What's the drop-out count so far?

U.S.A. Arizona

Published

Specializes in Pediatric ICU.

In Block I at Phoenix College this semester, out of our 40 students who began with us in January, three have dropped so far. What about the others in the area? How many have dropped from your cohort? Do you know why? One person dropped the day after orientation and the other two dropped because they didn't pass the Assessment and/or Pharm classes.

So far at Glendale w/e program we're all still there. I think it's 'cause we have a fantastic teacher. The f/t program had lost 11 out of 40 by week three though. Supposedly it was an ESL problem, but I have a hard time believing that b/c there didn't seem to be a lot of ESL people during orientation. I think people are just really unprepared for the committment it takes to be successful in this program. :Crash:

I have a friend going to MCC and they lost 3 before school even started and then after finals the teachers came in and removed 13 students because they could not pass the classes. She said that no one passed one of the finals, but luckily the people who passed the class had grades that were high enough from the other tests to pass the class.

6 weeks until finals...:uhoh3:

Keli

Specializes in cardiac/education.

LOVE YOUR PIC KELI!!

No one has dropped since I started school..........yes, thanks to a fab teacher! This semester isn't too bad yet, the teachers are pretty lenient and understanding....no drill sargeants yet, lol!!! I am bound to get atleast one thru all this tho (Block 3??????)

I know I WANTED to drop in the first few insane deer in the headlights weeks of Block 1.....:lol2:

I'm in semester #2 of 4 at Yavapai College. We have only lost one because she was called up for duty in Iraq. Other than that, we haven't lost anyone. We have a few people in our class now that had to repeat 2nd semester though, so we'll see what the count is at the end of this semester!

Specializes in Education, Administration, Magnet.

I am in semester 2 out of 4. After our 1st semester we were 20+ people less than before. We started as 108 students.

I talked to a lady the other night who is in Glendale's f/t program and she said that before finals they had lost 12 people, and then five failed finals (including her), so that's 17 people out of 40 gone.

Thrashej- thanks I do too!! I'm pm'ing you a question.

Keli

I talked to a lady the other night who is in Glendale's f/t program and she said that before finals they had lost 12 people, and then five failed finals (including her), so that's 17 people out of 40 gone.

Thrashej- thanks I do too!! I'm pm'ing you a question.

Keli

That's excessive. Something is broken. Either the application standards needs to be raised or the instructors need to instruct better. Either way those missing slots at graduation hurt nursing and underutilize the instructors that are there to teach a full class load. Do they begin the semester with excess students knowing a good portion will drop out?

YKW, I'm thinking they do. Originally they had 30 slots open, and then a month into the run they opened up 10 extra slots in the f/t and 10 in the w/e. I know that MCC is really strict on check offs and people have failed out there. We're lucky that the w/e teacher is very helpful in all ways. You're not bored in her class so I think you retain info better. I'm not sure about the f/t students. I've heard that some had ESL, so it was hard to test, but then how did they pass the pre-req's? Funny thing is, the lady I met the other night works in the hospital, so you'd think she'd actually have an easier time than those of us with no experience. I can see both sides of it though, I'm sure the NS's don't want to turn out nurses that won't pass the NCLEX (reflects poorly on their stats) but there is such a shortage of nurses that something needs to be done. I'm sure some of these students that are failing would make excellent nurses, maybe they just need a little more one on one, or more study groups, something to help get them through. The important thing is getting through.

Keli

About passing ESL tests to be admitted to a US college, it's very tough; but, unless it's changed, the language does not include terms that would be common in the nursing program e.g. chemistry, physiology, etc. It would be a different vocabulary entirely. And those who pass the ESL test study with a laser focus on the anticipated questions. So passing this test obviously doesn't necessarily mean you are prepared for a specialized program like nursing.

Suezeekay- YOu're right, but I don't think these students had to pass an ESL test to get into the school. It might have been the case for a couple students, that ESL was the main problem, but that really doesn't explain such a high dropout rate, because I know there weren't that many people where English would've been a problem. Also, we had a lot of pre-req's that were what I'd consider, harder than nursing school, and I just figured if they could pass those, then NS shouldn't be a problem. I have a theory that some of the people that dropped out or failed out thought that they could still work f/t and go to NS. It's just too hard in the f/t program, there's not enough time to study. You could work during pre-req's and still pass and maybe they thought it would be the same. Another problem is the amount of credits they give you for school. Come on now, 1 credit for Pharm and 1 for Assessment, it makes you think you won't have to put much work into those classes!! I spend as much time, in class and out, on those two classes as I do on my 3 credit Process class, and you can't get a loan unless you're at least halftime!! Right now it looks like I"m only taking 5 credits for a full-time nursing program!! I really think they ought to raise the amount of credits given for those two classes so that some of us don't have to work, we can get loans or FA during school. (just my personal vent :o )

Keli

I think one of the biggest problems is that with Pharm and Assessment there was only 100 points total to be earned. To get 76 out of 100...that's a very small margin of error....We had 8 people fail Pharm and Assessment, 1/2 of them were ESL.....One of the girls who failed was from Nigeria and she missed out by 2 points....it was pretty sad because she was working really hard.....

I agree with you Keli...Pharm and Assessment should be worth more.....Process is a walk in the park compared to those two classes...They are sort of like Bio 201 and 202 where you have to put extra effort in because you are being graded for lab as well as lecture......

Specializes in Pediatric ICU.

Gosh, you guys' classes sound a whole lot harder than mine! I worked hard, yeah but it wasn't THAT hard. A lot of the stuff was common sense, or just going over the notes and reading the chapters. I am sorry that the one gal in our class didn't make it but I'd bet that she didn't do that well in A&P so it set her up for failure here. Really goes to show that if you do well in your pre-reqs and take them seriously, you'll do fine. At least that's what I've seen so far! Hey, I'm only 3 months into it....what do I know!:lol2: Heck, I've got care plans staring me in the face.......

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