Why Math is a Requirement for My Lifelong Career goal

Life constantly presents new problems. The more sophisticated our society becomes, the more complex the problems become. We as individuals are constantly solving problems. For example when we consider ways to save money, reduce our expenses, budget our money or even save for a vacation, we are always dealing with numbers. Throughout this personnel reflection you will see why math is so important in my life long career goal, which is my BBA in Business management in the medical field.

First and foremost my job will entail being a supervisor/manager of a nursing staff whether it be Registered nurses (RN’s) or Licensed Practical nurses (LPN’s). This is ultimately what I want to do. This job includes schedules for the nurses, patients, scheduling tests for the patients. I will also need to know the international metric system along with dosage calculations, one must know three important pieces of information, the desired dose, the dosage strength and the medications’ unit of measure (Survey of Math p 609).

I will also use mathematics in my career by doing schedules, coordinating the staff on different shifts, making sure the staff is not working over 8-9 hours unless it is necessary, also making sure the staff doesn’t overlap one another’s schedule and handling the payroll. It is very important for people that work in the medical field to know what their doing when it comes to measurements of medication particularly, any miscalculation’s due to a staff members error can lead to 1) losing your job, 2) losing your license, and or prison time if it is fatal.

One example of a similar incident that was not to long ago, and is still in the hands of the courts involved Michael Jackson and Dr. Conrad Murray. Reports stated that Michael Jackson died from a propofol overdose; propofol is a drug that reduces anxiety and tension, and promotes relaxation consciousness. Dr. Conrad Murray is being charged with involuntary manslaughter for giving Michael Jackson multiple medications intravenously; which is a needle directly into the vein.

Reports have stated that Dr. Murray gave Michael Jackson valium which is a sedative, along with numerous amounts of pain medication and anti-depressant medications throughout a 10 hour period. These multiple medications were found in Michael Jackson’s toxicology report. They state that Michael Jackson had enough medication in his body to sedate a large animal (KTLA. com info). Another similar incident was that of a oncologist that wrote orders for a new salvage regimen that employed higher doses of chemotherapy than usual. The patient developed acute renal failure and required weeks of dialysis, but ultimately recovered, and the tumor responded.

The physician later discovered that he had mistakenly ordered four times the recommended amount of the nephrotoxic drug in the treatment regimen. The physician decided not to tell the patient, 6 months later the tumor progressed and the patient obtained a second opinion. The patient learned of the error the first physician made and sued the doctor settling for $75,000 dollars (PubMed Central). The patient survived and the tumor was taken care of, but as you can see mistakes are made like this every day, sometimes people don’t get another chance.

Most of the time, the mistakes are made mathematically. The medical field is very crucial when it comes to mathematics. You must be on top of things, re-read your care plan every time you need to administer medications. A care plan can vary from patient to patient, but for the most part it included numerous activities, such as administering medications, careful documentation of dosages and avoiding interactions. Starting, maintaining, and discontinuing intravenous lines for fluid, medication, blood, and blood products.

Administering therapies and treatment, observing the patient and recording those observations; and consulting with the physician or supervisor on duty (“Summary report for 29 – 111. 00 – Registered nurses,” 2010, Tasks). In this line of work documentation of everything that happens with the patient is very important. In conclusion, my math 103, survey of mathematics taught me a lot. I learned how to subtract, add, multiply, and divide w negative and positive numbers. This was one of my greatest challenges.

Reducing fractions, radicals, algebra, solving an equation, percentage formula’s, application of percents, the american system of measurement, the scientific system, set theories, and more. I learned a great deal and will be able to take this with me in the future for my career goal. In all honesty, I’ve never been all the great in the math field, after taking this course, along with taking advantage if the tutors Bryant & Stratton offers, I feel very pleased with myself and what I’ve learned. It was a very positive fortification and I will take this with me, where ever I go.