Drop out rate of nurses

JenniferSews · Sep 16, 2009

I don't know, but my school has a 45% pass rate. You get one chance to retake a semester but if you can't pass it again you're out for good. I can only think of 1 or 2 in my original class of 40 or so who withdrew because they realized they didn't like nursing.

RNperdiem, RN · Sep 16, 2009

It can be hard to measure because some of my classmates didn't graduate with my class, but returned and graduated later.

nursenormaRN · Sep 16, 2009

My class started with 42 students, but only 28 students graduated. Some did not keep up with their grades and some were allowed to return the following school year.

The quick two year programs are expensive and in my opinion not worth it. The students don't get enough quality training. In the 4 to 5 years it takes to graduate as an RN a student gains respect and in depth knowledge for their profession.

JenniferSews · Sep 16, 2009

The quick two year programs are expensive and in my opinion not worth it. The students don't get enough quality training. In the 4 to 5 years it takes to graduate as an RN a student gains respect and in depth knowledge for their profession.

That's a shame you have such a low opinion of the ADN programs. But my 2 year degree costs $6400 and I get almost 800 clinical hours. The cheapest 4 year degree would cost a whopping $30,000 more.

HappySH · Sep 16, 2009

I'm in NYC-I totally agree with you..I graduated in June 2009 with my AAS..and just got my RN license in August..it was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life..people think it is so easy b/c its 2 years but its not..its hours and hours of studying..but I sacrificed b/c all I have ever wanted to be was a Nurse..

whipping girl in 07, RN · Sep 16, 2009

"Originally Posted by reddragonRN

The quick two year programs are expensive and in my opinion not worth it. The students don't get enough quality training. In the 4 to 5 years it takes to graduate as an RN a student gains respect and in depth knowledge for their profession.

That's a shame you have such a low opinion of the ADN programs. But my 2 year degree costs $6400 and I get almost 800 clinical hours. The cheapest 4 year degree would cost a whopping $30,000 more.

I think it really depends on the program. Some schools offer more clinical hours, some only the bare minimum set forth by the state and their accrediting organization. Some two year programs turn into about three years, some are expensive, some are cheap. I graduated with a BSN from a public university having spent roughly $12K on tuition in 5 1/2 years (transferred and had to repeat some credit hours). Where I live currently, there are two private nursing schools and their tuition is $17K and $23K per year.

I honestly do not think ANY nursing programs require enough clinical time. What you learn in school barely scratches the surface and it takes a hospital a long time and a lot of money to make a nurse. Back when my mom went to nursing school, they had a lot more clinical hours and didn't have to know nearly as much. She went to school before ICUs, before many surgical procedures and medications were invented, before TPN and tube feeding, before most organ transplants, before people lived for MANY years on hemodialysis, before outpatient infusion clinics. With all the innovations in medicine and health care, you would think the amount of time a nurse trains would be longer, not shorter. But the hours that RN students spend in clinicals now are nowhere close to the old diploma programs of thirty or more years ago. I'm not saying we should go back to diplomas, but I do think nursing students do not spend enough time learning to be nurses! There are tasks that must be mastered, critical thinking skills that must be honed, interpersonal skills that must be practiced. You cannot do that in 16 hours a week for 16 weeks a semester for 4 1/2 semesters. 1152 hours. That is almost 50% more than the number of hours you get and it's still not enough! Not to mention I would guess that at least a quarter of clinical hours are taken up by pre-and post-conferences and clinical "experiences" that are not at all meaningful or helpful to becoming a graduate nurse. Going with a home health nurse for one day, spending a day with a physical therapist, going to an AA meeting and going to a prepared childbirth class did not help me one bit when I started in the ICU, but it did get me out of my clinical instructor's hair for a day. These were all actual "clinicals" I took in nursing school. Honestly, my OR, L & D and ICU clinical days were completely over my head at the point I had them, but I bet I would have gotten so much more out of them if I had had more basic clinical experience at that time. I got more out of my 3 week cardiovascular summer internship than I got out of two years of nursing school clinicals.

So maybe the dropout rates of nurses wouldn't be quite so high if they knew how to function as nurses when they got out of school! I spent the first year of my nursing career feeling like a complete idiot, because I had not been exposed to even the most basic things. I started one IV on a human in school. I placed one NG tube (on a dummy) in school. I had never seen a feeding tube or known how you "eat" when you can't eat until I went to work in ICU. I saw a CT surgeon crack a chest the second week of my first job and I was CLUELESS! And I made good grades in nursing school and passed boards on the first try with 75 questions.

My nursing school was considered very good, we graduated 55 and only had one who didn't pass her boards on the first try. We started with 90 in our first semester with the assumption that 1/3 would drop out or flunk out, but we had 65 pass and so only the top 60 got to progress to the second semester class. 5 of my classmates had to sit out a semester and graduate behind us. Over the next two years we gained 5 LPNs and 1 girl who started a semester before us but failed a class and had to repeat. So I guess before we graduated we lost 11 people. I'm not sure how many of those graduated a semester later with the other five we started with. Of the 55 I graduated with, I only keep up with about 10 or so but we are all still nurses, although a few have gone on to become advanced practice nurses.

MiaNJ · Sep 16, 2009

How many people make it to the 5 yr. mark as nurses? I always hear how so many people want to be nurses now. Do a lot of them get axed at the pre-requisite stage, the nursing school stage, or the 1 yr mark while a nurse because they decide it wasn't meant for them? I feel like nursing is a hard curriculum, I can't imagine that anyone can be a nurse. I know a lot of people are going into nursing because they think they can get it quickly through a 2 year program and make lots of money - how do those people do?
I just feel like nursing should be more than the hot trend right now due to economy, belief that it's quick, fast, and easy. I wish people would go into nursing for the right reasons. Oh well.

Nursing school is very challenging and stressful for alot of people. It's by no means an easy curriculum, whether a ADN or BSN program. I don't think just 'anyone' can pass the program or even get in. In my class, there were several who got kicked out due to failing more than one class. A grade below C+ is usually considered failing in most nursing schools. It's funny, but I recently heard a few acquaintances say that they are thinking of getting into nursing since they can't find a job, and they see 'so many' openings for nursing online. They think it's an 'easy' 'fast' program since they can do it in 2 yrs or less in some cases.

But little do they know that just because they see job openings, doesn't mean they are all for new grads,and many new grads can't get jobs now.

But not only that, but they don't realize how challenging nursing school is, and they don't even have a clue what it's like to be a nurse. These are people who are used to working 9-5 (no weekends, no holidays), in an office, and when they feel a little down or stressed or maybe lazy one day, they can have an 'off' day, where they take it easy, and do light office work and put off their projects till the next day. But even their most stressful projects are nothing like working with patients whom you have a great deal of responsibility for as a nurse, and you can never have an 'off' day. They also don't realize how so many nurses don't always end their shift exactly on time, and how they are responsible for so much, and they must always be critically thinking even during days they may feel a little down, they can't just sit back and have an easy day when dealing with patients.

So it makes me laugh when people think it's such an 'easy' quick career to get and make tons of money. Even if some nurses make decent money, they don't always get what they are worth, or for the amount of work they actually do. Nursing is not easy work by any means. Even for those nurses not dealing with highly acute care, anytime they care for a patient, they have great responsibility and this itself can be very stressful at times,or most of the time for many nurses.

MiaNJ · Sep 16, 2009

My class started with 42 students, but only 28 students graduated. Some did not keep up with their grades and some were allowed to return the following school year.
The quick two year programs are expensive and in my opinion not worth it. The students don't get enough quality training. In the 4 to 5 years it takes to graduate as an RN a student gains respect and in depth knowledge for their profession.

In all fairness, the 4 year programs don't completely encompass 'only' nursing core or 'only' science programs. Any 4 yr Bachelors college degree includes several 'general ed' courses such as college level English, Math, History, Social Sciences, Art, Electives, etc., which usually take up at least 2 yrs of credits, when you count them all. I have friends who took the 4 yr BSN program, and their curriculum of the 'actual' nursing core courses was very similar to mine, and took the second degree BSN. I already had taken all my general ed courses during my first 4 yrs of college, PLUS the required science preqs to get into the nursing program took me at least 2 semesters full time, which is equivalent to 'one year' of regular college. My nursing program was 4 semesters full time, back to back, equivalent of 2 yrs, so with the year of preqs and the previous college courses, I easily have 4 yrs+ of schooling and classes just like my friends who did the regular BSN.

I've also looked at other 4 yr BSN programs, and could not see a whole lot of difference in the 'core curriculum'.

About clinical hours, I did just about the same as the regular 4 yr program, but they were just more condensed in a shorter amount of time.

Maybe some programs have less clinical hours than others, but I don't think there is much variation in the actual core classes. I don't think a nursing program is going to have 4 entire years of solely nursing or solely science courses. Not even premed BS students have that type of program. Unless it's medical school, which does involve alot more science courses.

Lupan · Sep 16, 2009

Lots of key points being made here. I have a couple more points to ponder. In this area most people entering the "nursing program" at the local Junior College get special treatment at the medical facilities in this area. No or few as possible "call-offs", special wook hours, etc. Many of these "students" will never set foot in the nursing classroom but the stats seldom look at that. When my stint in nursing school started there was 250 students in A&P. At the Xmas break only 175 survived. Summer came and only 50 made it to the LPN program. My LPN program only had 20 to get into the RN program. Many of those that didn't make didn't really want to become a nurse but want the financial aid money or had some other motive to be in the program. One got a new Ford truck for just getting into the program!!! She didn't pass the LPN course. A couple of male nurses have already decided to get out of nursing because they got in it to meet women, and after 2 years they can't handle the patient care. I think that the colleges steer people to nursing because of the money made by the colleges and not the student's true abilities or wants. I tutored fellow students and 1 showed up that was from another country and had only basic English. She was so far behind after only 4 weeks in the pre-reques and she expected me to bail her out. I agree that people see the 2 years and think they can do lt and get "tons" of money afterwards. If they do pass the first 2-3 years they may become bitter and no one wants to work with them. Nursing isn't for everyone! Too many stress the paychecks.

Lupan · Sep 16, 2009

I forgot to mention that most nurses that I know and work with don't take care of themslves or take time off from being a nurse. Stop and smell the roses!!

JenniferSews · Sep 16, 2009

Maybe it is by program. For my 2 year program, I did 2 years of prerequisites. AFTER I had finished the prereqs I had to wait 3 years on a waiting list. None of us have any illusions. We work 2 12 hour shifts a week for clinicals and 1 full day in class. I don't get any special treatment, we are a community college with hard working students. If you can't hack it, there's plenty of people on the waiting list with equally good GPAs waiting to take your place.