title: Math anxiety, self-efficacy, and ability in British undergraduate nursing students.
abstract: Nurses need to be able to make drug calculations competently. In this study, involving 229 second year British nursing students, we explored the influence of mathematics anxiety, self-efficacy, and numerical ability on drug calculation ability and determined which factors would best predict this skill. Strong significant relationships (p < .001) existed between anxiety, self-efficacy, and ability. Students who failed the numerical and/or drug calculation ability tests were more anxious (p < .001) and less confident (p ≤ .002) in performing calculations than those who passed. Numerical ability made the strongest unique contribution in predicting drug calculation ability (beta = 0.50, p < .001) followed by drug calculation self-efficacy (beta = 0.16, p = .04). Early testing is recommended for basic numerical skills. Faculty are advised to refresh students' numerical skills before introducing drug calculations.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health, Education and Society, University of Plymouth, Peninsula Allied Health Centre, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK.
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McMullan
authors.forename: Ray
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lea
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D001076:Aptitude; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D054796:Drug Dosage Calculations; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D008875:Middle Aged; D011581:Psychological Tests; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult