Failed because of the HESI? Huh?

Town & Country · Aug 23, 2005

I haven't heard of that particular test, but there is usually some horror stories of who-got-kicked-out-of-the-nursing-program floating around while you're in school......stories guaranteed to make your teeth chatter.

Just another of those crazy, wacky things that happen in NURSING SCHOOL. :rolleyes:

NurseLatteDNP, MSN, DNP, RN · Aug 23, 2005

Our School gives the HESI also. Many have failed and have to repeat the whole first year. Most people I know took other classes they will need besides nursing to graduate with a BSN. But it is a bad think when it happens and I feel for those who have failed. :sniff:

geekgolightly, BSN, RN · Aug 23, 2005

At my school you didn't graduate until you passed the HESI.

Maynmom · Aug 23, 2005

I like the idea of remediation and using the test as a gauge for the strengths and weaknesses of the students. That way they can look both at the students and the instructors. It can't all be so one-sided.

mona b RN, BSN, RN · Aug 23, 2005

What is your opinion on this guys???
http://www.joplinglobe.com/archives/story.php?story_id=109124
I have never heard of such a thing. What is going on??

Okay, that's a scary story. You would think that the school would be held accountable as well. If these students are not prepared for the Hesi then remediation should be for the school as well as the students.

Finallyat40 · Aug 23, 2005

And we were never provided with study materials for the exam (I graduated 12/05). Some of the students did purchase study materials directly from the HESI company, but most of us simply studied our NCLEX books. In our school, the HESI is administered 2 days before graduation and if you don't make the 850 required, you don't walk at graduation! It sucks in my opinion, however, it does seem to be a decent gauge of whether one will be successfull on the NCLEX. Those of us who scored a 950 or above on the HESI took the NCLEX and got 75 questions and passed.....a few who made borderline grades (850-900) ended up with more NCLEX questions, some up to 225, and although they passed, it was much more difficult. In our school if you didn't pass the HESI after two attempts, you had to repeat the final semester, then retake again, so thankfully, although one might have been slowed down in their progress, they weren't shut out!

Jamie

mandrews · Aug 23, 2005

At my school you didn't graduate until you passed the HESI.

ditto.

OUBobcat94 · Aug 23, 2005

At my school we took the HESI at the end of our first year. We got the full print-out that showed us where our strengths and weaknesses were, but the test didn't count for anything....more of an FYI type thing. I took it in May and did well, I am getting ready to start my second year next week. We are also required to take it at the end of our 2nd year (2 year ADN program) and if we don't pass that HESI, we don't graduate. I consider it a HUGE comprehensive final of everything we have learned in nursing school.

Jolie, BSN · Aug 23, 2005

I wholeheartedly agree with the students that it was unfair to add this requirement AFTER they had partially completed the nursing program. It has been my experience that changes in curriculum or graduation requirements have affected subsequent classes of students, not those who were already enrolled and making satisfacory progress towards graduation.

It also seems that the HESI requirement was tacked on as a CYA move by a school with a less than favorable NCLEX passing rate. Perhaps their efforts would be better spent upgrading their curriculum, rather than relying on a test to weed out students who have not received an adequate education in the nursing program. These were not students who were in danger of failing their nursing courses, but rather high-performing students that failed the test. Seems to me that reflects poorly on the program itself.

nursing 101 · Aug 23, 2005

They should not have dropped these students from the program unless the paper that they signed said so. I sorta fell very lucky. Our school instituted the HESI exam this year so we were also the guinea pigs. We too weren't told about it until two weeks before the scheduled first try. We were allowed to take it 3 times. I am talking about senior students. They also instituted it for the others as well so by the time they get to their senior year they would be fully granfathered into the test. But for us it was the first time. Half of the student body failed the 1st time. Half of the remaining students failed the 2nd time (the 2nd exam was harder than the first). I was part of the students that never passed the HESI. I was allowed to graduate but I had to agree to take the Kaplan review. I didn't pass the diagnostic test for the Kaplan review either. But guess what I passed the Nclex. I had a 3.5 gpa throughout school. Now the main reason why I didn't pass Hesi was because there was lack of prep time. And you need time to prepare for the Nclex so you also need time for any test that similates the Nclex such as the Hesi. Hesi touched alot of things that we didn't cover or vaguely talked about in school. And it was a good eye opener.

I truly think it was an arbitrary move from the school. I never liked standardized tests but you gotta do what you gotta do. Hesi is a "predictor" not a "guarantee" that someone will pass the Nclex. I hope these students get back in school.

elthia · Aug 23, 2005

At my school you took the Hesi your last semester. You had 3 tries, but the third try wasn't until after graduation, so if you failed it twice, you couldn't walk on graduation.

After the first try on the HESI, you recieved a printout of your strengths and weaknesses, and your instructors made up individualized study packets for the students based on their HESI scores.

In my opinion, the HESI was much much harder than the NCLEX.