What math do you need for nursing?

If you go blank when you see a math problem, this guide is for you. The skills are specific, and you can work on them one at a time. Here is what they include, how dosage math works, and how to start from where you are.

What math do you need for nursing?

You need careful arithmetic: fractions, decimals, percents, ratios, proportions and unit conversions, plus more on the TEAS. Open RN’s free Nursing Skills textbook names those arithmetic skills in its math chapter goals. It adds military time and dimensional analysis, a method that cancels units step by step.

The chapter then applies those skills to conversions, tablets, liquid medicines, weight-based doses and IV rates. The math is one step among several. Nurses also read the drug label, decide what they need to know, and judge whether the answer is safe for that patient.

Skill	What it looks like	Named by
Fractions and decimals	3/8 = 0.375	ATI TEAS, HESI A2 (Austin CC), Open RN
Percents	15% of 80 = 0.15 × 80 = 12	ATI TEAS, Open RN
Ratios and proportions	2 : 5 = 6 : x, so x = 15	ATI TEAS, HESI A2 (Austin CC), Open RN
Unit conversions	1 g = 1,000 mg; 1 tsp = 5 mL	ATI TEAS, HESI A2 (Austin CC), Open RN
Military time	3:30 PM = 1530	HESI A2 (Austin CC), Open RN
One-variable equations	4x + 3 = 19, so x = 4	ATI TEAS
Dimensional analysis	Cancel units until one is left	Open RN

The conversion facts in the table come from Open RN’s equivalencies page. Austin CC’s page calls the HESI A2 version “household measures.”

What math is on the nursing entrance exams?

Going by ATI and Austin CC’s page, both exams test an arithmetic core, and the TEAS goes further. ATI’s TEAS 7 content outline names fractions, decimals, percentages, rational numbers, one-variable equations, proportions, ratios, tables and graphs, statistics, geometric quantities and unit conversions.

For the HESI A2, Austin Community College lists these math score categories: the four operations, fractions, decimals, ratio and proportion, household measures, and general facts. Military time and Roman numerals fall in that last group. As one example, Austin CC asks for at least 75% on each graded section, Math included. Check your own school’s cutoff.

The TEAS gives you a basic on-screen calculator in every section. It has the four operations, percent, square root, decimal point and memory keys. ATI does not allow your own calculator, including a phone or watch.

If you want to see where you stand on the TEAS topics, work through the fractions, decimals and percents lesson. It shows how to convert between all three.

Do you need advanced math to become a nurse?

None of the pages we checked names calculus, but the TEAS outline does go past arithmetic. The dosage chapter in Open RN is built on arithmetic and units. The HESI A2 categories above are arithmetic too.

ATI’s own pages differ on one point. Its TEAS 7 content outline doesn’t list trigonometry or quadratic equations. A separate ATI help page on formulas does list sine, cosine, tangent and a quadratic equation, and says content may vary by test version. Study the outline first, then look at those topics if you have time.

These pages do not cover college prerequisites. Your program may require a college math or statistics course, so read its prerequisite page and ask admissions if the wording is unclear.

How does dosage math work?

A dosage problem turns the order you were given into an amount you would measure. You cancel units until only the one you want is left. Open RN teaches the method this way. Name the goal unit. Write fractions that each equal 1. Put the units to remove on a diagonal so they cancel. Continue until only the goal unit remains.

Study only: these examples are for learning the method. They are not medical advice, and they are not for patient care. Real orders and labels come with your program’s rules.

Example 1: tablets. The order is 0.5 g. Each tablet is 250 mg. The goal unit is tablets.

(1 tablet ÷ 250 mg) × (1,000 mg ÷ 1 g) × 0.5 g = (1,000 × 0.5) ÷ 250 = 500 ÷ 250 = 2 tablets

Check it: 2 tablets × 250 mg = 500 mg, and 500 mg is 0.5 g.

Example 2: liquid. The order is 200 mg. The label says 125 mg in every 5 mL. The goal unit is mL.

(5 mL ÷ 125 mg) × 200 mg = 1,000 ÷ 125 = 8 mL

Check it: 200 mg is 1.6 times 125 mg, so the answer should be 1.6 times 5 mL. That is 8 mL.

You can reach the same answer with a proportion: 125 mg is to 5 mL as 200 mg is to x mL. Multiply 5 × 200, divide by 125, and you get 8. Use the method your program teaches.

Do nursing schools test dosage math?

Some do, and passing scores can be high. These two come from the schools’ own pages, checked in October 2026. They are examples only, and other schools set their own rules.

School	What the page says
Lehman College (CUNY)	The Dosage Calculation Examination is the last step of admission. Applicants need 95% or higher and get two opportunities. The school offers an online self-learning module and a 3-day workshop first. Missing the score means denial, and you may apply again the next year.
Donnelly College	The first dosage exam comes with the Fundamentals of Pharmacology and Dosage Administration class: 90% or better in up to 2 attempts, or you repeat the class. Later clinical courses require 100% in two attempts to pass medications at the clinical site.

Numbers like these can sound harsh. Both schools also describe a path: Lehman offers preparation first, and Donnelly allows a second attempt. Find your program’s rules before you apply.

What if you go blank at math?

Start by checking your basic skills: nursing studies link math anxiety with dosage calculation skill, and one found numerical ability predicted that skill best. A 2016 review says math anxiety can make math problems harder to understand and finish. This is not a diagnosis, and we cannot tell you whether you have it.

A 2012 study in Research in Nursing & Health involved 229 second-year nursing students in Britain. Students who failed the numerical or drug calculation tests were more anxious and less confident about calculations than those who passed. Numerical ability was the strongest predictor of drug calculation skill, ahead of confidence in doing those calculations.

The authors recommend testing basic numerical skills early. They advise faculty to refresh those skills before drug calculations begin.

A 2016 scoping review in Nurse Education in Practice covered six studies, all of nursing students. Math anxiety was one of four factors that influence dosage calculation ability. The authors concluded that more research is needed.

We read these papers’ abstracts. Neither one reports a method that lowers math anxiety, and the 2012 numbers show a link, not proof of a cause.

Our suggestion, not a study finding: find which basic skills are shaky, and practice those first. If worry about math feels bigger than a study plan can handle, talk with a school counselor or your doctor.

How do you start if you have been out of school for years?

Start with a short check of the basics, rebuild in order, and leave dosage problems for last. This order is our suggestion, and it fits the 2012 study’s advice to refresh basic skills before drug calculations. You do not have to cover everything at once.

1. Find your starting point. Try ten problems on fractions, decimals and percents without a calculator. Write down the ones that stall you.
2. Rebuild in order. Go from fractions, decimals and percents to ratios and proportions, then unit conversions, then one-step equations. Learn unit conversions step by step once the first group feels steady.
3. Review in small sets. Review the TEAS math flashcards for a few minutes at a time.
4. Get used to the calculator. If you plan to take the TEAS, practice with the on-screen TEAS calculator so the keys feel familiar.
5. Add dosage last. When unit conversions are steady, try the free dosage calculation problems with steps.

Check your program’s rules for calculators, rounding and passing scores along the way. They vary from school to school.

Quick answers

Can you use a calculator? On the TEAS, yes: a basic on-screen calculator is built in, and your own is not allowed. For the HESI A2 and school dosage tests, check your school’s rules.

What score do dosage tests require? It depends on the school. Two examples: Lehman College asks for 95%, and Donnelly College asks for 90% on its first exam and 100% in clinical courses.

Does math anxiety mean you cannot learn dosage math? Neither abstract we read says that. One study tied anxiety to failing the tests, but numerical ability was the strongest predictor, and its authors advise refreshing basic skills early.