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Hong KongThe calculations drill
Drill conversions first until they are recall, then whole calculation questions against a timer, aiming to finish inside about 90 seconds each.
Small, daily, and it changes the outcome of the exam more than anything else you can do in ten minutes.
Why it works
The paper allows about 73 seconds a question. A calculation realistically needs 90 to 150, and the difference between the two ends of that range is almost entirely whether the conversions arrive as recall or have to be derived.
Deriving a conversion costs about 25 seconds. Doing it on most calculation questions is where the time goes.
Stage one: conversions only
One-line conversions, timed, twenty at a sitting. Pounds to kilograms, mL to teaspoons, grams to milligrams, percentage to mg per mL.
The target is an answer before the working. Two weeks of this and the derivation step disappears.
Stage two: whole questions
Complete calculation questions, timed individually, aiming under 90 seconds including reading the stem.
Candidates practice the maths and start the clock after they have understood the question. On the day the stem is part of the 73 seconds. Timing from the first word is the only version of this drill that measures what the exam measures.
Stage three: mixed and interleaved
Calculation questions shuffled with recall questions, so you practice switching. Switching costs time and it is never practiced in a block of pure arithmetic.
The seven types
- Unit conversions
- Weight-based dosing
- Days supply
- Percentage and ratio strength
- Dilutions and alligation
- Flow rates
- Business arithmetic
Finite, and they recur. Once each is automatic the domain becomes the most predictable on the paper.
Practice without your own calculator
You will not have it. Any calculator is provided by the center or built into the software, so drilling on a familiar handheld builds a fluency you cannot take in.
The habit, not the hour
Ten minutes daily beats seventy minutes weekly, because this is motor learning rather than understanding. Skipping four days and doing a long session on the fifth does not work here.
Common questions
How should I drill PTCE calculations?
Ten minutes daily - conversions first until they are recall, then whole questions timed under 90 seconds.
Why does it matter so much?
Deriving a conversion costs about 25 seconds, on most calculation questions, on a paper giving 73 seconds each.
Should I time the reading?
Yes. On the day the stem is part of the budget.
How many calculation types are there?
Seven, and they recur.
Should I use my own calculator?
No. You will not have it, so practice without it.