Can You Study Nursing in Canada Without Maths?

The demand for nurses worldwide is probably at its highest in recent times. The coronavirus has made the need for medical workers go high. And Canada, like most other nations, is also shopping for nurses ready to work.

However, the first step to becoming a nurse is actually to go through training. Studying as a nurse in Canada will significantly increase your chances of finding a job there or in any other country.

Your Canadian certificate isn’t only valuable in Canada but highly recognized in other parts of the world because of the high education standard in the country.

But if you didn’t pass your maths at secondary school level and wonder if you can gain admission to study nursing without maths, I have something for you.

Nursing in Canada Without Maths
Charming young lady receiving IV infusion at wellness center

Can I Get into Nursing without Maths?

If you want to study nursing, you need maths because maths is a core component for nurses. And this isn’t just in Canada, but roughly in every other country.

To successfully get into a university in Canada for BSc. in nursing, you must have performed excellently in subjects like English, maths, biology, chemistry, and physics at your secondary school level.

So if you intend to get into BSc, nursing in Canada, you must have maths. However, you can get into nursing in Canada even without maths. Here’s how to get into nursing, even if you didn’t pass maths at your O’level.

What You Need to Study Nursing in Canada without Maths

Adult education is available in Canada. Adult ed aims to help students who couldn’t meet credit requirements to get into college or graduate from high school. If you’re a Canadian or a resident, eighteen years or older, you can easily take advantage.

Even as an international student with subject deficiency, adult ed can help you level up. However, because the education system varies by province in Canada, you may have to find out what you should do at your university.

A high school equivalency test is also available to help students make up for their subject shortfalls. But before opting for the test, you have to check the eligibility requirements to determine if you’re eligible. Completing the tests will qualify you to continue your nursing study if you are eligible to take them.

Some schools also offer students who didn’t meet their credit requirements a prenursing year to help them prepare. Before you choose which to opt for, find out from your university what’s available and which they’ll advise you to take.

Here’s a list of some schools that can admit you without maths (for prenursing studies):

  • Langara College
  • University of Regina
  • Loyalist College in Toronto (Toronto Business Collage)
  • College of New Caledonia
  • University of Prince Edward Island
  • Yukon University

What Qualifications Do I Need to Study Nursing in Canada?

As I already mentioned, you must have acceptable credits that’ll qualify you for admission. You may need to check with your university to know what the school will accept for a bachelor of nursing degree.

Some Canadian schools also offer diploma certificates in Nursing. And you can practice with the certificate after graduation, or use them to further your studies. You should check with your university for eligibility requirements if you opt for a diploma.

If you’re an international student intending to study in Canada, you may need more. You must perform reasonably excellently in your language tests, for instance. However, you’ll have to check the requirements for your country.

For postgraduate studies, you must be a registered nurse and have a bachelor’s certificate in nursing. And for doctoral certificates, you must have completed your master’s or an equivalent degree.

Some international students can skip the language tests. But if your country needs a language test for admission, you may need to pass one or a combination of some of these tests:

  • IELTS
  • TOEFL
  • PTE
  • GRE (for postgraduate students)
  • CASPer exam (for PhD students).

Is Math Important for Nursing?

As a nurse, one of your responsibilities will include administering drugs to patients. Good knowledge of maths will help you effectively execute this responsibility.

Whether you’re administering IVRs, medications, or stationed at the pediatric unit, you may always need to perform some maths conversion. Repeating this process over time makes it more natural to you as a nurse, but in the beginning, it’s different.

To administer IVR, you should effectively determine how much a patient needs. Also, when to introduce medications and what quantity of drugs would be sufficient. Even with doctor’s prescriptions, the doctor could have prescribed 150mg of a drug, for instance, but only 100mg is available.

Part of your job will entail ensuring the patients take their complete medication using the available dosage. And working with kids, you may need to consider the children’s weights to ensure you’re administering the proper dosage. You’ll need maths for all these!

Can You Be a Nurse Even if You’re Deficient in Maths?

I want you to understand that probably no one was born a maths genius. And even if there were “genius born mathematicians” somewhere, most nurses don’t fit that category; they learned.

You’ve seen above that excellent maths skills will make nursing easier for you. Math deficiency will significantly reduce your effectiveness in discharging your duties. You may even be unable to complete your nursing training if your maths is terrible.

If your math isn’t good, and you intend to become a nurse, you can work on it. Maths is probably one of the few subjects that will always remain true. ‘5+12’ will always be 17, no matter how many times you try. It means learning maths could be easier than you often imagine.

Take extra lessons, if you have to. Maths teachers will mostly try to simplify mathematical concepts and make them easy to grasp. You can also adopt an extra personal practice, or work with friends, to help you improve.

However, you’re not the only one finding maths difficult. Others also have a hard time with the subject. But you can continually improve with a bit of extra work.

Can I do Nursing with a D in Mathematics?

In general, you must have a minimum of C in your subjects, including maths, to study for a Bachelor of Nursing degree in Canada. However, you could still stand a chance of gaining an admission even with a D.

I’ve already made a list of some schools that can accept you for prenursing, even when you don’t have maths. But you may have to make personal contacts with various institutions to find out if any will be willing to accept you for a full degree, even with a D in maths.

And if you can find a school that’ll be willing to allow you to take a make-up course for your poor math performance, that might be a good opportunity.

How You Can Improve Your Maths

With a little extra time and dedication on your part, you can improve your maths skills. Various resources are available from different sources to help. And you’re not alone in what you may call your lack of math skills, which means you can even find others who are struggling.

Here are some steps that can help you improve:

Online Courses

A web search will readily pop up numerous online platforms where you can learn. You may even find private tutors willing to teach you for a price.

You may find fellow learners on some platforms and form a natural classroom environment. Structured assessments might even be available to help you test and measure how much you’re learning.

YouTube Videos

You may likely agree that YouTube is like “Google” for videos. From “How-tos” to many other topics you want to find, including math classes.

If you’re looking for a specific example, particular topics, or a class covering an entire field of maths. Someone probably already put it up on YouTube with step-by-step explanations. And if there’s something you’re unclear about, you can ask questions in the comment section.

Math Apps and Games

Apps and games aim to make learning maths fun. They often build upon different math concepts over time and might as much as cover entire math topics. Some get more difficult the higher you go.

Study with Friends

To some people, nothing beats that physical interaction with others, where they can see their tutor. If you’re in this category, that’s fine; you’ve not been left out in this seemingly “all technology solutions.”

Take your time to find friends who’ll be willing to teach and help you study or study with you.

Whether you want to adopt one or mix these approaches, consistency is always the key. Practice daily, completely understand a concept before moving to another, and with time you’ll be surprised how much you’ve learnt.

Conclusion

Studying nursing and even practising nursing with ease requires good mathematical skills. However, poor performance or mathematical skills doesn’t mean you should quash your desire to become a nurse.

We’ve discussed some steps you can take to accomplish your desire to study nursing in Canada, including taking prenursing courses.

Sources:

All Nursing Schools: Math Needed in Nursing School

EdSource: No high school diploma? You’ve got options!

Malaria Journal: Relationship between weight status and anti-malarial drug efficacy and safety in children in Mali

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Written By Michael Larry

 

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