This suggests that they found the everyday calculations too easy to call them 'mathematics'. However, the post-test results were still poor. The students were particularly poor at applying mathematical concepts to problems written in words. This poor test performance was not reflected in clinical areas. Perhaps applying the mathematics to a practical situation, such as giving medication, is not seen as mathematics, but as a routine part of the nurse's job.
Practical application gives a purpose or context to the calculation.
In most clinical areas, mathematical calculations are minimal and generally not difficult. The nurse learns, through experience, the common dosage of particular drugs or the usual amount of feed for a baby of a particular size. Recognising erroneous amounts becomes common sense. The students interviewed had limited experience of clinical nursing, but more so than when they took the written test. They suggested that they had learned through 'doing' more than they had in the classroom.