failed fundamentals, any advice..

Nursing Students General Students

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Specializes in CCU.
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I am sorry to hear that you did not pass. It is a tough class you know. I almost did not make it either. But somehow ended up with a B. Other than my textbooks, I brought tons of other books at Borders and Barnes and Nobles. But each book tEND to describe the material in a different way, even though the content is the same. Then I did alot of practice questionS.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, I FOLLOWED THE OBJECTIVES, ONCE I LOOKED OVER THE OBJECTIVE I MADE SURE I UNDERSTOOD IT, THAT HELPED ME ALOT. ALSO I STOPPED TRYING TO MEMORIZE EVERYTHING ONLY IF IT IS A NUMBER OR SOMETHING AND I FOCUSED ON UNDERSTANDING. READING THE MATERIAL AS IF MY PATIENT WAS RIGHT THERE AND I WAS TRYING TO SOLVE A PROBLEM.

I too had failed NS, this is my second time around. You can do it, even if it means having to go to another school. You can still meet your goal. At first I was in a community college system, when I didnt pass that, I converted my associate degree into a Bachelors degree and now I am in accelerated program getting my BSN instead of a Associate. So I know you have to feel sad and "possiblly feel like a failure" I have been there. Just see it as an opportunity to determine where you went wrong and hopefully never to repeat that again. Try to identify how best you can study and retain the info. be it with groups, flashcards or by yourself.

BUT YOU CAN DO IT, I KNOW YOU CAN!! DONT GIVE UP AT ALL. :nono::nono::nono::nono::nono::nono::nono::nono:

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Let me sell you a secret LOL how to be more succesful in your second time around. Take it from the "elderly: (the 'almost'(one more test) survivor of the first semester). It took me a while to understand a meaning that one of my instructor was stressing at times, she used to sometimes advice us during lecture that we need to think like a nurses.Dont read the material just for the sake of taking test, learn to love the material you reading LOL(harder said than done) But just remeber that the day you a part of the nursing program you are NURSE, yeah that is what our teacher stressed as well to us frightened, humble students.Be proud because you are nurse, so start thinking like a nurse, think of yourself as the promotor of health or even a inspection agent LOL,. Read the book as if you were doing your job.Think about nursing interventions, like what would you do to help the patient and use your common sense because those interventions do reapeat in different diagnosis, learn the defining characeristics of the diagnoses, focus on central/general ideas. MOST importantly change your thinking, seriously I dont know how anyone can surive nursing school without at least some interest in the material, so like I mentioned before dont be ashamed to think of yourself as a nurse and things will come easier for you. Good luck!

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Specializes in Transplant/Surgical ICU.

Try applying to schools that accepts students twice a year, so you can transfer or restart in another school. If it doesnt work out, then just stay with your school. A year is a long time to wait, but if this is what you want then stick with it. Then again, you could go to LVN school and do a bridge to BSN. Im graduating with a BSN in June 2008, and that will make it 6 years instead of 5 years in school for me. Not because I failed but because I spent my freshman year taking computer classes (CIS major at the time). I also know of students in my program that have been in school for 7 or 8 years (also because of change fo major). Anyway, my point is hang in there you are not the only one with a supersenior status ;)!.

I know of friends that waited the whole full year after they failed. Most of them worked as nurse assistants while they waited for the incoming class of freshmens. Good luck

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Specializes in CCU.

thanks for the replies. I think I will persevere and try to go at it again. I prayed about it and God will guide me towards the best path. I have an appointment with the prof tomorrow, so I'll see how that goes. I am looking into schools that accept twice a year, so that I can keep moving forward instead of waiting another year. Some may not accept me since I failed once before though..

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I am sorry to hear that you didn't pass. But, please don't give up! Is there anyway that you could take the class online? Keep praying about it! And I will too! Hope it goes well tomorrow with your instructor!

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Specializes in Oncology, Med-Surg, Nursery.

Don't give up!!!! If you are happy and have found what you love, PLEASE stick with it, so many go through life never finding that career for them. In the grand scheme, one year is not going to make that much difference if that is the route you have to go and think of how proud you will be at the end looking back! Keep praying and pushing through, YOU WILL MAKE IT!!

**HUGS**

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Specializes in LDRP.

It has taken me many years to finally get my degree in nursing... Time will pass no matter what you do. If you want to be a nurse, what better thing to spend YOUR time on??

Many people opt to start at the LPN level and work their way up. Associate degree programs to get your RN are another great option. YOU need to do what's right for you and not worry about where your classmates are going--many of them may not make it either! Nursing school is tough!

Best wishes to you--and yes, God will guide you. Dont give up on yourself OR Him!!!! :) (((HUGS)))

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

you are really fortunate that your school gives you another chance to retake a nursing class. many programs do not let you continue if you fail out.

i don't think skipping around from one major to another is such a good thing. it won't look good on job resumes.

why were your grades in fundamentals so low? this is a question that should have been pursued from the first low test grade you got. doing test debriefing on what questions you got wrong and why is an important part of the learning curve. yes, you need to learn and understand the material. however, you also need to understand and succesfully take tests in order to pass, so you need to know the style of questioning that your instructors are giving you.

one of the reasons nursing can seem to be so difficult is because much of the information is being learned for the very first time and at a very quick pace. if you think about it, in most of your previous classes since high school, the classwork was built upon what you had previously learned. study strategies and study skills also play a big part of anyone's success in a program like nursing. sometimes you just have to read, reread, reread again, and just reread the material yet another time in order for it to "sink" in. it also helps to read other authors viewpoints on the same material (supplemental books and articles). it is also known from research done by educators that actually speaking out the information, as in study groups or just discussing it with someone else is a more efficient way of locking information into the brain and retaining it. this is one of the reasons why so many instructors assign group projects and oral presentations--not to torture the students.

if you haven't already seen and explored the weblinks on these two sticky threads, use the vacation break to seriously look at the wonderful information contained in them. studying is a skill like any other and takes time to master and usually comes through trial and error. the errors, unfortunately, being poor test scores. but, if you bounce back learning from them--you're all the stronger for the next round.

good luck with whatever you decide. one of the alternative careers that is very close to nursing is health information management. it is the business side of the industry and where i went when my health started failing and i could no longer do the physical work of staff nursing. when taken at community college or university level it requires many of the same prerequisites (anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology) and also general knowledge of computers and typing. as a hospital coder you would be reading doctor's dictations (discharge summaries, histories and physicals) and determining the final diagnoses on hospital patient charts needed in order for the hospital to bill for the care provided to the patient. this kind of job in the acute hospitals pays almost identical to rn nursing because you must have knowledge of anatomy & physiology as well as state and federal laws regarding the billing (which you would learn in the classes). as a health information management (him) professional you are generating reports for the hospital administration and overseeing the confidentiality of patient records. him people maintain birth and death records for government agencies, run tumor registries and medical staff offices in large facilities/corporations and quite a few are employed by agencies like medicare, medicaid, public health departments and insurance companies. and, the work is quite exciting and stimulating and pays very well. instead of getting a license you take a national test to become certified which makes you highly marketable for employment.

whatever you decide to do, good luck to you.

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Specializes in CCU.

thanks

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Specializes in ED.

look into a community college program. It may be more competitive to get in, but much more cost effective.

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Specializes in CCU.

Just wanted to revisit my original post about failing out in my first attempt in a horrible nursing program. I have now graduated from a very good RN program and just want to encourage anyone out there who may have had to go through a failure TO NOT GIVE UP! To quote the movie Pursuit of Happyness, "don't ever let anybody tell you that you can't do something". The road to success is often paved with failure. I believe it was God's timing I thank all the encouraging posts because only a nursing student understands. And although I still have quite a bit ahead of me, I am thanking God to have accomplished an important goal in my life.

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