Is Nursing Course Failure Always a Bad Thing?

Nursing course failure may assist the nursing students to future success. Both nursing faculty and nursing students need to look at reasons for a failure. If the issue is the nursing student, the student needs to ask for assistance and change what is necessary to gain success. If the issue is the faculty member, the faculty needs to consider a better way to educate the next generation of nurses. Nurses Announcements Archive Article

Is Nursing Course Failure Always a Bad Thing?

In nursing programs, nursing students are expected to pass all nursing courses. Many nursing schools have progression policies that insist on a certain grade percentage for the student to pass and limit the number of courses a student may fail. In the nursing student's eyes, failing even one course is a bad thing but can this be the wrong attitude? Compounding this feeling are research findings. Frith, Sewell, and Clark (2005) found failure of a nursing course was predictive of NCLEX-RN failure.

But what if the student can use the nursing course failure to recognize a problem in either his or her study habits, understanding or material, or test anxiety? Could a nursing course failure lead to success of the student? Does the reality of failure actually cause the student to change and to become successful? This nursing faculty performed research which is unpublished that does give some evidence of failure being the impetus for success.

As a nursing faculty member, I have witnessed failure create success and compound failure. The students who change their attitude and study habits may go on to finish the program and pass the licensing examination.

I heard a student in the hallway last semester saying, 'I don't know what I was thinking last semester. Why did I find this course difficult. I know I am going to earn a B this semester.' I am not sure what nursing course it was but I smiled as I walked by. The student was repeating a course and actually understanding the material better. Failure may assist with success?

The other extreme is the failure leading to further failure. For the student who does not recognize a need to change, the initial failure may just compound into future failure. How many failures does a student endure before giving up or finding a new way to proceed? The student may even be dismissed from the nursing program as a result of multiple failures. Which is worse: a student who is dismissed from a nursing program for repetitive failures or a student who is passed through a program and fails the licensure exam?

Even though failure may lead to failure, should nursing faculty pass a student just to be 'nice'? Can the niceness lead to future failure? This niceness then may actually be mean and set up the student for disappointment and future failure.

For the nursing students who may read this, if you have a failing grade, do you blame the faculty member or do you go see them? Do you try to understand why you are failing? For faculty members, if all the students fail or a large majority of them fail, do you question what you could do better?

"As baby boomers continue to age, the need for health care grows" (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2011, para 1). With today's aging population, nurses are a necessary resource. Bargagliotti (2009) found as nurses age and retire, fewer nurses are taking their place. The projected shortage involves not only more graduate nurses failing the National Council Licensure Examination- Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN) (Roa, Shipman, Hooten, & Carter, 2011) but also fewer nursing students completing nursing school.

For both faculty members and nursing students, the failures should be of concern. Faculty members need to reassess their examinations and other evaluation items. Are they evaluating the students adequately and fairly.

Nursing students need to discover the reason for their failure. Discovering the reason for failure whether it is a nursing course or the licensing exam may assist the nursing student or graduate nurse to become successful in the end.

We need more registered nurses- we cannot afford all of the failures.

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cls376

About cls376

I am a junior faculty member, perinatal nurse, and doctoral candidate. I am interested in nursing student's success.

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Specializes in ICU.

Not everyone is cut out for nursing. That's just the way it is. If you can't learn to critically think then you won't be a good nurse. By the time you have done your prereqs and hit nursing school, all of the excuses of bad study habits should be gone. You should weed those out while doing your prereqs. Not come into nursing school thinking you can skate by like you did before. The evaluating of study habits, and how you learn should be done. I know I sound harsh but people in nursing school are not high school students anymore. You are now a seasoned student. Those who aren't willing to put in the time and effort now, probably won't be putting in time and effort on the job and those are not the type of people I want taking care of me.

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Specializes in Emergency Department.

I'm one of those "failure" students that retook a course and passed easily. Yes, there are things I still need to learn, but I'm doing well in my final semester and in my case, my failure was a clinical fail. Instead of moping around, I used the time to figure out what I needed to do and got it done. In fact, I not only got myself back on my feet, I used the extra time I had to help mentor my classmates so they ended up doing well too! So, in the spirit of see one, do one, teach one, I did a lot of doing and teaching and got really good at what I was doing. I will also say that I certainly picked up details that I didn't the first time around, not that my exam grades were bad by any means!

Obviously I've not graduated yet and therefore haven't passed the NCLEX-RN.

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Excellent article on what I consider success through failure. It's inspiring to see people pick themselves up.

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"Is Nursing Course Failure Always a Bad Thing?"

Only if you want to be a nurse....

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

As one who "failed" in nursing school, I found out that I had test anxiety-found that out through my PN program; as well as found out I had a mood disorder trait discovered years later, I was discouraged from my initial failure because, according to my professors and dean, I did everything right in terms of note taking and studying, but the disconnect was not figuring out or analyzing students with test anxiety; however, I don't attribute their miss; I am glad I dusted myself off and the next program I got in was very instrumental in honing students; doing so helped me understand it's NOT just study habits; test taking has an correlation between how one restrains information. As a kinesthetic and visual learner, I learned how action words helped me choose the best answer; as well as visualizing scenarios helped me choose the best

answer.

That first failure helped me pass my PN program, my BSN program an the NCLEX-PN and RN the first time. :yes:

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I failed one , passed my NCLEX 75 questions first time . Tomorrow I celebrate my first year as a nurse :) I'm transitioning into CCU now !!!! I changed my studying habits and graduated with a 3.5 GPA

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

In my humble opinion, failure can be turned into a positive aspect if the person learns a lesson or two from it. The deprivation of failure can build character, instill perseverance, and teach a person to dust oneself off and try again, but this happens only if the individual consciously chooses to evaluate what went wrong.

Some people totally give up after failing. Others address the root causes of their failures, learn from the experience, and eventually succeed.

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Specializes in Perinatal.

To MedsurgLatinaNurse, akulahawk, LadyFree28, and all who have made a failure into a success,

It warms my heart to hear your success stories. Like others have stated, you must learn from the failure to become successful. I am happy that you have. Nursing is a wonderful profession that needs good nurses. Your past experiences will help you go far in our chosen profession.

Congrats

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Not just in the nursing field, I guess. Failure is a common thing. Everyone experiences it. However, we have different responses. If we keep on blaming ourselves our of that failure, then we're a little late for success.

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I am going through a hard time right now with an instructor who I feel is an ineffective teacher during clinical. I feel she is looking to fail me. She offers little to no instruction and then is aggressive in her expectations. I feel like a blind person just advancing slowly and feeling around to be careful, but getting yelled at for it. I have done nothing to cause poor patient care. I am a hard-working student, successful at my PCT job, and even have scholarships in the program. I would much rather improve to her standards than blame the instructor for failure, but without guidance I feel it is impossible. Clinical is for learning and refining skills, and she makes it feel like a bootcamp. An attempt to discuss the situation with her revealed that she is an ineffective listener and would much rather *prove a point* than understand her students. I have Dean's list grades in the program and have never had an issue with another instructor, but yet I've never felt more desperate. Failure would be devastating more than motivating.

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I would sit down alone with her and talk to her about what are her expectations . My advice is to be mellow and don't brag about your A's and academic backgrounds with her . Just tell her how can you improve ?

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