At least 2/3 of my BSN-A cohort is failing... what to do?

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Hi, new here. Been lurking for a while and I finally got panicked enough to post. Basically, I'm in an accelerated BSN program. I already have a BS in another field, and so far I've done well in the program. My cohort is currently in its last class, Med-Surg II, and as of right now about 50-75% of the class is failing. The first test, about 8 people passed out of 32. Second test, it was about 50/50. Third (and most recent) exam: worse than the first. And its not just me, it's the guy who was head of the class, and never made anything less than an "A" on any test. It's the guy with two degrees in Bio and Micro. It's everyone, and no amount of effort seems to make any difference.

For what its worth I never failed a test before in ANY class, college, or program, including this one. We're all at our wits end trying to figure out how to salvage this class, but with only 1 test left before the final, it might already be too late. I've tried talking to the instructors, my advisor, even the Dean about it, but no one seems interested. It's like they'd rather ignore what's going on while the whole BSN-A program goes down in flames. I really don't get it, and I have no idea how to proceed. Any advice???

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Advice? tell us what school you attend so we can make sure we don't go there.

Every time this has happened to me, the instructor at the last minute applied some level of curve to the class. Usually it's like playing chicken.. see who will be the first to blink. Worst I ever had was a 15 point final curve in AnP2. Idiot was a biology instructor and couldn't teach fleas to jump on a white dog. At the same time, academia is retarded enough to fail an entire class. Don't blink.

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Specializes in LDRP.
Advice? tell us what school you attend so we can make sure we don't go there.

Every time this has happened to me, the instructor at the last minute applied some level of curve to the class. Usually it's like playing chicken.. see who will be the first to blink. Worst I ever had was a 15 point final curve in AnP2. Idiot was a biology instructor and couldn't teach fleas to jump on a white dog. At the same time, academia is retarded enough to fail an entire class. Don't blink.

ive never heard of a nursing class grade on a curve :/... if you fail, are you able to pick up in the same spot you were in the next time the class comes around? maybe if you ride it all the way through, youll know what to expect next time? sorry to hear its sucking so bad. :confused:

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The thing about nurse tests is that the answers are as right as the instructors want them to be. Its nauseating when their answer is stupid.

Back when I was in basic police training we had an instructor who was always right in the scenario and the student was always wrong. You could've had a panel of attorneys, FBI, state ppolice, and who else ever and they would've been wrong.

Its usually up to the interpretation of the instructors little mind particularly in higher order questions.

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Hey, thanks guys. I would've wrote sooner but I'm doing weekend clinicals. I didn't post to complain about my school (which I'd rather not name, lol) or teachers, but I appreciate the sympathy. I still don't know what to do, but I'm hoping they'll figure out some way to monkey with the grades. I know they're not going to fail EVERYBODY, but I wouldn't be surprised if they sacrificed a few... I'll just have to do whatever I can to make sure I'm not one of them.

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Specializes in Peds OR as RN, Peds ENT as NP.

I am in both med surg I and II right now (accelerated program). We aren't doing too hot either! The only advice I have is to use all resources recommended on your instructors syllabus or use the cd that may come with your textbook. Also, focus on the nursing implications for EVERYTHING not just the patho. Know the normal limits of diagnostic tests and lab values. You probably know all this already. Good luck with everything! We don't get curves either, they do "item analysis." Whatever that means.

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Specializes in Gerontology, nursing education.

Accelerated BSN students are smart enough to have gone through previous bachelor's degrees and can handle the challenges of a rigorous program. If a last-term cohort of students bright enough to get into and progress in an accelerated BSN program is failing, the problem lies with the quality of teaching rather than with the students' ability to learn.

Is this the first year your school has offered an accelerated BSN? If not, have previous cohorts had similar problems? Is the instructor inexperienced? Does the instructor know how to teach? Not all nurse educators have had courses that help them learn how to teach adults and, while they may possess expertise in a clinical or research setting, they don't know how to teach.

Is your program accredited? Is it in danger of losing its accreditation? Have previous cohorts had trouble passing the NCLEX on the first try? It's possible that if previous cohorts have had trouble passing NCLEX, the powers-that-be are trying to boost their first-time pass rates by "weeding out" students they think might not pass. Not every student who is admitted to a nursing program can or should finish but I think the "weeding out" process should take place earlier rather than later. End of the program---that's rather brutal.

If your instructors, advisors, and dean are not hearing your concerns, it might be time to take them further. Your class may have to get the attention of the college or university president or file a formal grievance.

One or two people failing---that's to be expected. Two-thirds of the cohort failing---there's something seriously wrong.

BTW, thank you for not posting the name of your program. It might be possible for someone to identify you if you provide too much information and this matter is serious enough that you need to remain as anonymous as possible.

I wish you well and hope this comes to a satisfactory resolution for all of you.

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Sounds familiar. We are in our second semester, Med-Surg. We have 20 students. On exam I, 7 of us passed. On exam 2, only 3 passed. Tomorrow is exam 3 and frankly, I don't have high hopes.

Our instructors are talking about letting all the people who failed retake those first two exams. I don't want the whole class to fail, but frankly, I think allowing a retake is unfair as heck. We had 10 people fail first semester. There was no retake for them.

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Accelerated BSN students are smart enough to have gone through previous bachelor's degrees and can handle the challenges of a rigorous program. If a last-term cohort of students bright enough to get into and progress in an accelerated BSN program is failing, the problem lies with the quality of teaching rather than with the students' ability to learn.

Is this the first year your school has offered an accelerated BSN? If not, have previous cohorts had similar problems? Is the instructor inexperienced? Does the instructor know how to teach? Not all nurse educators have had courses that help them learn how to teach adults and, while they may possess expertise in a clinical or research setting, they don't know how to teach.

Is your program accredited? Is it in danger of losing its accreditation? Have previous cohorts had trouble passing the NCLEX on the first try? It's possible that if previous cohorts have had trouble passing NCLEX, the powers-that-be are trying to boost their first-time pass rates by "weeding out" students they think might not pass. Not every student who is admitted to a nursing program can or should finish but I think the "weeding out" process should take place earlier rather than later. End of the program---that's rather brutal.

If your instructors, advisors, and dean are not hearing your concerns, it might be time to take them further. Your class may have to get the attention of the college or university president or file a formal grievance.

One or two people failing---that's to be expected. Two-thirds of the cohort failing---there's something seriously wrong.

BTW, thank you for not posting the name of your program. It might be possible for someone to identify you if you provide too much information and this matter is serious enough that you need to remain as anonymous as possible.

I wish you well and hope this comes to a satisfactory resolution for all of you.

Yeah, I can't help but think that something fishy is going on with the school right now, but that's somewhere I'm really hesitant to go digging... I've never been a "keep your head down" kind of person, but I feel like my best chance for survival at this point is to keep my nose clean and not ask too many questions, lest I run afoul of the wrong person.

Also wanted to give you guys an update: I spoke to one of my instructors today who informed me they had made some "modifications" to our last test, which caused my test grade to go from a 71% to an 82%, which is passing (our program requires a 75% test average). I'm not really surprised that they did this, but I still have a long way to go to bring my average up after failing 2 tests out of 3 (and only 1 more to go before the final). Wish me luck!

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Specializes in Gerontology, nursing education.

I wish you the best. I'm sorry you're all going through this.

I've said before in other posts that sometimes it's necessary to weed out students who aren't going to be able to handle nursing. It's expected that some students won't make it through a program. But this whole draconian idea of "weeding out" students, particularly in the last term, particularly students who have proven they can handle academic rigors, is beyond ridiculous.

LMK how it goes.

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

do you have a student council? Get the pres to talk to the Dean. Without making people defensive I would expect the instructors should be able to determine why people are failing. It is not in the best interest of the school to fail people who are paying tuition. So there has to be a way to solve this issue. Approach the Dean again? Talk to school president?

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Hmmmm, I had a thought, I wonder if we might hear more of this kind of thing. Could it be the culling of the herd due to the overpopulation of nurses? No need right now to graduate really any new nurses, no shortage for at least a decade for sure. I look back at my own college of nursing, some years had twice as many graduates, then suddenly got lean, then back up again....:smokin::cool:

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