'Dumbing Down of Healthcare'

Achoo!, LPN · Apr 21, 2004

well if they are failing, then there is no way they can move forward right? I wouldn't call it dumbing down. Some call it weeding out. If you don't know the material, you won't pass, and also if you don't know your stuff, there is no way you will pass boards, so I disagree with your statement.

Ned the Red · Apr 21, 2004

If the students are all failing it doesn't sould like the program is dumbing down at all. It would be dumbing down if they were making it through the class. Or, am I missing something here?

allnurses Guide · Apr 21, 2004

Might it be our public school system is broken and sending unprepared students to college?

seph

rhiannonwolf · Apr 21, 2004

I apologize for the confusion, perhaps I should elaborate a bit. In a class of 35 people, there are 5 A's, 3 B's, and the rest are C's D's and F's. I am not saying that anatomy is easy and that a C is a bad grade, but to me its a little disturbing that the vast majority of the class is either average or below it. Perhaps I opened up a Pandora's Box with this topic, but I just want to know if other people have experienced similar situations in their classes.

Rhiannon

orrnlori, RN · Apr 21, 2004

Yeah, I agree with the others. It appears to me that the system is indeed working as it should. They are called weed out classes and that's what they do. There are always lots of pre-nursing students, and then about 35-50% become nursing students, and then about 50% of those go on to graduate and then about 85-90% of those pass the boards. Seems to me that's the way it's suppose to work.

Achoo!, LPN · Apr 21, 2004

I apologize for the confusion, perhaps I should elaborate a bit. In a class of 35 people, there are 5 A's, 3 B's, and the rest are C's D's and F's. I am not saying that anatomy is easy and that a C is a bad grade, but to me its a little disturbing that the vast majority of the class is either average or below it. Perhaps I opened up a Pandora's Box with this topic, but I just want to know if other people have experienced similar situations in their classes.
Rhiannon

we have had 1/3 of our class drop, and some are still hanging by a thread. It's not an easy class, but better people realize now how tough it will be, than to invest 2 years of nursing classes and end up failing in the end I guess. It's been a decision maker for a few people.

GracefulRN · Apr 21, 2004

Just because there pre-nursing students who cannot handle the material does not mean that nursing is "dumbing down". Nursing, is a very attractive career and so it isn't surprising to me that many people would want to attempt to become nurses, even if they really belong somewhere else. Unfortunately, few people realize what is involved in becoming a nurse, so there are alot of people in(at least the pre-req) nursing courses who think nursing is an easy way to make $$$$$$. But let not your heart be troubled, those people who can't cut it will never pass their boards.

Cheers

rhiannonwolf · Apr 21, 2004

The words 'dumbing down' may be the wrong choice for this thread. And I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but perhaps I will when I tell you this story. Where I live there is a commercial for a technical college with a nursing program. The girl that enrolled in the school is giving her testimony on TV about how she was sitting at her regular job one day looking through the employment ads when she came across this college's advertisement. I will quote her when she says, 'I was tired of doing the same old thing, and then I saw nursing, and I thought, hmm, I'll give it a try.' Obviously she enrolled in the school's program but what she said at the end of the commercial really scared me. She said 'Anyone can do this job, anyone!' To me, I do not agree with this statement at all! Not just anyone can become a nurse! It is one of the most mentally challenging career fields out there!

It just scares me when schools like that advertise that anyone off the street can become a healthcare worker.

My .02

Rhiannon

GracefulRN · Apr 21, 2004

:angryfire Well that just chaps my*** :angryfire

As if nursing isn't devalued enough...grrrrrrr....hope those people who wrote the add get their just rewards.

I still don't think that unqualified people will pass their boards, but it would be nice if the people who think that "anyone can do this job" could see just where they would be without QUALITY nurses.

orrnlori, RN · Apr 21, 2004

Obviously a bad commercial.

To the other point. I work for the hospital attached to the flagship state university and I believe there's something like 8,000 incoming freshmen coming in every year. The graduation rate is somewhere around 55% within four years. Every September the parking lots are over flowing, and every May they are half filled. There's weeding out going on everywhere for all kinds of reasons.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Apr 21, 2004

Why are you suprised the vast majority of people are average. That's what average means.

But I hear you, I wish the future health care providers would be more motivated to make higher grades.

Good luck in school.