Survivorship bias in your nursing school?

smoup · Aug 29, 2013

Granted, I just started school this week, but my program has really emphasized on using resources provided by the books as well as the school and each other. We have a Student Success Center just for the nursing school that offers guided study sessions, tutoring, time management workshops, etc. We have library liaisons just for nursing that offer workshops on how to do lit searches for research papers and use other library resources to their potential. Mandatory meetings with professors/lab instructors if you do not do well on exams/validations as well as mandatory tutoring.

The attitude seems to be that you are all smart enough to be here because you made it here. Therefore you are all smart enough to finish the program, and we expect you to.

Double-Helix, BSN, RN · Aug 29, 2013

It really depends on the circumstances surrounding the failure. I would say that there are very few nursing schools where there are no resources available to help students succeed. Those resources being: faculty advisor, tutoring, mentoring, open labs, study groups, meetings with instructors, etc.

The problem is that many students don't utilize these resources, or don't utilize them well. They fail a quiz, are having trouble with the homework, need help understanding the book material, but they don't do to the instructor and let them know. They don't ask for some extra instruction or go see a tutor. They wait until there's one test left in the semester and they are already failing the class, or near failing. THEN they ask for help and expect the instructor to be able to do something for them. But how is the instructor supposed to know that the student needed help all along as opposed to just blowing off studying and not putting in the effort? They don't.

If I were an instructor and student came to me the week of a major test and told me, "I need help. I don't understand X, Y, Z and I need to pass this test or I fail." My first question would be, "What have you already done to try to improve?" In many cases (I saw this a lot as a nursing student tutor and mentor), there was no answer.

If you're in nursing school, then you're an adult. Nursing is a profession, and you're expected to be professional. That means taking accountability for your own learning. Putting in the effort when needed. Putting your studying ahead of partying and leisure, and asking for help when you need it. In the great majority of cases, the instructor want you to succeed and are willing to help. But they aren't going to take your hand and lead you along through every step. The reality is that some people are going to fail nursing school. But those who want to be successful and are willing to put in the effort to do so will have a much easier time.

llg, PhD, RN · Aug 29, 2013

Great post, Ashley.

Also ...

One of the fundamental missions of a nursing school (given to that school by society through their State Board accreditation) is to "weed out" those who are not fit to handle the responsibility of nursing. That makes nursing a different type of educational program than ... say ... an English department, or Philosophy department. Nurses are entrusted with the health, safety, and lives of other people -- and we must prove ourselves worthy of that trust if we are to be licences to practice as a nurse.

So ... while schools should help students to learn, they also NEED to be willing to fail those who do not demonstrate that they can handle the responsibility of nursing. Actual lives are at stake.

green34 · Aug 29, 2013

I think that a lot of schools are more focused on their pass rate that they will go through ridiculous measures to make sure that people succeed. Like if people do not get 97% on the exit test, my school makes them do a virtual ATI course. They also weed out a lot of people and some of the instructors have a ridiculous fail rate.

truckinusa, BSN, LPN, RN · Aug 30, 2013

I think that a lot of schools are more focused on their pass rate that they will go through ridiculous measures to make sure that people succeed. Like if people do not get 97% on the exit test, my school makes them do a virtual ATI course. They also weed out a lot of people and some of the instructors have a ridiculous fail rate.

This is my school. I just wish they could assign me one student that is failing and let me take them under my wing and get them thru. That is the way it should be done I believe.

ScientistSalarian · Aug 31, 2013

Granted, I just started school this week, but my program has really emphasized on using resources provided by the books as well as the school and each other. We have a Student Success Center just for the nursing school that offers guided study sessions, tutoring, time management workshops, etc. We have library liaisons just for nursing that offer workshops on how to do lit searches for research papers and use other library resources to their potential. Mandatory meetings with professors/lab instructors if you do not do well on exams/validations as well as mandatory tutoring.
The attitude seems to be that you are all smart enough to be here because you made it here. Therefore you are all smart enough to finish the program, and we expect you to.

My program is really similar. They offer a number of workshops on things like stress management and study skills, optional extra lab and study sessions, and we have a "Success Specialist" who works only with the RN students, sort of a cross between a therapist and a liaison between the students and instructors. Any test or quiz score below 75% is an automatic referral to the specialist to figure out what went wrong and how to improve. They have >95% NCLEX pass rate and and equally high retention rate so they must be doing something right! At any rate, it's really nice to be in an environment where you know the faculty and staff are really rooting for you to succeed - makes me all warm and fuzzy. :)