Success in performing the medical calculations required of nurses demands a competency in basic mathematical skills. This competency cannot be assumed of a number of college students and the nursing student is not an exception to this trend. A test was designed to assess basic mathematical competency and administered to two groups of sophomore nursing students. Major areas of underpreparedness revealed include working with decimals, proportions, and percents. A six-week workshop was structured based on these findings. The results of a medical calculations test given one semester after this assessment program showed an improvement over the results of tests given prior to the inception of this program. (Author)