BMJ Publishing Group, Emergency Medicine Journal, 3(30), p. 241-242, 2012
DOI: 10.1136/emermed-2011-200929
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AIM: The objective of this study was to determine if undergraduate paramedics could accurately perform common drug calculations and basic mathematical computations normally required in the workplace. METHOD: A descriptive paper-based questionnaire collecting demographical data, student attitudes regarding their drug calculation performance, and answers to a series of basic mathematical and drug calculation questions was administered to undergraduate paramedic students. RESULTS: The mean score was 39.5% with only 3.3% of students (n=3) scoring greater than 90%, and 63% (n=58) scoring 50% or less. Conceptual errors made up 48.5%, arithmetical 31.1% and computational 17.4%. CONCLUSION: This study suggests undergraduate paramedics have deficiencies in performing accurate calculations with conceptual errors indicating a fundamental lack of mathematical understanding.