Published
Last Thursday I was at the college for the purpose of collecting my Chemistry grade with some classmates. Apparently, there was a graduation ceremony for RN's going on that night as well, and my friends started talking to one student to ask her about the program. I didn't hear the entire conversation, but one of my cohorts told me the student had stated that ELEVEN people had failed out of NUR-181 alone during her course!
Now, there's always a chance there was some sort of misunderstanding or miscommunication, but does this sound right? For what it's worth, I would think the application process and competitiveness of getting in to the program would assure a strong student population, so it makes me nervous to hear these things. I already received some insight from someone privately, but I was wondering what the public population made of this info.
Thanks!
Wow!!! 77??? That's quite a jump from our 64!!! Hahaha!What to expect if you get in....well, for starters:: don't buy into all the hype on here about the failure rate and whatnot. Don't get me wrong, it is no walk in the park, but it isn't designed just to fail people ;-)
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I totally disagree.
Hey newstart!
My section has started with 30 students, so we have 3 clinical groups of 10 students -- each group going to a different hospital. There are 2 groups that do 2 half-days a week (8:30AM - 12:30PM); one at Valley and the other in Hackensack. My group does an all day clinical (7:30AM - 4:30PM) at Palisades Med Center in North Bergen.
So far we each operate independently. We each are assigned our own patient and we do everything for them on our own --- UNLESS we need assistance from someone to move a patient, etc. But you don't do any skills ON the patient (meds, IV, dressings, etc.) without your prof with you, so it's not like they completely throw to the wolves ;-)
My clinical instructor is very helpful so it takes a lot of the pressure off...by "pressure" I mean the anxiety of not doing everything just like I reheorificed. You obviously have to do all the skills the way you are trained to, but I was scared that if I did any one thing wrong that I would be failed...and it was a relief that they understood you are a first semester student and that your nerves can get in the way...as long as you don't let the patient see your nerves ;-) You do have to do everything right, but they (the instructor) isn't sitting back waiting for you to mess up so they can fail you, they want you to succeed.
On the very first day you will have orientation with the person at the hospital responsible for orienting. But you meet the entire group and the professor then go to orientation.
On the next day (and every day thereafter) you meet the group and prof and then have "pre-conference". At that point the prof would have already been up on the floor and selected the patients that you will be assigned. So at pre-conference your instructor will tell you who your patient is (and a quick "over view" of their name, age/admitting diagnoses, etc ---- at least mine does)...then you go up to the floor and take it from there! Nobody "tells" you what to as much, you just deal with it as it comes. Some patients need more assistance than others so it just depends. And never do ANYTHING (aside from baths, vitals, bed making, etc.) without telling your prof beforehand....so you are not just walking in on day one and giving meds! Haha!! They watch us nursing students pretty carefully, they don't WANT us doing anything without our prof right there =)
No one holds your hand but you will, by then, have the general idea of what you will be doing. For us, we get to the floor, go directly to the patient's room to introduce yourself and do an at-a-glance assessment (noting their level of conciousness, any IVs, any dressings, etc.) and take their vital signs. Then you find the staff nurse the patient is assigned to and get a quick report on the patient. Then you check their chart for the dr's orders and medications, and whatever else you can. Our prof gets a report from us within the first 15 minutes or so and then we continue on with AM care (bed baths, bed changing, etc)....every day is different, but that is a brief example.
You are working with your patient alone for the most part, but like I said...in level 1 you are not doing very much, so you will be fine. And also, you will have your prof there if you are doing anything beyond the above mentioned responsibilities, so you have supervision =)
with what part Daddy-O?!
The 'Bold' letters. I lost quite a few friends along the way. some with failing clinicals, others not making the cut on the exams or projects. In Level 3, my entire class failed one exam and that took a few people out of the race. Yes, you read this right...the entire class failed. The exam had 17 SATA questions, instead of the normal 2.
I hear what you are saying by not design to fail...but a strong argument can be made with an exam having more than 1/3 of SATA questions that were heavy with content that was not discussed in class nor in the books.
I lost one friend for not doing well on the Level 3 Pysche project. The project cannot save you if you are failing, (you have to already be passing to have the pts factored into your grade) but it can cause one to fail. I lost another friend, because they sat on a chair with wheels while holding a baby during Maternity Clinicals.
Like you I like the Profs as well...but I believe that there should be more consistancy between the Profs. some have their own criteria on the way the NCP, Assessment Tool should be done. some will say to include who can legally handle an intervention (RN, LPN, CNA, PT) while some will say to leave it out. One Prof even suggested that we leave out any intervention that can be done by a LPN since many hospitals are doing away with hiring LPNs. (This is true for HUMC) Some will require teaching and discharge plans done differently than others.
My entering class started with 80-82. There are 68 of us graduating in December if all goes well. Out of the 68, there is an easy 10-12 people that did not start with us. so roughly 56-58 of the original group. But not all failed out...I know of 2 friends that had to pull out for personal reasons.
Well, to each their own. We all have our own experiences and our own opinions. And in my experience (personal, professional and academic) there is always more to the story and nothing happens in a vacuum. Nor have I ever been to a school where teachers are consistent, how can they be? Every teacher is different, that's why some are better than others. As a student, the responsibility for our education falls on our own shoulders...if that means adapting to a new way each semester, then that's what you do. Always expect the unexpected and be flexible, cause who's to say that the new teacher's ncp technique isn't better than the last?!
That said, all of those stories are unfortunate and I hate to see anyone fail when they put their all into something. I guess what I am trying to get across is that I don't see how harping on the negative experiences do anything good for the new comers...not for the least of which because not everyone has (or will have) a negative experience. I wish I hadn't bought into all the gloom and doom before this semester started because I went in more stressed about the "system designed to fail" than the system itself. No reason for it, what so ever.
So all you new comers, be prepared for a "challenging" experience, but do not be jaded by others bad experiences --- it is what you make of it, so bust your you-know-what and don't give head to all the gossip.
Well, to each their own. We all have our own experiences and our own opinions. And in my experience (personal, professional and academic) there is always more to the story and nothing happens in a vacuum. Nor have I ever been to a school where teachers are consistent, how can they be? Every teacher is different, that's why some are better than others. As a student, the responsibility for our education falls on our own shoulders...if that means adapting to a new way each semester, then that's what you do. Always expect the unexpected and be flexible, cause who's to say that the new teacher's ncp technique isn't better than the last?!That said, all of those stories are unfortunate and I hate to see anyone fail when they put their all into something. I guess what I am trying to get across is that I don't see how harping on the negative experiences do anything good for the new comers...not for the least of which because not everyone has (or will have) a negative experience. I wish I hadn't bought into all the gloom and doom before this semester started because I went in more stressed about the "system designed to fail" than the system itself. No reason for it, what so ever.
So all you new comers, be prepared for a "challenging" experience, but do not be jaded by others bad experiences --- it is what you make of it, so bust your you-know-what and don't give head to all the gossip.
not sure what you mean by harping on negative experiences nor about being jaded by other so called 'bad' experiences.
I believe in learning from every and all. I don't want to just hear success stories..i also want to know why someone was not successful. so these so called 'bad' experiences may prove to be helpful for some. As a Trader in NY...I learned from those that were successful and made a ton of money, and from those that were not and lost it all. It allows one to learn what 'to do' and maybe what not to do.
I mentioned someone that failed out of clinicals for sitting on a chair that had wheels with a newborn.....
I mentioned someone not doing well on a level 3 project.
IMO this is helpful info to know....and it explains that even though one may put forth all the efforts to be successful, one wrong step can hinder your plans.
So it is my opinion that knowing the good and not so good can be beneficial. Adversity builds character; moreover, learning from the mistakes of others may allow someone to minimize their own steps.
Here is the 3rd post in this 500+ post thread.......please note the 'bold' print below, this whole thread was started out asking about some of the challenges experienced by others:
It wasn't so much that I was discouraged....okay, okay, a TAD nervous! However, my true desire was to understand WHY (what I perceived to be) a large percentage of people failed. As I told the other RN student who kindly offered her view, I was only anxious to avoid similar pitfalls that felled the other students to NOT repeat their mistakes!
I hadn't realized that a 20% dropout was an average among other majors, either. That's mildly distressing considering many vie for these nursing positions, but an understandable reality.
Thanks for the encouragment and info, jjlaman!
I also think it is important to know the good and the bad. But I think it is a little cynical to "totally disagree" with a positive experience only to reinforce the negative, especially since there is already plenty of the latter on here.
But this thread isn't about our differing opinions so let's get back on task.
ukgirl7655
127 Posts
Wow!!! 77??? That's quite a jump from our 64!!! Hahaha!
What to expect if you get in....well, for starters:: don't buy into all the hype on here about the failure rate and whatnot. Don't get me wrong, it is no walk in the park, but it isn't designed just to fail people ;-)
So far my take on it is that you just really need to (a) be serious about it, if you aren't then you will be one of the ones who don't make it, (b) manage your time METICULOUSLY, and © don't get behind. In level one you are not dealing with difficult concepts, it's just a LOT of information. So don't psych yourself out, just stay on top of all the reading and pay attention in class.
There is a whole lot of information you have to get through before clinicals start (about 6 weeks in or so) so you really have to go in full force and hit your stride early on so you know how to manage your time studying for each class. If you get behind, it will be very difficult to catch back up because it seems like there is either a test of a skills validation every week...again, it's all manageable you just have to stay focused.
Some ppl on this thread have found that some instructors are better than others, and maybe that is true, but I think all the prof are awesome. Use them as a resource and don't be afraid to speak up in class if you have a question, it's necessary to get as much out of lecture as possible bc the material piles up quick and you're likely to forget what you forgot to ask!
The most nerve wracking part for me was getting ready for clinical...you practice all the skills in the lab on the mannequins and then you walk into the hospital and everything is a whole new world. BUT, like most things in life, it was only scary at first ;-) You are mainly making beds, bed baths, turning patients, etc. So if you are like me and are already nervous about that part, don't be =)
If yall have any specific questions let me know...