Dropping like flies....now I know why

Nursing Students General Students

Published

We are half-way through the semester, and out of 52, we have lost 6 students and a meeting will be held next week by the instructors with students that are not doing well, and some will be encouraged to withdraw.

I would say, out of the students that I know that are not doing well, probably only 2, are truly giving it their best shot.

The others that are not making it are:

1) Re-admits, who previously failed the first semester

2) Students who were accepted that had bare-minimum requirements

3) Students who are not showing up to class

4) Students who are not serious, laugh when they fail an exam, and say, "Oh well, I didn't crack a book anyway."

5) Students who are working full-time jobs.

I just don't get it...why go to all of the trouble to get in, if you aren't going to take it seriously?

Specializes in E.R..

I completely agree with the statement that an 18 yr old can't be expected to know what to do right out of highschool. I just chose a career path based on what classes I got good grades in. Needless to say I dropped out of that program with only a semester to go because I didn't like it. They can't expect kids who have no real life experience to know what they want to do.

I am also frustrated with my A&P class. I have 2 kids under the age of 3, work full time, and am married and manage to have an A in class, while others who live at home with no responsibility blame everyone but themselves when they fail the tests.

I don't like when people say you can't pass school if you work full time, i know many nurses that have done it while working full time and had kids. If you are determined, you can do, yes there is sacrifice but it is a small sacrifice for what you get in the end.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

I don't remember this happening in my nursing school. Most stuck with it, most passed, and most passed their boards. Our school had a 98% first time pass rate. I don't remember people being forced to drop out.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hi, So just wondering what you say about students that are truly studying their butts off and still have not passed a exam. We have seven exam and I have not passed one yet. I study everyday, I read the boxes, understand the learning outcomes, understand content and do average on the practice test. Any advice? The professor at our school are telling us we need to withdrawl if we are not passing due to statistic...........worried about there program I guess. Help, I truly am putting my heart into it.:idea:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in E.R..

To Tele Girl..... Do you have test anxiety maybe? It sounds as if you are doing the right things but screw up at the test section. I can only give you one of my study hints, I know it's going to sound redundant but I write out an outline of the keypoints in the text. I find if I write things out, its stays in my head longer and I understand it easier. I hope this helps. Also I recommend looking up info on test anxiety and what you can do to help with that.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Intuition, Hi thanks for your responds. Yes, I have test anxiety for sure. When I get my test back I miss all the ones 1-25. My professor said that was a true sign of test aniexty. I have done everything I can to overcome it but I just can't get seem to get away from it. Also, that is what I do. I write, write, and write until my hand is about to fall off. It really helps me as well. I am just really frust. with not doing well especially since I study my like butt off. Thanks again for you advice. Telegirl~;):trout:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

We had something 'strange' with tests happen at our school. We had a number of students who were failing or barely passing. The class average was a low C, and some people were getting Bs & As. They were complaining that it wasn't fair for sometime, very angry and then they went to faculty with their complaints.

Since that time, our tests have been quite a bit easier and the class average is a B. Not sure what to think about that because it almost seems like grade inflation and I wonder what that says about our program. I have passed all the tests with a C and a couple Bs but now I am getting As. Would you worry about your program's quality if this happened, I wonder if they are under pressure to pass people?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

i think the whole point is, and this is a point i dont think i totally appreciated till i returned to college as an adult student, is that the teachers are there to give you the tools and guidence to make choices and decisions on your own. they are teaching you to weight your options and make an informed safe choice that wont kill someone. the people who study just to pass a test arent really getting the point. not every situation is the same and just learning to pass a test wont help you in real life. you need to learn the rational behind questions and reasons for their answers. because an answer for one person can be differant for another even in the same situations. the point is its not the teachers fault if people are dropping like flies. we get the tools and its our job to learn and practice using them. besides i wouldnt want a nurse who just studied to pass a test working on me. lol

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
We had something 'strange' with tests happen at our school. We had a number of students who were failing or barely passing. The class average was a low C, and some people were getting Bs & As. They were complaining that it wasn't fair for sometime, very angry and then they went to faculty with their complaints.

Since that time, our tests have been quite a bit easier and the class average is a B. Not sure what to think about that because it almost seems like grade inflation and I wonder what that says about our program. I have passed all the tests with a C and a couple Bs but now I am getting As. Would you worry about your program's quality if this happened, I wonder if they are under pressure to pass people?

I think your interpretation of the situation is probably pretty close to the truth. They may have re-evaluated the tests and decided to improve the quality a bit -- but they are also probably trying to make things a little easier for the students to avoid having to deal with the consequences of a lot of terrible grades. I'll bet "the truth" is somewhere in the middle of all the possible explanations.

... a little improvement in the teaching ... a little improvement in the tests ... a little "dumbing down" to cater to the students who can't handle a tougher course.

I'm a teacher for a class that did fairly well on the first test and badly on the second test (though a few people failed both tests and a few people got A's on both tests). I am in the process of writing the lecture and the questions for the third test. What should I do? Assume the poor grades on the second test were all my fault? .... or all the students' fault? ..... or a little of both?

I'm going to do my best to write a decent lecture and a fair test, trying to be as clear as I can with expressing the key points that will be covered in the test -- probably making it a little easier for the students in the process, but trying to include a few questions that are tough enough to discriminate between those students who really know their stuff and those who don't. Then I'll let the grades fall where they fall.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
i think the whole point is, and this is a point i dont think i totally appreciated till i returned to college as an adult student, is that the teachers are there to give you the tools and guidence to make choices and decisions on your own. they are teaching you to weight your options and make an informed safe choice that wont kill someone. the people who study just to pass a test arent really getting the point. not every situation is the same and just learning to pass a test wont help you in real life. you need to learn the rational behind questions and reasons for their answers. because an answer for one person can be differant for another even in the same situations. the point is its not the teachers fault if people are dropping like flies. we get the tools and its our job to learn and practice using them. besides i wouldnt want a nurse who just studied to pass a test working on me. lol

by jove ... i think you've got it! the role of a nursing education is not just to teach you factual knowledge about specific things. it is to teach you how to analyze situations and make good decisions with the the factual knowledge that you have available. some students just don't "get that" and believe that it should be sufficient to memorize a few things and repeat the facts on a test. if that's all you can do, you won't be a good nurse.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
:idea: yay!!!
Up Vote Up Vote ×
i think the whole point is, and this is a point i dont think i totally appreciated till i returned to college as an adult student, is that the teachers are there to give you the tools and guidence to make choices and decisions on your own. they are teaching you to weight your options and make an informed safe choice that wont kill someone. the people who study just to pass a test arent really getting the point. not every situation is the same and just learning to pass a test wont help you in real life. you need to learn the rational behind questions and reasons for their answers. because an answer for one person can be differant for another even in the same situations. the point is its not the teachers fault if people are dropping like flies. we get the tools and its our job to learn and practice using them. besides i wouldnt want a nurse who just studied to pass a test working on me. lol

i, too, agree with this. when i had been accepted into nursing school way back straight out of high school, i was just not equipped or mature enough. as i have, hopefully, matured and returned back to school, i have been able to look at the educational process in a different way.

i think that i actually prefer to have to put more critical thinking into finding an appropriate answer. while my goal for my prereqs was to excel with high grades, my goal for nursing school is to excel with a strong foundation and understand the concepts so that i can apply them when needed. do i want high grades, of course...but more importantly, i want to understand the material. i've taken any number of classes, gotten a's, but ask me now...forget it! if i get a c, but i understand the material and i understand where i fell short and how i can approve, i'll be alright.

kris

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Speaking of making life decisions at the age of 18, I know I for one wasn't in any position to do it . . . I do find it kind of interesting that you have to be 21 to buy a drink but do you have to be a certain age to pass meds????

Just some food for thought.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment