Online tool aids nurse maths learning

Nursing students in Scotland who want to develop their numeracy skills can access a new online tool.

Forth Valley College has created an e-learning package in response to college lecturers comments. Margaret McCraken, a healthcare lecturer at Forth Valley College, said maths was something that most nursing students did not enjoy.

'This anxiety is mainly down to a lack of confidence and inexperience. We hope that students will use the tool both in class and as part of independent study to strengthen their skills and build confidence,' she said.

Lack of confidence in maths has previously been highlighted as a problem among nurses. An NMC circular, published in February, stated that nurses must be able to 'accurately manipulate numbers as applied to volume, weight and length'.

The tool will be free to Scottish colleges, universities and adult literacy partnerships. The Scottish Funding Council provided the funding for the project which cost £40,000.