HESI is Wrong ! Let's File Suit

Nurses New Nurse

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i go to school in montgomery co. texas and have done okay in the nursing program making mainly bs through out the course, but i am not good at taking nursing test. comming from a trade background i have found that when i look at the rationals to the questions i miss it is usually that i thought of things in a common sense way not a test way. that said i have suffered through and i am suppose to graduate in may and then comes hesi. i took the test monday, march 26 and missed passing by 53 points. i can take the test again on 4/27 but i don't like my chances any better at passing it then either, i just don't test well or i at least don't nursing test well. what gives collages the right to keep you from taking the boards if you have completed 2yrs of their bs? isn't the hesi about keeping the pass rate on the first try numbers up for the college? so they look good. i have decided even if i pass the hesi i am going to retain a lawyer and sue the college for it's practice and i think that if they are going to use hesi that they should just factor it into your grade and not ruin your life over one stinking test. i would like to hear some of your options on whether or not ya'll think we should bring a national class action lawsuit to stop this madness. some students in ca. sued and won the right to sit for the board even though they didn't pass hesi and i believe that we deserve that right too. (

Did you know about the HESI during your orientation?

I remember one of my instructors saying something that I find worth mentioning here. Nobody made you choose this school for nursing school. Nobody made you go to nursing school. You can't just sue because you don't like how it goes.

I bolded one of your comments above. Where you mention something about one stinking test. Are you aware that our entire career rests on one stinking test?

Will people start sueing when they can no longer pass the NCLEX? Or sue each time the passing standard is raised?

Instead of fighting the system, get yourself the HESI study guide and put some energy into studying. The HESI gave you a printout of all your weaknesses after you took it, right? Focus on the areas that you were weakest in.

I would be curious to see if statistically, if students that don't do well on the HESI, can't pass the NCLEX. If it's not supported, then any school that gives the HESI is doing it to artificially boost their numbers for the BON.

I cannot think of any other major, NO other major, not even medical school, where an exam is given upon graduation, and you aren't allowed to graduate if you don't pass it. There is nothing wrong with a school wanting to evaluate what it's students know...if the school has a low pass-rate on the NCLEX, then they need to address that with the CURRICULUM, not to punish the students for it. If your curriculum is designed in line with the NCLEX, then it should be impossible for someone to graduate that can't do well on the NCLEX.

The problem with the HESI is that the people that designed the HESI are not the same people that designed the program for these individual nursing schools. That is why alot of students are passing the courses and can't pass the HESI.

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Specializes in Neuro, Critical Care.

I agree and disagree.

My school used the ATI but it's basically the same thing. We took it at the end of our program, very end. We had 3 chances to pass it. Out of 26 of us, 16 failed the first time, including me. I passed the second time. I had straight A's in NS. I passed NCLEX on the first try w/75 questions. I almost failed out of nursing school because of the ATI. Rather ridiculous. A classmate passed the ATI on the first try and failed NCLEX with 250 questions.

However, the ATI was extremely helpful for getting me ready for NCLEX. It opened my eyes and showed me exactly what I needed to study. It was the single most useful tool I had preparing for the NCLEX. So in essence it did it's job.

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Specializes in Cardiac.
I

I cannot think of any other major, NO other major, not even medical school, where an exam is given upon graduation, and you aren't allowed to graduate if you don't pass it. There is nothing wrong with a school wanting to evaluate what it's students know...if the school has a low pass-rate on the NCLEX, then they need to address that with the CURRICULUM, not to punish the students for it. If your curriculum is designed in line with the NCLEX, then it should be impossible for someone to graduate that can't do well on the NCLEX.

The problem with the HESI is that the people that designed the HESI are not the same people that designed the program for these individual nursing schools. That is why alot of students are passing the courses and can't pass the HESI.

This is where it is the responsibility of the student to investigate both if the HESI is being used by a school, and what the pass rates are for the HESI.

The HESI is a standardized test. If the majority of students are not passing it, then it says something about the quality of the nursing education at that school. If knowing this before enrolling in the program, wouldn't you rather invest your time and money into a different program?

People can't pretend that they didnt' know it was a part of the curriculum. If you don't like it, don't go to school where HESI pass rates are low.

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Specializes in Float.

I think my school has a good policy.

We take HESI every semester and sometimes twice (ie semester with psych and maternal/child) The grade is counted in our grades but passing is not required on those. However, we have to take a comprehensive HESI. You must score 850. If you do not, you get a 2nd try. If you still do not, you walk as a summer graduate and you must take a 6 week review course in the summer to get your diploma. So it doesn't FAIL you - but it does require you to remediate.

Also in my state it's a statewide rule that if you flunk two classes you flunk out..none of this repeating every single semester stuff. You can withdraw if you are failing, but you MUST complete the program within 3 years from the start.

Our admission requirements are based on GPA and ACT testing with bonus points for having completed A&P and for healthcare experience.

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I graduated nursing school 4 years ago from a program that used the HESI as an indicator for the nursing instructors to use to update areas of curriculum and for students to gage their weaknesses before taking NCLEX.

There is another nursing school in my area that uses the HESI as an exit exam. IF you don't pass, you don't graduate. I work with nursing students from this school every semester. The students are either on my unit as a clinical group or they are precepting with me. I have heard countless conversations from these students on how hard certain tests were, or how unfair that they had to do this careplan, or whatever. Quite frankly, I'm tired of it. Nursing school is hard. Being a nurse is even harder.

To the OP, your nursing program clearly stated in their policies that an exit exam would be administered. You were told a year ago that you would be taking a HESI exam. We did not choose this nursing school, you did. We are not forcing you to become a nurse. So suck it up. You have a chance to study your weaknesses and to work on test anxiety before you have to take the HESI again. If you fail NCLEX, are you going to sue them?

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Anyone else notice the OP has disappeared from the discussion?

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I cannot think of any other major, NO other major, not even medical school, where an exam is given upon graduation, and you aren't allowed to graduate if you don't pass it.

Passage of at least Step 1 (and often Step 2) of the medical licensure exams has become a fairly standard requirement for graduation from US medical schools.

A Google search with several links to this effect:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4FUJB_enUS217US217&q=USMLE+graduation

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I would be curious to see if statistically, if students that don't do well on the HESI, can't pass the NCLEX. If it's not supported, then any school that gives the HESI is doing it to artificially boost their numbers for the BON.

The problem with the HESI is that the people that designed the HESI are not the same people that designed the program for these individual nursing schools. That is why alot of students are passing the courses and can't pass the HESI.

Many studies have shown that HESI boosts NCLEX pass rates, and that it's a good indicator of NCLEX success.

As far as different people designing the tests ... that's going to be a problem both in nursing school, the NCLEX and, in my case, even some jobs you interview for once you get your license.

In my nursing program, at least, the tests were constantly changing every semester with different teachers. I also had to take both ATI and HESI and those tests were different from our nursing school exams. And the NCLEX was a completely different exam all together. Nothing like my nursing school tests at all.

If you're looking for consistency with nursing academia ... it's just not going to happen, at least in my experience. You have to adjust and do what you have to do for every single test because it's never going to be the same.

And it doesn't necessarily stop after you get your license either. I thought that once I got my license my testing days would be over. Wrong. I'm currently interviewing for two great paying jobs where I've got to take even more tests as part of the interview.

They won't tell me whats on these tests so .... I'm totally in the dark on what to study. Ironically ... it's even worse than the NCLEX or any other exam I've had to prepare for because there are no study guides for these exams. I have absolutely no clue what they're going to ask me.

:typing

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Specializes in Cardiac.
Anyone else notice the OP has disappeared from the discussion?

Yep, I did...

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Specializes in Critical Care.
Anyone else notice the OP has disappeared from the discussion?

For what it's worth, I did warn him in a post awhile back that he had posted enough information about himself and his program so as to be specifically identified by his program.

Maybe he didn't want to keep up this particular discussion, in that light.

I wouldn't.

~faith,

Timothy.

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The nursing program I attend has you take the Hesi on all four levels of nursing. I attend the AD program. First level you have to score 750, second level-800, 3rd level-850, and 4th level 900. What concerns me is that the instructors don't even know what is on the exam so there is no prep for it. If anyone reading this has taken the hesi for level 1 can you please let me know what is on it?

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For what it's worth, I did warn him in a post awhile back that he had posted enough information about himself and his program so as to be specifically identified by his program.

Maybe he didn't want to keep up this particular discussion, in that light.

I wouldn't.

~faith,

Timothy.

Good point. I remember that post. Perhaps the cat's now long out of the bag, and maybe there's a student scrambling to stay in school somewhere in TX...

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