Expert: Josh - 7/5/2006

Question
My daughter is just about to commence the Diploma in Pre Enrolled Nursing in Adelaide Australia. Although she completed High School she did not do maths in her last 2 years. Pre Enrolled Nursing requires a good knowledge of basic measurement. Are you aware of any good texts or on-line services that would assist her to catch up in this area.

Answer
Mate,

Good to receive a question from an Aussie. I actually live in Sydney. When I did my HSC, I purchased an Excel study guide which summarises all the topics in the syllabus. But that was ten years ago. You should definitely check the syllabus written by the state education department.

Although the situation in SA might be different, I'm sure you can find plenty of examples, with worked solutions, in such a study guide. In NSW, students can also buy papers (with solution) compiled by the Board of Studies from past exams. You can certainly enquire about this from a reputable bookstore and centers which offer tutorial service.

For people who have not done "General Mathematics", or whatever the pre-requisite might be, universities and TAFE sometimes offer bridging courses over the summer period. It's worth checking this out and seeking advance from the director of first year studies with the relevant school in the faculty. They would be able to advise how to enrol in these, if applicable. If your daughter knows anyone, may be even friends of friends, who has done the course, borrow notes from them; since they no longer need it. Do some scouting to get an idea what she can expect and share their experience. The good old textbook used by her friends may also be worthwhile looking at.

Typical things she might be expected to know may include understanding and performing physical/biomedical measurements.

Some appreciation of the following would be helpful, I would imagine. Understanding geometry (e.g., formula for the area of a circle) would allow you to calculate, say, the volume of liquid in a syringe with a certain cross-section area. Prior exposure to chemistry might also serve her well (though by no means indispensible). For health science, some conceptual understanding of density, might be helpful. Such background knowledge may help understanding how MRI and CT scans produce images showing tissue and bone density. The notion of density will also arise in preparing various substances, e.g., intravenous fluid with drugs at a prescribed concentration. No doubt the physiology lessons will touch on systolic pressure, blood flow; these principles may also be explained and modelled by mathematics.

My advice is not to worry too much, talk with the first year director, or second year students in your chosen course to find out exactly what knowledge gaps you need to fill. Spend time learning concepts in relevant areas that are pertinent to your studies. Good luck!

Cheers