Struggling first semester student

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Hi, I'm a first time nursing student in nursing school who is struggling to pass. I have already failed 2 exams with a d, when the passing grade is 75. I need to the A and B's to pass the course . The instructor is telling me it would be hard for to achieve those grades since I have not recieved any of those grades in the exams. She was saying that sometimes people may not pass because nursing is not for them. I have no other plans except nursing, I feel very discouraged. I have the option to either withdraw or make those grades. The form dean has told me that it is very hard for students to raise thier grade up. Its not like I'm not studying. I'm not even sure what the problem is,whetther its my study or test taking skills. I was thinking about hiring a tutor, Any advice?

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Specializes in NICU.

Drop the class. It is possible for things to finally click and you get As and Bs on the next 2 tests, but unlikely. Drop the class and figure out what you are not understanding so you can start fresh next semester.

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I agree with dropping the class as well. It'd be helpful to go back to the first and second tests to see which problems you missed and reevaluate why you missed those problems so you can figure out what studying method works best for you. Also, if you have a lot of other activities other than school, maybe you need to look at lifestyle changes as well.

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I think that you should work it out. Do the math and see what the minimum grades you have to make are on the next two exams. Then change the way you study. I am in a program similar to yours so I understand how frustrating it can be to make As and Bs. BUT it is totally doable. A lot of nursing school is about the way that you study so, tell me, what is your current study methods?

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I agree with Jordan, NEVER RETREAT

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For those saying repeat, how would it actually beneficial ? How will I the learn habits when I'm not in school?

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Your instructor is familiar with your academic performance based on first-hand knowledge. Her/his advice was based on accurate date, whereas AN responses are coming from a projection of our own experience & attitudes. I certainly don't want to squash your dream of becoming a nurse, but I would also hate for you to continue to expend tremendous amounts of effort, time & money if it isn't going to work out for you. Maybe it's time to begin to think about possible Plan B options & timelines.

If nursing is not right for you, I am sure that there are many other careers in which you could excel and be happy.

Be good to yourself.

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I have told this story before, but here it is again. Every year our program would admit about 25% more students than we knew we would be keeping, because no matter how well-qualified the applicants, in about three weeks about that many would be in our offices crying because they 1) didn't know they'd have to see naked old people, 2) didn't know school would be so hard, 3) thought it would be more like on TV, 4) thought they could just do mother-baby and didn't have to do med-surg and psych and all that other stuff too in school, 5) didn't know how much responsibility a nurse has, 6) were shocked that they had to see/hear/smell/touch things like .... etc., etc. "I always wanted to be a nurse like my mother/my auntie/my neighbor/my pediatrician's nurse/Cherry Ames," they wail as they come to withdraw.

There was really no way to predict these people. Likewise, it was competitive to get admitted, but even though we only accepted academically qualified people there was no reliable way to tell who was going to "get" nursing and the different way you have to study and integrate past knowledge in it. And I have the feeling that even if there were such a test, the people who had a drreeeeeaaaammmm and passsssssiooooooonnnn and always wanted to be a nurse wouldn't have believed us if we didn't accept them based on it.

Nursing requires a different kind of studying and thinking. You can't just memorize data points and call it a day. You MUST be able to answer the questions, "Why do we care? What does it matter?" about all of those data points, and do it in many contexts. This kind of critical thinking is new and alien to many people; its a real stretch. If you haven't been going to see your faculty every week to discuss WHY you got questions wrong, to help you understand the WHY we care every time, you can't progress on this vital skill. Think about it.

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If you haven't made use of your school's student services now would be the time. I would ask for a meeting with them and with the course instructor to fully evaluate what exactly you have been doing wrong in the course up to this point and if there is any realistic possibility to fix the situation at this point. Let the instructor know that you want to be proactive and that you are committed to learning the material and succeeding. It may be too late for this semester but it will help lay the groundwork for reentry to the program if you need to withdraw from the class. Sometimes you need to just step back and regroup - and withdrawing should leave the door open to return while failing would most likely result in you being denied acceptance into any nursing program in the future.

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