Expect to fail at least one nursing course, is this true

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Hello, I have been reading several post on allnurses, and some of them leave me terrified. I will begin Nursing School this fall. I wanted to know is it true that in Nursing School expect to fail at least one nursing course?:eek::eek: I know that some people probably never failed a course, just trying to see about the majority.:coollook: Thank you

Hi,

I will be honest and say that I have not really posted on any topics here other than my current interest of NCLEX and when I originally started to apply to schools. However, I found this title to be interesting considering I too thought that going into nursing school. A few words of wisdom from a new grad. (you can either take it or leave it.haha).. I had a bachelors degree before going back to school for my ADN and nursing school was nothing like a bachelors degree, this is NOT to scare you by any means, but you should know how time consuming it is..( I knew it was going to be tough but my lord it was alot of work) but it is WORTH IT!!! You will know right away if you are cut out for this profession, I knew immediately that I loved it and that I was going to give it all I had, whether that meant taking a semester over or not.. Luckily I never had to take a semester over. That is not to say that I did not come EXTREMELY close, one time I was so close that my final grade was literally so dependent on the final that I passed by less than a point. I always look back now, as I study for my boards and think how hard I pushed myself that semester (and all throughout nursing school) some professors told me to withdrawal, others told me to stick with it... and luckily, I made up my own decision to keep going and push myself.. I think that is what nursing school is about, pushing yourself past your limits, whether it be with patients, studying, balancing family, children, whatever it may be... From a personal view point, do not go in expecting to take a semester over, I did that and each semester I kept saying "Is this going to be the semester I will have to re-take? I psyched myself out!!" Just give it all you have, in the classroom and in clinicals.... and as someone mentioned earlier, USE NCLEX REVIEW BOOKS!! I did NOT use them until maybe my 3rd semester, BIG MISTAKE!!! I do not think they will help you so much with fundamental but everything thereafter, utilize them, buy a book like silvestri(Saunders?) and find what class material you are learning and correlate it with the book so that you are useto doing NCLEX style test questions, you'd be surprised maybe your teachers will pick some of those questions or at least word them similar.. As I am lecturing YOU not to go into the semester saying that you are going to fail, I am having the same thoughts about nclex (thinking, hey dont you expect to fail the first time) but the truth of the matter is.. if you want something, you keep going until you get it right?

Good Luck with school.. push yourself past your limits :)

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Thanks coolbeans!!! I to have a BS in another subject and is about to start Nursing School for my ADN. You were dead -on, that is exactly how I have been thinking lately. But I will do as you suggested and purchase the Sauders book and stay positive:yeah:. Good luck to you!!

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I don't think the majority of people fail. In a class of about 32 people, we lost about 3 due to failing.

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I didn't fail, nor did most of my friends. A lot of people did fail one class at least, but it wasn't expected.

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.
I don't expect to fail a class, or lose my straight A's

Neither did I. I wish you success.

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I strongly recommend the "Success" books. I used the "Test taking Success" and the "Fundamental Success" and I really think they helped me start to THINK the right way from the beginning. I am going into my 3rd semester, 1st semester I was the top of my class, 2nd semester I had some serious personal issues going on and honestly didn't even open a text book, just crammed with my NCLEX questions (I don't recommend this strategy AT ALL, but with 3 kids passing pneumonia, the flu, and every other bug you could possibly imagine back and forth-they were my priority) and I still got a high B. O yeah..did I mention I am taking my nursing classes for ADN but ALSO taking additional classes at a 4 year institution so I can streamline into my BSN? In my experience its not so bad. Mind over matter.

Don't go in thinking that failure is even an option, figure out your learning style as early as you possibly can and stick with it, don't listen to everybody elses "here's what I did and it really works" because the truth is what works for them probably won't work for you. My friends hate that I can not open my text book but only pay attention in class and do my NCLEX questions and still manage high grades...it doesn't work for them though. NS is a lot about discovering yourself, your strengths and weaknesses i.e. I LOVE blood and guts and needles and all that implies...but I cannot do snot, it literally makes me gag. I can change a c-diff diaper or medicate a bed sore thats down to the bone but if you blow your nose in front of me I turn green! Stupid right..but it tells me alot about what area I want to specialize in. You will change A LOT in nursing school as you figure yourself out (at least thats my experience) but just go with it, I feel like alot of the people in my class who haven't made it through were trying to hold onto their previous beliefs about themselves and nursing as a profession, its hard, its time consuming, it may bite you in the butt and open your eyes to things that you never even considered before, its not this glorious and glamorous career where you get to meet a million Dr McDreamy's everyday (or EVER!-I honestly know people in my class who thought they could become a nurse in order to marry a doctor-DOH!) but in the end its all worth it if you're there for the right reasons! So apply yourself, study, and keep your mind open to changing your ideals. Good luck.

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I'm starting nursing school in a month (!) and I've already done three of my courses, including anatomy and physiology which is supposedly one of the hardest courses. I studied A LOT. More than I ever expected to for one class. But you know what? I got by with an A- (84%) when the average was a C (60%) or lower. Not as high as I had hoped for, but the class required a lot of work and dedication to do even partly well in and I learned that most of the people in the class did not seem to want to make the effort. It's not that hard to memorize information, it's just time-consuming.

Never expect to fail. Expect to spend a lot of time and effort to do well, but enjoy the learning process and be proud of yourself for working hard! :)

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Wow. If we fail a nursing course then we are out of the program. If you fail then you have to go through the whole getting accepted process and everything again.

Yep, us too. If you fail, you are out for AT LEAST one year waiting for the courses to roll around again.

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Specializes in Acute Pulmonary, Intermediate Care.

If you fail a single class, you're out of nursing school... and have to start all over.

What you can expect is that you wont continue to have straight A's (if you have previously).

Expect to be transformed and to live and breath the nursing process... ADPIE :)

You'll look back in a few years and be amazed with how far you have come!

Embrace the challenge and expect to grow in way's you never imagined!

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Specializes in Telemetry, OB, NICU.

haha, that's ridiculous. I have never failed a class including nursing school. In fact, I made lots of A's on my nursing exams. Don't believe such things.

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