Needing opinions

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Hi there,

I am a Access to Practical Nursing Student, who was hoping to graduate 3.5months from today.

Unfortunately, that looks like it is not going to be happening. I recently did my second to last final exam for this one course and I got a 68% and passing is 70%. The school wants me to resit the level, pushing me back from going to acute care practicum which would be set a week from now.

I'm quit distraught because when I accumulate my OVERALL mark from assignments, attendance and this failing 68%, I still have average way above the passing 70%.

I am not exactly sure how to go about this because the co-ordinator + director of the campus feel as thought resitting the level will help me practice my multiple choice when I believe that, that's not the case. This one exam is delaying and the staff seem to be overlooking the combination of marks put together.

Is this fair or is this politics/ policies of going to a private institution? Should my marks be combinded? Because as of right now, I am passing all 6 courses but due to this one course final mark not including assignments and attendance, its pushing me back to resit over 2%.

Let me know what you all think :) feeling a bit miss guided...

Kindest regards,

Manda

TheCommuter, BSN, RN

102 Articles; 27,612 Posts

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

Welcome to Allnurses.com!

Due to the phraseology you're using, I assume you are in Canada. Be mindful that practical nursing education is conducted differently here in the States.

For instance, my practical nursing program was 12 months long and 78% was the minimum passing grade for all courses. A 68% or 70% wouldn't have made the cut, and many nursing schools across the states use grading scales similar to the one I was held to.

We do have a Canadian Nursing Programs forum if you wanted to search the posts and possibly find information specific to your locale. Good luck to you!

manda.xo

5 Posts

that would be great, I'll look for the Canadian forum! Thank you!

Specializes in Reproductive & Public Health.

Go back to your student handbook. It should spell it out for you quite clearly. In my (CNM) program, we need an overall grade of >80% (nope, 79.5 is not good enough, no rounding) to pass. You also need to pass EVERY SINGLE EXAM at >80%; however we were not required to have >80 on all assignments and presentations.

Our policies allow us to retake two exams (out of the entire program) if our initial grade is under 80%. If the retake is

If, at the end of the semester, our cumulative grade is

manda.xo

5 Posts

Okay good idea! I did the rewrite receiving the 68%, however, I was only told my mark and to do the rewrite the day before rewrite day..which is another thing throwing me off. The student handbook states "1 week to prepare/ study for the rewrite".

Thank you cayenne06 for replying!

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist

NotReady4PrimeTime, RN

5 Articles; 7,358 Posts

Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

I'm quite sure you'll find that your student handbook will say something like, "Minimum passing grade 70% with no individual examination grade

As an aside, what relationship does this post have to immigration?

loriangel14, RN

6,931 Posts

Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

So what does your student handbook say?

Fiona59

8,343 Posts

I'm quite sure you'll find that your student handbook will say something like, "Minimum passing grade 70% with no individual examination grade

As an aside, what relationship does this post have to immigration?

Private School. Overseas student that needs to pass the course to remain in Canada

manda.xo

5 Posts

It is a private school, I am not a foreign student but a Canadian citizen since birth and I just needed some sort of clearance. Not sure why its even in the immigrations part of this forum but I just started this account to at least have direct replies, not cheap shots.

Student handbook said "the student is given 1 week preparation/ study time prior to the rewrite, with consideration of timely matters going into clinical practice". Point being I was told a day before the rewrite that I had to do it the next day, while I was still having theory/ lab that day. I know how much exams are a must to prepare for the hospital world but Ive already been exposed for quite a long time... multiple choice is part of my weakness. But hands on and applying knowledge + skills are my strengths.

Thank you all for your replies though!

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist

NotReady4PrimeTime, RN

5 Articles; 7,358 Posts

Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.
Not sure why its even in the immigrations part of this forum but I just started this account to at least have direct replies, not cheap shots.

Your now-merged threads aren't and weren't in the immigration part of the forum, but "immigration" was one of the keywords in the thread I replied to. I also see no "cheap shots" in any of the responses you've received thus far.

Student handbook said "the student is given 1 week preparation/ study time prior to the rewrite, with consideration of timely matters going into clinical practice". Point being I was told a day before the rewrite that I had to do it the next day, while I was still having theory/ lab that day. I know how much exams are a must to prepare for the hospital world but Ive already been exposed for quite a long time... multiple choice is part of my weakness.

The bolded part of the quote above is the pertinent portion. If, in looking at the timetable, it was apparent that giving you a week to prepare to rewrite would create problems for your clinical practice portion of the module, then the time frame given would be reduced. Given that Thanksgiving was last week so the school week was only 4 days instead of 5 may also figure into it. I'm sorry to say that this is only the the first bump on a very long, rough road where regulations will be applied to the letter; the various Health Professions Acts leave no wiggle room so schools and regulatory bodies have had no choice but to be strict. Consider this practice for the day when you have no time to think about what to do, when you have to act immediately or someone could die.

There are many resources for people who struggle with multiple-choice exams. Have you looked into any of them? I know there are posts here that offer effective exam-taking strategies. Maybe try a keyword search.

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