math phobias hold so many people back from a job they can really love. Go straight to the Khan academy and start where you already know you're weak. Heck, I work math problems in there all the time to keep my brain sharp. It's good for you and good for your kids. When you're done, you'll laugh. Go there now.

I think possibly PICU/NICU would be more than regular ICU. In PICU/NICU pretty much all the meds from iron drops to dopamine are minimally mg/kg (okay, with dopamine add per min). And in many cases kilograms are done to the thousanths (or grams if you prefer).

Quote from healthstar I have been told that peds and OB requires less math, bc you don't pass a lot of meds.

you will encounter math on any unit. Heck the unit i work on rarely has enough iv pumps for the amount of patients... we have to go back to good old taping the bag and counting drops..... try that with a continuous infusion going, intermittent meds etc etc... best to know the basic equations for all situations

What VivaLasViejas said. By the time you're finished with nursing school, you'll be proficient enough at math that it won't really matter.However, as TiffyRN pointed out, at most facilities the pharmacy doesn't send up the medicines precalculated -- YOU do it on the floor. I hated doing that so much in my Peds rotation that it eliminated that area for me permanently.

I work med/surg and there's nothing but basic dimensional analysis. Most of our IV meds are hung over 30 minutes or an hour, so super simple basic math is required. The only exception is vanc, 250 mL over 90 minutes. Not hard to figure.

Any kind of ICU would have the most kind of math. A lot of drips to maintain all at once going at varying rates (mcg/kg/min, mcg/min, mcg/hr, mg/hr). I think peds has a lot of math involved, too. Most, if not all, pediatric doses are in dose/kg, plus there are all of those fluid maintenance calculations (since kiddos are more prone to dehydration). As for the least, probably psych or postpartum. I could be wrong tho. I hope you are not choosing a specialty based on the amount of math you will have to do...