Failing a&p this summer. Bad GPA. What now?

Okami_CCRN, BSN, RN · Jun 23, 2015

You will probably not like what I have to say, but I will give you my advice.

Do not blame the professor for making the class difficult, anatomy and physiology is a difficult course because it is one of the foundations of nursing. If you have a hard time grasping these concepts then nursing school will be much more difficult.

Will it look bad that you are college hoping; of course it will, especially if you have taken the same class at multiple institutions.

If you know you are a bad student, then you should start evaluating why you're a bad student. Think about how you take notes, how you study, how you spend your free time. Go on a website that will help you determine your learning style so you can make wise decisions on changes you need to make.

Nursing school is hard, pre-reqs are a breeze compared to the amount of work and time nursing school takes. I began in a diploma program with 50 students and 14 of us graduated.

windsurfer8, BSN, RN · Jun 23, 2015

You show patterns of quitting when things get difficult and not being responsible enough to drop classes when you are failing. You blame the teacher...wrong move. Yuo say it is "brutal" Well..there is a reason science classes are challenging. They are not for everyone. Yuo really want to be a nurse, but you are not meeting the basic requirements. Nursing is not for everyone. If it was easy everyone would do it. There are no "magic answers". You have to commit 100% and study whatever it takes. 40 hours a week if need be. If yuo say you already are doing all you can then you are not capable of becoming a nurse because to become a nurse you must meet at least minimums and preferably exceed them. If you are not studying as much as you can then that is what you need to change. It is all on YOU. No one else. It isn't the teachers fault. It isnt the schools fault. It isn't societies fault. It is on you.

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · Jun 23, 2015

I think you need a reality check here. Find another profession. The prereqs are the easy part of school. Your GPA is very low and you are failing one of the main prereqs. A&P is the foundation of nursing.

Look for a back up plan. Not everyone can be a nurse.

ilikecorgis · Jun 23, 2015

I agree that a&p is difficult, but I do believe that my professor makes it more difficult than what it has to be. It is also condensed into an 8 week class and I expected to work my butt off. Last week we had a lab and lecture exam and pop quiz on the same day, pop quiz on the next day, and the next day, and the next day. A lot of us lost points on the pop quizzes because we thought, what are the chances of getting quizzed day after day again especially after recovering from two exams. And learning new material for the next chapter before even taking exams for the previous chapters. Today our professor was 10 minutes late and we were all in sitting in class silently studying for our lecture exam that day. We got yelled at because we weren't working on lab stuff instead (we have lab before lecture) even though the lab exam is on Wednesday.

I read through the text book, my notes I take in class, I listen to the recordings, I take more notes at home, I take advantage of the internet, I feel like a failure.

neurodude, MSN, NP · Jun 23, 2015

I agree that a&p is difficult, but I do believe that my professor makes it more difficult than what it has to be. It is also condensed into an 8 week class and I expected to work my butt off. Last week we had a lab and lecture exam and pop quiz on the same day, pop quiz on the next day, and the next day, and the next day. A lot of us lost points on the pop quizzes because we thought, what are the chances of getting quizzed day after day again especially after recovering from two exams.
I read through the text book, my notes I take in class, I listen to the recordings, I take more notes at home, I take advantage of the internet, I feel like a failure.

I haven't met a single soul who said their anatomy class was easy. Saying your professor "makes it more difficult" is very subjective. Perhaps you are studying the wrong way?

I agree with the previous posters- I suggest looking into other careers. The reality is, you need to master anatomy before you move on to pathophysiology, pharmacology, and the other sciences.

Have you made an earnest attempt to talk to your academic advisor? He/she is a good resource to consult.

ilikecorgis · Jun 23, 2015

There are people in class that are doing better or worse than I am, and feel the same way. He has some serious poor ratings on ratemyprofessor. He was the only one offering a&p this summer so I figured I would just suck it up. I know I've shown patterns of failure and quitting, but I'm not looking into other professions, even if it does take longer than I anticipated.

beekee · Jun 23, 2015

I hate to be a downer, but usually only students who are at the top of the class in the prerequisites move on to nursing school.

Even though those students have fantastic GPAs, excellent study habits and a strong drive, many of those students fail in nursing school. In just two semesters, about a third of my class have failed.

At the end of last semester, I had 5 quizzes or exams in 3 classes in 3 days. I think it was 6 quizzes or exams in the course of a week. So, don't expect nursing school to get any more "reasonable."

Can you turn this around? Sure. But you better figure it out quickly. I recommend your professors office hours.

neurodude, MSN, NP · Jun 23, 2015

The best thing we can tell you is to visit your professor's office hours or make an appointment to meet with him. Explain to him how you are studying, what you are studying, and what you can improve on.

Go into his office with an open mind, without any bias of how he teaches or his ratemyprofessor rankings.

Have you tried studying with other classmates? Anatomy is a terribly difficult subject to undertake alone; working with a group is a tremendous help.

If consulting your professor and resources fails, you're gonna need to make a backup plan. The truth is, a 2.5 GPA earned from 31 hours is gonna be extremely difficult to raise. Most programs will require a GPA of at least 3.2 - if not a higher GPA. All of us who suggested a backup plan say so for a reason. If you keep going at this without any positive results, you risk further damaging your academic record- something that is not easily salvageable, especially if you do end up switching majors or setting your sights on another career.

ilikecorgis · Jun 23, 2015

I know it would be challenging to raise my GPA, but I didn't think it would take more than a year to do that, on top of taking other classes. Is it that difficult to raise? I figured I could just retake those classes I failed or made C's in (sociology, eng 2, men&masc, etc) Just the "simpler" classes I didn't take seriously freshman year. They would take the highest letter grade (if I retake the class at the university). I guess my biggest concern was how my transcript will look.

tasia17 · Jun 23, 2015

Oh Man, I wish you the best. Try and get a group of classmates to study with. Label your family members body parts with sticky labels.. That helped me. Study longer and harder

Boozer4life · Jun 23, 2015

Do you still want to be a nurse??