[tookewlandy]

Originally Posted by Sunshine Sweetheart

I was just asking a general question. I am the last person to whine or complain about one rule. I think that if a nursing student asks a question or does not like a rule it is considered by others to be whining. I as well as most others know the rules when we apply to nursing school and we comply with them, but that does no mean we agree with them. In the same retrospect just because we don't agree with them does not mean one is whining. I have seen nurses that have come out of school with A averages and pass the NCLEX with flying colors but fail miserably when it comes to their patients. One nurse I know that graduated from school with a 4.0 came into our nursing home and overdosed someone on morphine. All I am saying is that grades and rules can not predict how someone will do in the real world when they are on their on. I interviewed with a nursing school and as I was sitting in the room waiting I overheard two people talking in another room with the door open. They were saying that two girls would not be able to contiune on in the program because they did not think they would be able to pass NCLEX on first try and it would bring down the schools pass rate. Just because these two girls might not pass the NCLEX on the first try does not mean that they will bad nurses. Some of the best nurses that I have seen have not passed the NCLEX the first time. I truly understand that the 77% rule is in place to help me and my classmates at my school, but there must be flaws in it somewhere if the teachers that created the rule are having second thoughts about it and want to bring it to the dean to get it possibly changed. Anyway it goes whatever rules that my school or any other school has I know that we all will kick butt in nursing school, because allnurses nursing students are the best!!!

I have to agree with you. Just because someone is not going to get an 90 or better on the final does not mean that they will not be a safe nurse. I have heard that they make these test harder than they should be in nursing school and that you can study the info and know it like the back of your hand but no matter what nobody ever gets a perfect grade. So as long as someone knows the information and their skills and they get the minimum passing grade whether it be a 75 or 80, then they will be just as competent and just as safe a nurse as someone who get above 80. And i have talked with TONS of GOOD NURSES, who admit that nursing school was very tough and they were not honor role students throughout, and some even go as far and say that they barley passed lecture because it was so tough. But they all passed there NCLEX on the first try, go figure.

JMHO

Andy

[Nessa20]

mine is that we need c or higer to pass the class.

[moongirl]

Our ending TEST scores had to average out at 75%, or you were failed out. It didnt matter if overall (with papers, care plans and such) if you had say 90 %.. if the test scores didnt add up, you are kicked out

[moongirl]

Originally Posted by leopold

100% on drug calc? I can see why that's important but if we did that in my school we wouldn't have any students left. An uncorrected mistake in lab or clinicals can get you booted out so ultimately you better know those calcs, but wow.

Thats the way my program is too, math drug calculation tests have to be passed with 100%. You get 2 tries. If you can't do it, you are booted from the entire program. THis is required EACH semester, so its not like you can pass it the first semester then go.. whew.. dodged that bullet, its an ongoing ulcer until you graduate

[shock-me-sane]

we have a 75% pass rule. that just applies to the whole grade, not individual tests. but we only have a midterm and a final, midterm is 80 points and final is 100. the whole lecture component of the class is worth 270 points. the rest of the points are made up with quizzes, a paper and ATI testing. there isn't much wiggle room to mess up anywhere.

this has been the case for all classes in my first year, i expect it will remain the same for the rest of my schooling.

[grad08]

At my school, you must make an average of 78% to pass the course. The grade is comprised of unit exams, comprehensive final, homework, quizzes, etc. Before the homework, quizzes and other grades are averaged in you must score a 78% on the unit exams and final. And you have to get a satisfactory in clinical.

[JaxiaKiley]

Yikes. That kind of rule would drive me crazy. I work hard so that finals aren't so stressful!

[firstyearstudent]

I don't see the point of this. Passing or failing should be tied to a course average, not to performance on an individual test...

[firstyearstudent]

Originally Posted by MLOS

77% is not passing w/flying colors - it's passing w/the minimum "C".

Let's translate this into working as a nurse - with a 77% performance you may not kill your patient. But that's not what you want to go home every day with - well, I managed not to kill anyone today.

Policies that may seem arbitrary and *unfair* serve a purpose - they prepare you for a field in which one error, one episode of carelessness, can have disastrous consequences. It's easy to whine "it's only one test ...". Translate that one test performance into one human being who is your patient and see if that changes your perspective.

We are all human ... but as a nurse you need to be aware of and prepared to live with the consequences of having an "off" day.

We will all have to live with the consequences of our mistakes. Even the very, very, very best nurse who made 100% on every exam in school and is extremely conscientious and who follows all the protocols in place will make mistakes. It's inevitable. It's statistics. When you deal with that many patients, that many procedures, over a lifetime, you WILL make mistakes. And you will cope somehow and move on.

Frankly, I don't see how this policy will help prevent nurses from making mistakes.

[nessy]

At my college we have to get a minimum of 60% in each course or we have to repeat the course. We also have to achieve a term average of 65%.