Do nursing schools actually conciously REALIZE they are being ridiculous or is it a..

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a matter where they are doing the best they can, and it just works out that way? Let me give you one example. My wife had over one thousand pages of reading due THE FIRST WEEK back from Christmas break. Her first test in Med/Surg last week included approximately 2,200 pages if you count the handouts, and assigned articles. What is more, her exam had six questions that were NOT EVEN COVERED in the assigned readings (they apparently used a test bank designed for a different text). The class average was a 70% with few or no A's. When the students tried to complain they were told they would have to set up private appointments with the instructor who maintains a grand total of TWO HOURS a week in office hours.

This school has one of the best reputations in the area. Do they do this deliberately? They claim to be reasonable people doing their very best to provide an excellent education. Don't they realize that this sort of thing makes getting the grades for graduate school almost impossible!

Originally posted by Buddhakan

Well having lurked a bit, I notice that some have commented that "informed" students would be wise to check the Pass Rates of schools, however as with most things that information does not seem to be readily available.

I'll seek it out on my own but if anyone wants to save me the legwork, it would be much appreciated.

Good Luck all and have a great day.

BK

So you want us to do the leg work for you? I don't think you can look at the pass/fail ratio and make any sort of conclusion. You really need to know how many began the classes and how many finished the classes and put it into the pass/fail ratio of the NCLEX examination somehow. The more people that fail or drop out tells you how tough the school might be. They are naturally going to have the higher passing ratio on the NCLEX because they took out the lower performing students from the equation.

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Specializes in ER - trauma/cardiac/burns. IV start spec.

We have one nursing school here that is known for having 100 percent passing rates on the Nclex exams. And it has had the rate for about 20 years. When I went to school I went because I wanted to nurse. I had no plans to get more that my ASN so I wasn't worried about my GPA. I have seen many students that I have since advised that they would see the day when they would be grateful to see a C on their class. I later worked with some of these same nurses and was told that I was right.

If you are in school to become a nurseand your goal is to care for people that no matter what degree you have or what your gpa was you will work shoulder to shoulder to people who have scored higher and lower than yourself - get over it.

We had on instructor that blatently told our classes in our 1st semester - we will flunk as many of you as we can because you will be responsible for lives when you finish and begin your career and there is nothing harder that that.

As far as the testing questions, many schools do the same sort of thing, using questions that to you seem to not be covered in your material and these questions are "test" questions, ones they are eval. to use on the national tests. Also sometimes you can't "find the answers" because the question is designed to make you think "outside the box".

I went to nursing school when I was 37 and had been out of school for 20 years. Married with 4 children and a husband that WOULD not help. In 7 semesters I failed 1 test and did not fail a single class. I had to take all my classes because I had no college before I started. So there I was taking science, math, history, english along with my nursing courses. And I took the last paper and pencil Nclex. I was never the best student or the worst student, to me passing was always the most important not the grade. We were given the same kind or reading req. I finally figured it out - they assigned 100 percent more than you needed hoping that you would read atleast 50 percent.

:D

:eek: Oh, by the way, my gpa was a surprising 3.2:chuckle

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Originally posted by Dragonnurse1

We have one nursing school here that is known for having 100 percent passing rates on the Nclex exams. And it has had the rate for about 20 years. When I went to school I went because I wanted to nurse. I had no plans to get more that my ASN so I wasn't worried about my GPA. I have seen many students that I have since advised that they would see the day when they would be grateful to see a C on their class. I later worked with some of these same nurses and was told that I was right.

If you are in school to become a nurseand your goal is to care for people that no matter what degree you have or what your gpa was you will work shoulder to shoulder to people who have scored higher and lower than yourself - get over it.

We had on instructor that blatently told our classes in our 1st semester - we will flunk as many of you as we can because you will be responsible for lives when you finish and begin your career and there is nothing harder that that.

As far as the testing questions, many schools do the same sort of thing, using questions that to you seem to not be covered in your material and these questions are "test" questions, ones they are eval. to use on the national tests. Also sometimes you can't "find the answers" because the question is designed to make you think "outside the box".

I went to nursing school when I was 37 and had been out of school for 20 years. Married with 4 children and a husband that WOULD not help. In 7 semesters I failed 1 test and did not fail a single class. I had to take all my classes because I had no college before I started. So there I was taking science, math, history, english along with my nursing courses. And I took the last paper and pencil Nclex. I was never the best student or the worst student, to me passing was always the most important not the grade. We were given the same kind or reading req. I finally figured it out - they assigned 100 percent more than you needed hoping that you would read atleast 50 percent.

:D

:eek: Oh, by the way, my gpa was a surprising 3.2:chuckle

Well put Dragonnurse1.

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

On the bright side? I went to a school that was just as unkind. Did the class rep thing and all. Graduated with a cum laude in spite of the psycho uncaring instructors. I love nursing. There are better schools out there. My wife attends Illinois State in Bloomington Il and her instructors and experience has been wonderful (NP MSN Program). Do not lose faith. Nursing is not any more difficult than other professions but does have intrinsic rewards others do not. If you are meant for it YOU WILL SUCCEED!! I believe that. Find positive mentors, positive people, positive instructors (every school has them), positive hobbies and positive spiritual leadership (whatever religion/philosophy). Nursing administrators and old hens/roosters are also in the workforce. If any positive is to be found in your unfortunate experience it is that you being introduced to the dynamics of nursing. There will always be a negative force and a positive polarity. Nurses either like there career or do not. Run from those who do not and embrace those who LOVE IT!! Keep your chin up!

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Welcome to the Board mailners.

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Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.
Originally posted by Roland

However, part of training GREAT nurses is reinforcing people who QUESTION the status quo when they perceive wrongs being committed! Consider that poor girl at DUKE who was given organs, that didn't even match her blood type. Maybe if nurses were not beaten into an attitude of submission even while they were students they would be more inclined to speak up on the job preventing more of these types of "mistakes".

Nurses beaten into submission caused this ??????

Nurses have very little to do with the issues the caused the error at Duke. Investigation has demonstrated the major problems dealt with communication between the surgeons and the UNOS group. As far as I know, surgical nurses have very little to do with the checks on the crossmatches of transplants of this magnitude - in many facilities that is strictly an MD perogative (hearts/lungs)

However, nurses have (on their own initiative) instituted changes in transfusion processes, chemo administration and medication administration, to prevent errors. And while we would like for MDs to follow our example, we cannot force them to do so. That has very little to do with "nurses beaten into submission" and everything to do with both groups of professionals having their own autonomy.

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of the Duke incident. However, I believe that ALL parties involved bear some responsibility when errors so basic as wrong blood type matching occur. Even if this doesn't apply to this example it is still relevent in principal. I think there are times when patients lives could be saved, or their care improved when nurses are proactive. I view one of the "functions" of nurses as acting as a "check and balance" upon the medical system. Even Doctors sometimes make mistakes, and hopefully nurses have the education, and will to catch these errors when they occur. Any educational system that punishes those who sincerely question the status quo may not be optimal in developing nurses who are easily open to challenging errors (physician and otherwise) when they occur.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

So exactly where in the process of typing and organ would a nurse have been the one to make the discovery--one that was missed by surgeons, lab techs, and the donor people? A Lab person made the error by failing to verify ID when doing the type and cross-match. A nurse didn't do that.

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Oh, so you now think that it is understandable for someone to take the life of another just because they weren't being "treated" fairly in school. Give me a break . . . everyone is always trying to blame their own wrong doing on someone else's wrongs. Most nursing instructors don't allow debate about questions because 99% of the time it turns into an all out war and students learn that it is ok to disrespect their instructors.

Mistakes such as the one made with the wrong organs were not made because nurses were made to be submissive! Nursing students are not taught to be submissive, but instead to be respectful and professional!

Stop looking for all of the unjustices and start looking for all of the learning experiences.

Stephanie

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Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.
Originally posted by nrsstephanie

Stop looking for all of the unjustices and start looking for all of the learning experiences.

Stephanie

Bless you nrsstephanie.

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Specializes in Case Management, Home Health, UM.
Originally posted by TweetiePieRN

Roland...Nursing school is like bootcamp! They are weeding out the weak to make room for the strong. Survival of the fittest!!

You got that right! When I entered nursing school in 1978, there were 120 people in my class. By the time I graduated in 1981, there were only 46 of us left. Talk about being to hell and back! :eek:

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civilized society. I went on to explain that by not allowing an avenue for the voicing of dissent however, that it encouraged those types of situations. Nursing school is a very stressful environment under the best of circumstances, even when everyone is doing there best to be fair. However, when they virtually come out and say "we don't give a daXX about your grades so long as we have our NCLEX pass rates, and a reasonable number of students pass with C's" then they are exasperating an already difficult situation.

I have not experienced these problems as much in my nursing school as my wife has in hers, but I'm also not as far along in the program (she only has one more semester). I care because her future intimately affects my future. If she cannot go to graduate school and become a CRNA or NP then I will have to work more hours, retire with less, and my son will also have less. Of course there are no guarentees in life, but I expect, no I demand to be abjudicated by at least of modicum of fairness and due process. Is there no outrage against professors who don't care about these values? What would YOU do if your grades were deliteriously effected by test questions not covered in the lectures, book, or other assigned readings?

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