Georgia Perimeter College

U.S.A. Georgia

Published

I am a 1st year nursing student at GPC and am having a very difficult time right now with my decision for coming to this school. The program is very unorganized. Here is a list of the problems I have found so far:

1. There are only 2 allowed check-off chances for skills. You are given a PLA which is supposed to be a teaching session of the skill you are learning, but only ends up being the teacher quickly going through what you have to do and then making us watch 80s film reviews of the skill. If you are not successful with the 2 check-offs, you are out of the program

2. For the tests, we are given a lecture 2 to 3 times a week for 3-4 hours. Some of the teachers are very good at expanding on the powerpoints that are shown, but others are strictly by the powerpoint, word-for-word, and do not give any insight into the material we are speaking about. We have just began this past test to have a review with the teachers the day before the test. How this helps, I haven't figured out yet. It would make more sense to have it at least a few days before the test in order for us to study what we didn't understand a little better.

3. A lot of the teachers act as if we are already nurses and should know everything that nurses do. They are not as helpful as they need to be and seem as if it is a hassle to answer questions that we students direct at them.

I know that nursing programs are difficult and not easy, but my question is for those of you that are in programs in and around the Atlanta area. Are your programs as difficult or do you have direction on learning your nursing skills?

I want to know what I am doing and be a smart, caring nurse. I do not feel that GPC is teaching me this. To throw me into clinical without even feeling comfortable with my skills yet is not my idea of teaching. I feel anxiety very time I walk into the hospital because of the uncomfortableness and I do not want that. I want to be a nurse but I think I need to find another program that is going to allow me to learn what I need to know and not just what I need to know to pass a test.

Please help with any advice. I greatly appreciate your time.

P.S. To all those this past spring that tired to talk me out of going to GPC, I should have listened to you then.

Thanks and God Bless

I graduated from GPC in May of this year. It was the worst 2 years of my life and I would strongly suggest getting out now while you don't have too much time invested. It's better than getting to the 3rd semester, failing out and then having to wait for a spot at another school (but your gpa will be killed by that point anyway).

People were failed out not only for not passing tests but for ridiculous, completely subjective crap in clinicals and on check offs.

50% of surviving the program is who you get for clinicals. It's complete luck. The other 50% is how well you test and how well you do under stress during check offs (and I mean STRESS). People were having diarrhea and vomiting before and after check offs. Someone actually passed out during a check off one time.

I have a friend who started the program with me, failed out early in the 3rd sememster (she had a panic attack during a math test - you only have 2 chances to make 100% and if you don't - you fail the whole semester). Anyway, she got into N GA in Kennesaw and loves it. She says it's a whole different world.

The only way I made it thru was with antidepressants and a VERY supportive husband (and a lot of luck with who I got for clinicals). You can kiss any of your free time away.

I'm now a RN at Emory and let me tell you - nursing school does not have to be that way. My friends who went to Emory had a completely different experience - a good one.

I heard a couple of horror stories about the program before I enrolled but thought, "How hard can it be?" Boy was I wrong. I studied 24/7 and made C's all semesters except 1 I made a B.

Do not go to this school. They make you feel like crap and are not supportive.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in none.

:idea: Can anyone that attended GPC program give some suggestions on how to approach the test questions that we have? The questions are harder than the sample or practice NCLEX questions.

What test bank do they find the answers in?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
:idea: Can anyone that attended GPC program give some suggestions on how to approach the test questions that we have? The questions are harder than the sample or practice NCLEX questions.

What test bank do they find the answers in?

The questions are made up by the instructor who gave the lecture. Therefore, if the test is over eight different lectures given by five different instructors, those same five instructors wrote the test questions that apply to their lecture/s.

It is very hard to take a test that is written by five or six different outlooks. This is part of what my class went to the Dept Chair to express, to no avail of course.

Just read, read, read. There is no way to predict what they will test over. Good luck.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

She's right. There is no test bank. They make up their own questions. Remember they'll all be application. Like you need to know lab values but they won't ask you straight out, it will be like you need to know the lab value to answer the patient scenario given. Always remember to apply your ABC's and Maslow. If someone can't breathe, put the head of their bed up, etc.

One thing I would suggest (which I didn't do until my last sem) is to make an appt. with *********** and have her go over test taking strategies. She is really the only one who can help you with this. The questions are way harder than the nclex. I guess this is the reason all the grads pass the nclex on the first try.

And know your math. There's no excuse for missing a math question. It's like 5 or 10 free points. Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.

moderator's gentle reminder:

for privacy reasons and tos, please do not post teacher's names.

thank you :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I left GPC after Med-Surg in Spring '06. Our class started with 175 people and diminished to 28 people after 2 semesters. Yes, they have a 100% NCLEX pass rate, but with the graduating numbers SO low, the odds are you won't make it through.

This school is on probation from what I understand. Their graduating numbers have dwindled every year for the past 5 years.

Instructors fail students during skills check-offs for things like, "I saw you break sterile field half-way through the check-off." And because it's her word against yours, you're screwed and subsequently fail the entire semester. It never happened to me; I passed all check-offs and clinicals, but I witnessed first hand how instructors would pick on students, bully students, and relish in the power trip. It's nothing short of abuse in my opinion.

I left GPC because the tests were ridiculous. I have several NCLEX review books and would do hundreds of practice questions to prepare for the tests. I get the whole "critical thinking" concept. But it didn't help. The tests at GPC are unreasonable. For every test, there are 3 or more instructors contributing homemade, poorly written test questions. It's impossible to get a sense of an instructors "style" because there's a new one everyday. And believe me, they don't cover the test material during lecture.

After dealing with the utter exhaustion, frustration, and stress, I decided I couldn't take any more beatings to my GPA.

To the poster who so generously offered study tips like reading the material beforehand and practicing check-offs, thank you. Under normal circumstances, this would be great advice and I'm sure you meant well. However, when it comes to GPC, you have no idea what you're talking about.

After a nightmarish 2 semesters, I decided to switch gears. Of course, there's a wait-list at all other nursing schools in Atlanta, so I licked my wounds, cried for a week, prayed, and decided to transfer to an LPN program because they could take me right away. Of course, my ultimate goal is RN, but I can bridge over.

LET ME TELL YOU: the difference is like night and day!!! I'm not talking about the ease of content.....I'm talking about GOOD, QUALITY instructors who CARE! :) It's absolutely amazing. My clinical instructor guides the group through relaxation exercises and guided imagery after every clinical shift. She gave each of us a journal so that we could write down our thoughts and questions, and she takes the time to answer each one. As for lectures, we have just one instructor, and she generates the test questions out of a data bank. The questions are meant to prepare us for the NCLEX, so there is plenty of critical thinking involved. If we have a concern or an area that needs clarification, she actually takes the time to LISTEN and ANSWER us! :) Granted, I feel like I'm doing alot of backtracking because of my previous knowledge, but these instructors do their best to challenge us and encourage us. It's truly a breath of fresh air.

In 9 months, I'll be ready to take the NCLEX-PN. Afterwards, I'll bridge over to the North Georgia LPN-RN program which takes roughly a year. I've heard great things about it.

GPC was probably one of the worst experiences of my life. I'm only recently beginning to get excited about being a nurse again. It took time to get over the blow, but I've moved on.

A friend of mine in the GPC program (an LPN) just failed 3rd semester for the 2nd time. She worked SO HARD, and received NO HELP, no guidance, no support whatsoever. She is utterly heartbroken. She tried to talk with different instructors for help, and they could care less. And now that she has 2 failures, she isn't welcome back. Let me tell you, this girl is sharp, she's good, she's a great nurse. But this program sucked the life right out of her.

My heart goes out to you!!!! I completely understand the turmoil you're going through. I still get really upset when I think about that place. My advice would be to continue working hard, but create a Plan B just in case. Get your applications into other schools before your GPA goes downhill.

Good Luck.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU, ER, Hemodialysis.
To the poster who so generously offered study tips like reading the material beforehand and practicing check-offs, thank you. Under normal circumstances, this would be great advice and I'm sure you meant well. However, when it comes to GPC, you have no idea what you're talking about.

I agree that I do not know anything about GPC; however, as I stated, I think that maybe if the OP finds out what works for others then MAYBE it will work for the OP. I am sure that it is a tough program and maybe there are less than helpful professors there, but obviously there are graduates. According to the GA BON...in 2001 95, in 2002 64, in 2003 66, in 2004 63. That's 288 students in 4 years. Again, I truly believe that this is a tough program. I do not dought you on this matter.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

GPC has 2 graduating classes per year. Each class starts with close to 200 students. So if they graduate 63 students out of almost 400, the odds are pretty scary. I can tell you that last year, one of the graduating classes only had 18 people.

Obviously, to the OP, get a couple of good NCLEX review books, do hundreds of practice questions, read the chapters beforehand, etc. I recorded all lectures but found it unhelpful because the test questions have little to do with lecture content.

I just spoke with my friend who is still (barely) in the program (3rd Semester). She said that the Georgia Board of Nursing sent reps. to the school the other day to talk with students and get some feedback. She said that some students were crying they were so upset, recounting instructor treatment and the unnecessarily difficult and poorly written test questions.

It's a shame that during the current nursing shortage, with so many bright, willing, and eager students, we have to deal with incompetance when it comes to teachers and instructors, who quite frankly, don't give a damn.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I remember during my time there in 2003 they were so disorganized and alot of the instructors just made you feel dumb. I realized I couldnt be that dumb if I got into nursing schoo. Luckily my mom is a nurse and just blantantly told me to withdraw and go somewhere else b/c they werent teaching me what I needed to know. I kept feeling like I was going to kill someone b/c I didnt have enough skills or knowledge. When I was at GPC we had 6 or 7 weeks of skills check off but no one ever showed us how to help someone out of bed or give a bed bath. We were told to watch the video. Uhhh hello....not everyone learns that way!!

I asked tons of questions but still didnt help me pass the tests. I did practice questions, read the required chapters and even did extra work out of study guides...it didnt help. I got out..applied to Gordon College and had a much better experience. Hopefully since the G BON came to talk to the students things will get better. I almost want to get a master's degree so I can teach there and give some light to the struggling nursing students.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Medical Floor RN.

Hey there everyone:

Thank you so much for all the posts that you have sent in. GPC is not getting any better and I just ended up with a 66 on my last test. 4 points lower than what I thought I had after the test review. I have set up to go over the test with my advisor but the teachers say that they do a review after each test and stated that they did go over each of the 50 questions and none were given credit. I had and still do have a hard time grasping that all the instructors got together and looked over all the emails from the students and decided in one day (most tests take a week for the grades to be posted). But, I am not giving up. We are going to have a meeting (all of the Fundamentals students) tomorrow with the top lady and hopefully we can get some things changed to make this a positive experience for everyone. I do hope that it gets better but I am also going to look into plan Bs. Good luck to you all and I wish you the best. God bless.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

OK, I'm going to apply some tough love here. If you are in Fundamentals and struggling, this program definitely isn't for you. Trust me on this. You're only allowed one fail. Folks that actually graduate from this program use that one fail, but they use it in 3rd or 4th semester. Count your losses and run as fast as you can with your still-intact GPA.

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but I wish I had the same warning before I entered that crypt of hell!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Well said, dmarie. I had to withdraw at the midpoint of 2nd semester, and I cannot describe to you what it did to me. It emotionally and physically broke me. For months.

I'm a bright lady, and began the program with a 3.8 GPA. I was forced to withdraw to save my GPA. Failing an 11 hour course will dash any dreams of getting into another good school. That was not an option. And you're right, it is a shame that we have such a nursing shortage and GPC is running off really competent, compassionate future nurses. I gave up on the career completely, after being waitlisted and finally not getting in at NGCSU and Athens Tech.

Get out when you can, and go to a school that cares about you. When a couple hundred people begin, and 28 finish, the numbers speak louder than any words.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment