Coming back to nursing school after failing twice?

sac.916 · Oct 17, 2014

I don't think if you fail nursing school at program A a couple times, that program B bans you. If you fail or drop out at my school, you have a chance to go back to your last semester (if you pass a comprehensive test from previous semesters) and not have to go through the whole enrollment process again. To my knowledge, you can go to the program as many times as you want. Our programs sound different, as mine splits material into semesters and not classes (med surg throughout all four semesters). I'd recommend contacting your nursing department and ask them to know what your specific program allows.

caliotter3 · Oct 17, 2014

Only the officials at your nursing program can answer your question. You need to be talking to them, but more importantly, you need to be talking to your instructor to find out what you can do to save yourself. Good luck.

Nursing pursuit · Oct 17, 2014

I've done that and everything else I can think of from tutoring and just everything. Our school is not fair. I know some guy who got back into nursing 4 times (2 times RN and 2 times LPN). If he fails again, he will be banned. Some people will only get 2 shots while others will get 3 which is really pushing it. My school will terminate students in a unfair basis. Everyone's situation will be different.

mrsboots87 · Oct 18, 2014

I think another point you are missing is: Why are YOU failing. Tough program or not aside. How many times other students are readmitted aside. What are YOU doing that you are not passing. Only so much can be blamed on the school. Personal responsibility is important as well. Without taking a deep look at yourself, you will not know what you are doing wrong so that you can approach it different the next time. Some people are just not going to be nurses, no matter how bad they want it. Wanting something does make it happen. I am not saying you cant be a nurse, or that everything is your fault as I dont know your specific situation. However, everybody could use a little interpersonal discovery. If you just keep hopping into programs and failing without seeing what you can changed, you will just keep failing for the same reasons. Is your A&P foundation solid? Do you practice NCLEX style questions frequently? Do you actually understand the material? Not just study it a lot, but comprehend and able to apply what you are learning. Nursing is about critical thinking and applying knowledge to situations. Memorizing things doesnt usually work well. Are you studying s much as you should? There are a lot of questions you need to ask yourself before you consider finding another way to get into a program.

mrsboots87 · Oct 18, 2014

Also all schools are like that . Readmission is done on a case by case basis. No two failed students will have the same case for appealing for readmission. One student may have a stronger explanation letter than the other. At my school, it is policy that if you fail block one you have to completely reapply and be on the waitlist again (it is a waitlist program, not merit based admission). However, sometimes students can and do make a good case for direct readmission into block 1. It is not unfair for the school to do that, as each student presents a different situation, and may have valid reason or needing a repeat. Focusing on other students being banned sooner than others doesnt matter. It doesnt affect YOU. Only YOUR situation affects you.

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · Oct 18, 2014

I think another point you are missing is: Why are YOU failing. Tough program or not aside. How many times other students are readmitted aside. What are YOU doing that you are not passing. Only so much can be blamed on the school. Personal responsibility is important as well. Without taking a deep look at yourself, you will not know what you are doing wrong so that you can approach it different the next time. Some people are just not going to be nurses, no matter how bad they want it. Wanting something does make it happen. I am not saying you cant be a nurse, or that everything is your fault as I dont know your specific situation. However, everybody could use a little interpersonal discovery. If you just keep hopping into programs and failing without seeing what you can changed, you will just keep failing for the same reasons. Is your A&P foundation solid? Do you practice NCLEX style questions frequently? Do you actually understand the material? Not just study it a lot, but comprehend and able to apply what you are learning. Nursing is about critical thinking and applying knowledge to situations. Memorizing things doesnt usually work well. Are you studying s much as you should? There are a lot of questions you need to ask yourself before you consider finding another way to get into a program.

THIS.

Take a step back and figure out why you are failing; is it critical thinking? application of the test questions, thus needing practice with NCLEX-style questions? Struggling with clinicals?

Once you figure out WHAT the issue is, you will be able to successfully complete a nursing program.

Best wishes.

Nursing pursuit · Oct 18, 2014

I do practice nclex questions, both ATI and from my nclex book. In A&P 1 I earned a B-. A&P 2 I got a B- and a B in lab. Our teacher makes out fill out study guides which is what I'm doing. Crictical thinking questions are tough, clinical is the least of my worries.

mrsboots87 · Oct 22, 2014

I do practice nclex questions, both ATI and from my nclex book. In A&P 1 I earned a B-. A&P 2 I got a B- and a B in lab. Our teacher makes out fill out study guides which is what I'm doing. Crictical thinking questions are tough, clinical is the least of my worries.

That doesnt really answer the questions though. The grade you got in your A&P classes holds little significance of what you actually retained. In the basic sciences, all passing takes is rote memorization and cramming. I am not saying you did that, just that it is not that hard to pass those classes if you can cram facts and remember definitions. I got a C in one of them, and I actually understood quite well, I just struggle with basic memorization questions and get confused by questions about processes. I explain things all day, but written test and I'm lost. Basically, grades don't always = understanding of the material. when you're doing your NCLEX question practice, do you get a lot of them right? Do you understand the rationale behind the correct answer? Have you tried using a test success book. If its the questions that get you, maybe getting a test success book will help you better pull a question apart to know what it is actually asking. If you think you have the knowledge, then it would just be a matter of figuring out HOW to answer the question. I still think you should take a good look at yourself to find ALL your weak points, and then work to improve from there. GL

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Oct 22, 2014

I do practice nclex questions, both ATI and from my nclex book. In A&P 1 I earned a B-. A&P 2 I got a B- and a B in lab. Our teacher makes out fill out study guides which is what I'm doing. Crictical thinking questions are tough, clinical is the least of my worries.

You're going through the mechanics of studying, that's great... but you need to absorb the information so that you can apply what you've learned. There are two things that make Medical School, PA School and Nursing School incredibly difficult. One is the volume of information that's thrown at you in a very compact amount of time. The depth of that information is different between them but you have a LOT of stuff to learn in a very short period of time. The other thing is that all of these programs require you to be able to take all that information and apply it. That means you need to be able to understand the problems and figure out what to do about it given what you know at that point.

Notice that I'm not separating RN and LVN programs? Good. It is because those schools have similar processes going, just at different levels of application.

You have to figure out what's going on in your head that's keeping you from making that cognitive leap from "memorization and regurgitation" to application. The study mechanics you're doing is fine... but it's not all of what's needed. When you're studying about something, start thinking about how patients are affected by "it" and what you might be able to do for the patient.

Also, mrsboots87 is right about your pre-nursing grades. All they show me is that you potentially have the foundational knowledge for going forward, but it's up to you to step up to the challenge before you.

I failed out of nursing school. As you can see, my user ID now includes "RN" in it. I was successfully able to figure what it was that kept me from progressing in the program and overcome it. I won't say what that was because it's actually immaterial for purposes of this discussion. Some students in my program failed out and weren't able to return after their first failure. Some would have 2 failures and fail out at the same point. The worst thing around here is that most schools won't accept you for 10 years if you've failed out of Nursing School previously. A friend of mine can't do nursing school in my area because of this and has to start over at a new school. I know she can do it, but she has some things to work out before she gives it a go again.

I don't know what you need to do because I don't know your specific situation, but I do know that usually readmissions are done on a case-by-case basis because everyone's situation is unique. I hope that you're able to figure out what's holding you back, and once you do, you'll be truly ready to tackle any program you choose.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Oct 22, 2014

You've gotten some truly great advice here, so I won't say much else. I do hope you figure out what is holding you back so you can move on. Please, for your own sake, lose what is sometimes referred to as a Victim Mentality: doesn't matter who did what to whom, doesn't matter how well or how poorly ANYONE ELSE did, it's only YOU that matters in the end, isn't it?