I failed out of nursing school midway, now what?

[Jkliu888]

So, I decided to complete and one year accelerated BSN program in May. I quickly became the class' unofficial "class president" by planning events for us to do, and even speaking to professors and administration on our class' behalf. and just recently failed out halfway through (medsurg 2) by 1%. My school didn't allow me my testing accommodations for my diagnosed ADHD until halfway through medsurg 2. When I contacted the dean and the teacher they said they could not do anything for me and that I am not a special case.

That being said, I'm at a standstill. Do I transfer someplace else? I have to option to complete the two year at my school but that program doesn't start for another year (when this medsurg 2 class is offered again).

Im feeling a little down and that I let down my family and my nursing class. Does anyone have suggestions what to do??

[Rekt]

Did I say there was no help? I said not compared to the help they receive in elementary-high school. They may get help, but it certainly isn't to the extent as before. I think I would know since my brother is dyslexic & I have bipolar disorder.

The amount of help he received in high school was overwhelming, but how much help he received in college was nowhere near it. Yes, you will get help but it won't be similar to the amount of help.

Okay.......

[direw0lf, BSN]

Maybe it depends largely on the college? My college works with autistic individuals and my classmate has ADHD. It's a tremendous amount of support given, in fact, more than my high school gave to those struggling with anything (my high school was huge and in inner city to be fair though)

I would go against what everyone has said although I might be giving bad advice, but maybe OP you can find another college, one that's maybe smaller sized and/or that has a strong support. Have you ever heard of TRIO federal education programs? TRIO is for students who meet a certain criteria (such as diagnosed with a learning disability or being the first person in your family to go to college). Maybe you can look into that.

[gM_2010, MSN, PhD, RN, NP]

Good advice from all the previous posters. I have one more suggestion. If you reapply to your current program or a new one, find that university/school's office for student disabilities. Every college has a process for assessing and handling students with accommodations for disabilities. I ran large Med-Surg 2 classes at a major university and was REQUIRED to accommodate students who followed my university's process for learning disabilities. It was the students' responsibilities to see their disability services advisor every semester and bring me the test accommodation.

I was not obligated not required to honor any request for accommodations for a student who didn't come through student disability services. If you do or believe you may have a learning disability, it would be worth your time to seek out the student disability services office of your university and make an appointment for assessment and learn your your university/school's procedures for handling test accommodations.

Good luck!

[OrganizedChaos, LVN]

Maybe it depends largely on the college? My college works with autistic individuals and my classmate has ADHD. It's a tremendous amount of support given, in fact, more than my high school gave to those struggling with anything (my high school was huge and in inner city to be fair though)

I would go against what everyone has said although I might be giving bad advice, but maybe OP you can find another college, one that's maybe smaller sized and/or that has a strong support. Have you ever heard of TRIO federal education programs? TRIO is for students who meet a certain criteria (such as diagnosed with a learning disability or being the first person in your family to go to college). Maybe you can look into that.

My brother went from a small high school to a small community college. The class sizes were the same, the only thing that changed was the fact that it was college. I have even inquired about what assistance *I* would receive & it was honestly, not much. Not much compared to what I would've received if I was diagnosed in say, high school or before.

[akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P]

OP: So, you failed out of nursing school. That happens, probably more often than you think. It happened to me too. Here's the thing about me: I'm a very good test-taker and I know what method of study works best for me. Nursing school is such a different animal than most that even with those advantages, I still failed out. What got me? I wasn't managing my sleep schedule well enough and I got too tired to perform well enough in clinical. It was only afterward that I figured out what it was that happened (it creeped up on me so slowly...) that I was able to adjust. Unfortunately I couldn't just repeat the semester I failed, I had to follow some content from that semester to the one they moved the content to and that meant going back a semester.

It also meant that I repeated about 95% of the content I'd seen over the past 2 semesters so I just ended up doing that much better both in clinical and in academic life that I went from a student they worried about to one that they didn't have to. Ever. Was I the best student they ever had? Not by a long shot. I was, however, the most inspiring one they'd had in a very long time.

I'm an ED RN and have been for 3 years now. What happened? Simple. I took the time to figure out what was going on and I made the right adjustments and I'm still keeping those adjustments going because that's helping to prevent me from becoming too tired while at work.

Sure, you have ADHD. That's fine. A lot of people do. Since you are likely to have some time between now and restarting the program, I suggest you take the time to get your symptoms under good enough control that you can be effective as a student first. You've seen much of the material so far, so why not review the material you've gone over so far and get a really good grasp of it? Nursing school is about grasping those concepts and learning to be able to apply them to real-world patients. Get your academic disability program stuff lined up so that when you do start, they'll be required to make certain accommodations for you. My program had a few students that needed some accommodations and the program made that stuff happen. Those students are all working as nurses and have been since graduation.

Are you special? No. Not in the sense that the real world will not accommodate you much, if at all. You have to be able to perform in the clinical setting and you have to be able to perform academically. They can't accommodate that stuff. You are uniquely you and once you figure out how to work through your ADHD and become able to use it to advantage, you should be able to do reasonably well in school and at work. How do I know? Simple. I don't. What I do know is that you did well enough in your prerequisites that you got into nursing school so you have the brain power to do it. The rest is, truly, up to you.

Yoda said it well: "You can or cannot. Do, or do not. There is no try."

[Devnation]

Are you serious right now? Why do we need to be nice & hold hands all the time? The OP is an adult, not a child. It's time to take responsibility for her actions. I am bipolar & was undiagnosed throughout my program. But I managed to pass my program & the NCLEX with no accommodations.

If the OP has ADHD why did she take take on so much & not just focus on school? Especially if she was newly diagnosed. She doesn't know how to properly study with ADHD.

paisling, nowonimportant, and meanmaryjean like this.

OrganizedChaos has been a member since Aug '13 - from 'Texas'. Age: 29 OrganizedChaos has '7' year(s) of experience and specializes in 'LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug recovery'. Posts: 7,552 Likes: 19

@Organized Chaos: Hmmm, guess I hit a nerve. I am not suggesting hand holding. I just don't like kicking people when they are down. OP seems to feel bad enough already. I would rather be encouraging than accusatory. But that's just me.

[Devnation]

Duplicate post

[OrganizedChaos, LVN]

@Organized Chaos: Hmmm, guess I hit a nerve. I am not suggesting hand holding. I just don't like kicking people when they are down. OP seems to feel bad enough already. I would rather be encouraging than accusatory. But that's just me.

lol. Hit what nerve? I have to actually care what you think for you to hit my nerve. Sometimes the truth can sting but it's what we need to hear.

I'm tired of saying I was "bullying" or "mean". Being honest is not akin to being mean. The OP never ONCE took responsibility for her actions! She only placed blame on the school for not giving her the accommodations she wanted. But what happens once she out in the real world? There aren't any accommodations. Also, why didn't she ever try taking on less responsibility or going to talk to her doctor about medication that might help her? It is NOT all the school's fault. She needs to realize that half of the problem there is hers'. If she doesn't learn how to manage her ADHD she will fail out of ANOTHER nursing program even if she IS given accommodations. She could be given all the accommodations in the world but if she doesn't know how to function with ADHD, she will never succeed.

I am not going to place all the blame on the school when 50% of the blame needs to go to the OP. Also, I am not going to coddle the OP when she needs to realize what mistakes she made so she can fix them. Isn't that how we become better nurses? If a preceptee made a mistake would you tell them that it's ok & they did nothing wrong? Or would you tell them what they did wrong & how to fix it? I'm pretty sure you'd do the latter. So how is this any different?

[Devnation]

lol. Hit what nerve? I have to actually care what you think for you to hit my nerve. Sometimes the truth can sting but it's what we need to hear.

I'm tired of saying I was "bullying" or "mean". Being honest is not akin to being mean. The OP never ONCE took responsibility for her actions! She only placed blame on the school for not giving her the accommodations she wanted. But what happens once she out in the real world? There aren't any accommodations. Also, why didn't she ever try taking on less responsibility or going to talk to her doctor about medication that might help her? It is NOT all the school's fault. She needs to realize that half of the problem there is hers'. If she doesn't learn how to manage her ADHD she will fail out of ANOTHER nursing program even if she IS given accommodations. She could be given all the accommodations in the world but if she doesn't know how to function with ADHD, she will never succeed.

I am not going to place all the blame on the school when 50% of the blame needs to go to the OP. Also, I am not going to coddle the OP when she needs to realize what mistakes she made so she can fix them. Isn't that how we become better nurses? If a preceptee made a mistake would you tell them that it's ok & they did nothing wrong? Or would you tell them what they did wrong & how to fix it? I'm pretty sure you'd do the latter. So how is this any different?

I think you doth protest too much...Most people don't take so much time to respond if they are truly indifferent. I have read some of your other posts. I would think you of all people would show a little more compassion. You know what it is like to lose something you dreamed of. I am not saying to coddle or hand hold the OP. I knew someone once who could tell a person to go to hell so sweetly that they'd enjoy the trip. It's not always what you say, it's how you say it. I also disagree with your characterization of her not accepting any responsibility. It didn't sound to me like she was placing all the blame on the school.

When my preceptees make mistakes, of course, I inform them. But I also try not to crush their spirits when doing so. Would you have liked it if everyone on this board responded to your past post by saying your troubles were all of your own making, so stop whining? Would that have been helpful? No, that would have been harsh and pointless. People generally know when they screw up. No need to make it worse. Lighten up a little, you're too young to be so rigid.

That being said, I hope that things have turned around for you on the job front. I wish you much success. Pax.

[OrganizedChaos, LVN]

I think you doth protest too much...Most people don't take so much time to respond if they are truly indifferent. I have read some of your other posts. I would think you of all people would show a little more compassion. You know what it is like to lose something you dreamed of. I am not saying to coddle or hand hold the OP. I knew someone once who could tell a person to go to hell so sweetly that they'd enjoy the trip. It's not always what you say, it's how you say it. I also disagree with your characterization of her not accepting any responsibility. It didn't sound to me like she was placing all the blame on the school.

When my preceptees make mistakes, of course, I inform them. But I also try not to crush their spirits when doing so. Would you have liked it if everyone on this board responded to your past post by saying your troubles were all of your own making, so stop whining? Would that have been helpful? No, that would have been harsh and pointless. People generally know when they screw up. No need to make it worse. Lighten up a little, you're too young to be so rigid.

That being said, I hope that things have turned around for you on the job front. I wish you much success. Pax.

That makes no sense. So I can't respond without being emotionally attached? It is quite possible to respond to posts and not be emotionally involved, truly, it is. I do it all the time.

Compassion? If I failed at something & didn't take responsibility for for my failure, I hope someone would tell me the truth. My mother and husband always do, it hurts, but they do. Does it suck? Yeah, a whole lot. But it is a lot better than not being told at all.

When did the OP ever take responsibility? She even posted about how she refused to take meds! I never said it was 100% her fault. But she does need to change because if she doesn't, she will never succeed.

Sometimes it IS my fault (since I'm bipolar) and whining isn't helpful. I do realize that, when I have a clear head and I'm not in the middle of a mania or depression.

[Dani_Mila, BSN, RN]

I failed nursing school first time. But, that didn't stop me. I spoke to the teachers and the DON and they helped me get back into the program. With perseverance, you can do it. I've known some people who were in a 4 year program. They couldn't stay because of the cost and the problem was they ended at out of the nursing program and in debt

So, they applied to a 2 year program, where I graduated at. Two years went by and they are both working nurses. Do not be discourage. You will become a nurse =)

[Julius Seizure]

No one is special, that is how special snowflakes are created. She is an adult & has to talk to her provider about the best way to monitor her ADHD. No one is going to cater to her in the real world & there is definitely not that much help for people with disabilities in college versus elementary thru high school.

As much as I hate the term "special snowflakes", this is good advice. In general, you've got to take care of yourself - very rarely will somebody go out of their way to assist on their own accord. Schools and workplaces accommodate when they are legally required to - but its up to the individual to know what they are entitled to, seek it out, and get that help. Sometimes they make it hard, too. You have to advocate for yourself.

On the other hand, many students - not just those diagnosed with ADHD or any other covered disability - could benefit from their learning environment being tailored to them, but being an adult learner means figuring out how to succeed without being catered to or spoon fed the material. (I don't mean to say that OP was ever asking to be spoon fed, these are just general musings.) Even if a person is given accommodations, this is still an important skill to learn.

Find out why you failed, review your quizzes. USE YOUR RESOURCES. these programs are super excelorated so tyring videos like The Great Nurse offers can really place things quickly and effectivly. Try to practice quizzes online before yur tests. RN Quizzes offers the ability to upload your study guide and get a practice quiz from there. FOCUS ON WHAT YOU GET WRONG! use sources liek nursing made easy books if you are more of a reader and dont like videos.

These might be good suggestions for the adult learner. Basically, know your resources and find what works for you.