It can only be speculated why nursing students and
Registered Nurses displayed such poor numerical skills.
One explanation could be that individuals who are anxious
about performing numeracy may be drawn to peopleoriented
and caring careers such as those in healthcare
(Schoenfield 2002). However, an additional important factor
could be the use of calculators and the effect this has on
Nurses’ calculation skills. In the international literature there
is a great deal of debate on this issue. For example, Segatore
et al. (1993) and Bliss-Holtz (1994) have argued that
calculators are commonly present in clinical areas and that
their use reduces computational errors. Hutton (1998) also
thought that calculators might as well be used as they are
freely available in most clinical areas and nurses are accustomed
to using them in performing numerical calculations.
However, Shockley et al. (1989) demonstrated in their study
with pre-registration nursing students that, although the use
of calculators reduced the number of arithmetic (computational)
errors made by the students in performing calculations,
using calculators also increased the number of
conceptual errors by giving students a false sense of security.
Although calculators can help with basic arithmetic, they
cannot tell the user which data to input and how to interpret
the results. By solely using calculators, users become deskilled
in mental arithmetic. As a result, they start to lose their
‘feeling’ for what would be considered a ‘reasonable’ answer,
and this may lead to errors going unnoticed.
It can only be speculated why nursing students and
Registered Nurses displayed such poor numerical skills.
One explanation could be that individuals who are anxious
about performing numeracy may be drawn to peopleoriented
and caring careers such as those in healthcare
(Schoenfield 2002). However, an additional important factor
could be the use of calculators and the effect this has on
Nurses’ calculation skills. In the international literature there
is a great deal of debate on this issue. For example, Segatore
et al. (1993) and Bliss-Holtz (1994) have argued that
calculators are commonly present in clinical areas and that
their use reduces computational errors. Hutton (1998) also
thought that calculators might as well be used as they are
freely available in most clinical areas and nurses are accustomed
to using them in performing numerical calculations.
However, Shockley et al. (1989) demonstrated in their study
with pre-registration nursing students that, although the use
of calculators reduced the number of arithmetic (computational)
errors made by the students in performing calculations,
using calculators also increased the number of
conceptual errors by giving students a false sense of security.
Although calculators can help with basic arithmetic, they
cannot tell the user which data to input and how to interpret
the results. By solely using calculators, users become deskilled
in mental arithmetic. As a result, they start to lose their
‘feeling’ for what would be considered a ‘reasonable’ answer,
and this may lead to errors going unnoticed.
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