Failed Med/Surg by 3/10 point

BearishBob · Dec 13, 2011

Nursing schools are graded by the state board of nursing on their first time NCLEX pass rates. If their percentages drop too low, the school can lose its recognition from the state. The unfortunate consequence is that nursing schools do not train you to be a good nurse, they only teach how to pass the NCLEX. I can remember my instructors always saying, "Pretend you have all the time and all the help you need", when answering difficult NCLEX questions. Yeah, lets pretend a unicorn passes all our meds and gives free pony rides to difficult family members. The real nurses training begins once you have your RN license. I learned more in 3 months on the floor, than the 2 years in school

Nursing is more about having a strong back, thick skin, and a warm heart. Go back and repeat the next semester, school and nursing have little to do with each other these days.

Tait, MSN, RN · Dec 14, 2011

Well as much fun as it is to say "school and nursing have nothing to do with each other" we all know that isn't true. School may not make you efficient, or compassionate, or a rockstar at administering crushed PO meds to a stroke patient, but it does build the foundation for which all of that comes after.

Bottom line, would you want someone taking care of you that passed their core med/surg class by 3/10ths of a point?

I asked myself this same question when I was flunked in the 7th of 8 weeks of management clinical. I was overwhelmed, inattentive, and unable to recite what my cardiac meds did for my patient. I was defeated. I cried in front of my class when I told them I wasn't going to continue on with them, and I sank into sorrow.

However, the next semester I pulled up my big girl undies and charged the clinical. I wound up being an expert the second time around for the new nurses coming into it. I was competent, focused, and helped a lot of other people with the routine and rhyme of the clinical.

Looking back on it it was one of the better things to happen to me because it really forced me to focus on school. I cut back on work, partying, and extra curricular clubs and focused. I got a B in the clinical and then went on to get an A from one of the toughest instructors in the program the next semester.

I don't think it is so much about being cut out to be a nurse, but are you cut out to do the work to get there?

Take a night off, have a good dinner, and then get up in the morning ready to focus on the next step in your career, whether it be another run at that class, or a switch up entirely!

Best of luck!

:hug:

Tait

MLMRN1120 · Dec 14, 2011

I was OBSESSED with 3x5 cards in nursing school! I have been out of school 3 years and still have been unable to part with the four shoeboxes of note cards divided by class then further divided by semester/ subject lol. I'll get over it eventually but right now it feels like I'd be trashing 3 years of my life! I've never failed a semester but I will say if you really want to be a nurse then you'll get back on the horse and conquer school!!! Good luck

1. Make notes on 3 x 5 index cards as you do your reading. Even if you can buy them, don't. Make them yourself as the info will stick better if you handwrite them. The reason I stress 3 x 5 index cards is that their size will limit the amount you can copy. This will force you to look for only the most important points. You can write on back and front of the cards but I would say use no more than 3 for any particular topic.
2. Using 3 x 5 cards provides a small field which your brain can easily recall on a test. These cards have defined borders which will help your brain to frame them like a picture and remember. It is no wonder that students cannot remember 190 pages of text in a faceless book without landmarks suitable for the brain to latch onto.
3. Once made, take these cards with you everywhere you go in your pocket. Whenever you have a few moments, take them out and review. Your brain will more easily be able to summon up their contents the more you look at them. So, when the exam comes and the topic is cardio meds, your brain will mentally pop up those little index cards and you will have the info you need. This method of carrying the cards with you is called "capturing moments of time" and is a time management technique. For example, if you are in the laundromat waiting for the laundry to get done, take that time to review your cards and not an old People Magazine.
4. Test Taking Anxiety: When you get your test paper with the questions, turn it over and IMMEDIATELY COVER THE ANSWER WITH YOUR ANSWER SHEET SO THAT ALL YOU CAN SEE IS THE QUESTION. This is vital! Many people scan the answers quickly, see something that they think they recall from the reading and pick that answer. However, it may not even be what the question is asking, such as "the nurse should avoid..." Always be sure you know what the question is asking and do not ever leap at an answer just because it looks familiar. I tell my students to look for keywords or key phrases and underline them in pencil on your question paper. Once you have done that, what the question is asking should pop right out at you.
5. Most nursing schools recommend a book for students to use to help them develop test taking skills, but I have yet to see any of them actually buy it and use it. It will help you learn the different types of questions you will see on exams and how to go about answering them. This book is worth its weight in gold. I used it when I was in nursing school and have used it with my students. The name of the book is, Test for Success: Test Taking Techniques for Beginning Nursing Students by Patricia Nugent and Barbara Vitale.
Hope the above helps.

WillowNMe · Dec 14, 2011

I missed passing the second semester of patho by 2 points. It was the most difficult science class I had ever taken, with the lowest amount of points (200 total), which were based off of tests only. (Un)luckily for me, I'm not always the best test taker. Awesome.

I told them immediately I would not be returning. I was done with nursing, definitely done with the school. Done. Done. Done. My mentor told me to take two weeks of not thinking about it, which I did. After that, I came to the conclusion that A.) I really wanted to be a nurse and B.) Because of how much my school cost and how much debt I was in, I had no choice but to continue with them. C.) I knew I was going to have to eat a whole bunch of humble pie. Still a pretty raw wound, two years later.

It literally kicked me out of the nursing program, so I had to reapply, had to write letters, go in front of a board with my parents and mentor and do a couple back flips. Kidding, but it felt like it. When I was accepted, my financial chick said I had to stay full time in order to not repay on my student loans, so freaking $30,000 of added debt later (very, very raw point), I was able to re-enter the nursing program. I did try to make the most of it - I took Pharm, Medical Terminology... anything I felt would help me succeed in Patho. I had the privilege of helping teach some of the classes the first semester of Patho, as well... that way I could sit through the class again and pick up on stuff I might have missed, create a more solid base. I also did good for me classes - weight lifting, etc. - to help myself as well. I was also able to get a job as a CNA, which I think believed helped me even more then the classes - it gave me hands on skills and I was able to say after graduating that I maintained a full time job during school as well.

In the end, I can still be very bitter about it at times... especially because the drama did not end there, unfortunately. To this day, I don't necessarily recommend my nursing program. BUT... it helped mold me into who I am today, and I don't think I'm too bad :) Plus because of my school, I was able to get the job I have today, which I absolutely love.

Double edged sword, I guess. I always suggest have a pitty party for yourself, get over it, get ready to eat some humble pie, pull your big girl panties on and deal with it. I am so glad, now that I am passed school, boards, finding a job, etc. that I continued on my way. Really rough and bumpy road, but the end result is worth it.

Leomom · Dec 14, 2011

Yes it is entirely possible to fail MedSurg & still graduate. I failed MedSurg 2 by about 2 pts. No matter how hard I tried, it seemd the harder I tried the worse my test scores got. However, I took the time to meet with my instructors, go over the tests, & I retook the class the following semester & passed with a solid B. I graduated May 2011, took boards in June & passed with 75 questions. I am proud to say that I am now working as a Transplant RN.

As to whether this is for you or not, that is something that you must answer for yourself. Remember anything worth having is worth working for. Good luck.

glencovediva · Dec 14, 2011

I never failed a class, but in my nursing school, a C+ was the passing grade, and I think an 85% was the passing grade for dosage calculations exams. Check your schools policy for failing classes. In my school, if you failed 2 times, it was automatic dismissil.

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Dec 14, 2011

It's so frustrating to fail by a small margin. I had several friends who failed our exit exam by a fraction of a percent. Yea, the bar is the bar and has to be somewhere and all that, but I think it *feels* worse to be so close but just not good enough.

Meet with your professor to try to identify your weak areas and see if s/he has any tips. Read over the suggestions here and look up other study techniques. Be really honest with yourself about your performance : did you study as hard as you could have? Are you using good techniques? Do you need practice reading the questions?

Many people fail a class and go on to finish nursing school. The trick is to use it as an opportunity for improvement.

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Dec 14, 2011

A classmate of mine failed the 1st semester class last year by exactly 2 points. If the total points to pass was 398, his score would have been 396 - and that was at the final exam. He didn't know he'd failed until that night. He petitioned to return and was rolled into the next available class (mine) and I am happy to report that he passed the course with ease this time around. He didn't get an A, but he did well.

Another classmate of mine was on the border of failing and made the difficult decision to drop. She was allowed to roll into next semester's class and has (IMHO) an excellent chance at doing VERY well. She's excellent at the bedside and going through the same course again in such a short time will only solidify her knowledge.

So the moral of this story is: If you know that Nursing is what you need to do, get your backside back in the saddle and ride! You've seen the beast, and you know where you're weak. You'll only be better in the end.

Akeos · Dec 14, 2011

The same thing happened to me. It was nursing theory and i got a 73%, passing was 74%. It put me a full year behind for graduation because of the way clinicals were set up but I re-took the class and got a 98% and passed the rest of my classes just fine. I know it's really disheartening, but stick with it unless you're really not sure you even want to be a nurse anymore. But if you still want to pursue nursing, don't let 1 bad grade discourage you. Keep going, you'll do great.

carolmaccas66, BSN, RN · Dec 14, 2011

I never failed a class, but in my nursing school, a C+ was the passing grade, and I think an 85% was the passing grade for dosage calculations exams. Check your schools policy for failing classes. In my school, if you failed 2 times, it was automatic dismissil.

Wow! Down under we have to pass all our medication calc exams 100%. The instructors give you maybe 5 goes, then if you fail, you can't do meds on your clinical. If u keep failing, you fail the whole course and must sit it again.

At university, we could not re-sit an exam. You had to do the whole unit again before you could move onto the next unit.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Dec 14, 2011

Wow! Down under we have to pass all our medication calc exams 100%. The instructors give you maybe 5 goes, then if you fail, you can't do meds on your clinical. If u keep failing, you fail the whole course and must sit it again.
At university, we could not re-sit an exam. You had to do the whole unit again before you could move onto the next unit.

Passing grade was 80% with no rounding, so a 79.6% meant failure.

At my school, you got three tries on the med exam and needed at least a 80%. If you failed the 3rd med exam, you were out of the nursing program regardless of your grades.

We also couldn't retake exams. You were allowed to fail and repeat one class; if you failed a second class--and it didn't have to be the same class--you were out of the program.

Last, if you failed the clinical/practicum part of the class, it was an automatic fail for the class regardless of your grade in lecture.

RNsRNotOut · Dec 14, 2011

It's easy to feel that something isn't to be after having failed at it. A lot of that is justification for failing, or at least in my experience. Is nursing for you and can you get through nursing school are two different questions. Regardless whether nursing is right for you or not you can still pass nursing school. I didn't fail out of school, but I did drop out my first semester because of fear I would fail out (below borderline grades) and make it even more difficult to get back in with a damaged GPA. And yes, I probably would have failed out if I finished out the semester.

One thing that will be invaluable to you if you decide to go back is that you've already been there. You've gained knowledge and nursing school experience that will undoubtedly help you next time. For me and for many others I know nursing school required a 100% dedication. It took up almost all of my time. It sucks to fail, no matter by how much or how little. I still wonder if nursing is right for me, but once upon a time I wanted to get through nursing school and I did.