Failed 1st Semester of Nursing Program

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I failed the first semester of the nursing program. I'm really nervous about the semester starting up again, as I only have one last shot or I'll be kicked out of the program. I can't identify my problem of exactly what went wrong. I figured maybe it was because starting Fall 2011 of starting college I had no breaks, not even summer, of just being in school all year. Almost 3 years until I got into the nursing program...so maybe I was burnt out and just trying to get by because I was tired???? I definitely noticed myself slacking off studying a little bit, however the critical thinking questions kind of got to me too..but when i did study I read, used the ppts given by teachers, and answered practice questions from ThePoint. Can anybody help me maybe try something different. I also got tired of my environment of studying which had been my room for the past 3 years with no break. I just had my first real summer break doing absolutely nothing. So I'm hoping upon returning I can knock out nursing school successfully.

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Specializes in NICU.

You failed your first semester of nursing school and yet you post on here 9 minutes later that you are doing a double major. You have one shot left and I would definitely not make your life any more complicated than it will be with nursing school alone.

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Specializes in Oncology/StemCell Transplant; Psychiatry.

I agree with the PP. If this is your last chance at nursing school, you don't want to mess it up by biting off more than you can chew. Can you postpone the remaining classes for your other major until you are done with nursing school?

As far as the critical thinking questions go, have you tried buying any NCLEX study aids? I found that the practice questions helped me "think like a nurse." Does your book have an accompanying study guide? My MedSurg textbook had an optional study guide that I purchased. It had practice questions that corresponded to each chapter. I would study them before each test, and I found that they were quite similar to the types of questions my professor would ask on the exams.

Best of luck to you!

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You failed because you didn't study effectively. No one wakes up failing a class. It's a series of events that have to take place for you to fail. Same as a series of events have to occur for you to be successful.

Next semester:

-Start the readings NOW for the class you failed before school starts back. Do a little at a time. You can do 4 hours a day. 1 hr here, 1 hr there. If you have time to post in here, you have time to read.

-Stay ahead in your readings. Read EVERYDAY. This will prevent you from cramming & the material will be fresh.

-The moment you don't understand a concept, procedure, process, whatever it is, make a list, and go to the instructor after class to clarify. If in lab, ask immediately.

-Utilize any tutoring on campus.

-Ask students who you know are good students to explain a concept you are confused about. Also ask them how do they study. This will give you some ideas as to how you can modify your study habits.

-Buy study guides outside of what's required for the class to help.

-Do nclex questions. Keep doing them until you become sick of them. This is where the critical thinking comes in. Read the rationales as to why your answer was right/wrong.

-Attend a study session. Try to teach the material to your classmates. You will find out what you do/don't know.

-Get to class/clinical on time. Turn in all your assignments on time. Do good work to get the highest grade possible. ALWAYS do extra credit if given.

-Watch youtube videos, pinterest to see how others learned the material you are weak on.

-REMEMBER: Be careful using resources outside the class. Whatever your instructor/book says is correct, is.

Finally, you have to believe in yourself that you will be successful. You were picked from hundreds of applicants, and admitted to your program. That committee believed you have what it takes. Now show them.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Capacity/Bed Management.

I have to agree with all the previous posters,

- Find a study group of 3-4 people; attend the study sessions AFTER reading the material yourself. Don't expect to be taught material. Study sessions should be to refresh and solidify concepts already learned

- Buy some sort of study-aid. I used NCLEX-RN by Saunders (big purple book)

- DO NOT take more classes than you can handle. I take my core nursing courses by themselves and even then it's a lot of work to juggle.

- As you study concepts think about how this will be seen clinically, what will you do, how does it present, and prioritize problems (ABC's)

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Specializes in Emergency Department.

In addition the above, you failed because you likely simply overloaded yourself. I've been through a very rigorous Bachelors program in the past and when I went to nursing school for my ADN, while it was a full-time program, it wasn't huge time consuming. Why? I didn't have other course to study for. Effectively my one and only focus was Nursing. All my Gen Ed was done. All my electives were done. All I had to deal with was work and Nursing School. I also have a huge advantage now that I didn't have a few years ago: I know how I learn best. Could I have double majored in something else? Yes. It's because I know how I study best and most efficiently for the way I learn best. I would not have been able to do as well my first time in college because I didn't learn how I studied most efficiently until about my Junior year.

Unless your other major is so closely related to Nursing that the courses you take in one program also count for the other, you're not doing yourself any real favors by double-majoring in anything. You really need to take a serious look at your ability to effectively study. There's a lot of study tips above...

Is it possible to recover from this failure? Yes. I failed out once too. A friend of mine failed out his first semester. He didn't pass by 2 points. He squeaked by his next few semesters and graduated. He's working now as an RN locally.

I think you'll find that a lot of us here on this site are willing to be helpful but we're also going to tell you what we think you're going to need to hear, so to speak.

Good luck!!! I sense that there's going to be a lot of introspection coming... and that's not something that comes naturally to hard-charging, type-A personalities that try to double major in Nursing and anything else!!!

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It's only 11 classes for hcmg. I'm not taking them during fall/spring semesters when I have nursing classes. Hope that makes sense! I'm definitely not taking hcmg classes along with nursing classes at the same time in a semester.

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dont give up, do an lpn class first, then go to rn school... two years isnt really enough anyway.

dont take any other classes,,, get you some recorders and record the lectures and listen to them to/from school,,

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