Failing barely

Mike R, ADN, BSN, RN · Nov 29, 2010

In my class of the 20 that are left, 4 are below the passing grade and 6 are within 3% of not passing. You're definitely NOT alone. I often find myself saying, all you can do is your best. When you put 100% of your efforts into something and you achieve, you feel accomplished. When you put less than your all and you fail, you'll spend quite some time kicking yourself wondering what if. I learned that the hard way.

Use your time wisely, use as many resources as you can and put in an honest effort for that last leg. Lastly, if you feel confident, you'll be confident. No self-doubt.

Keep your head up and good luck!

doublehelix · Dec 1, 2010

There was a girl in my class who failed her skills (min of 60% to pass) by .7 of a percent, No joke

you're going to have your good classes and your bad classes... even your good semesters and bad ones as well! Hang in there!

Amber0515 · Dec 1, 2010

well, the thing is...if i fail...i am out of the program until next fall, the nursing program is just one class...it's kind of all just rolled into one. they only count our test grades, clinical homework is not counted, and neither are papers. we jst get an "S" for them...we have about 10 tests each semester...and i know there are about half in my class of 32 who are below passing now...

Jevell - AMPNN · Dec 20, 2010

definitely hang in there. any chance to do extra credit or repeat a course you did bad in?

ParkerBC,MSN,RN, PhD, RN · Dec 21, 2010

Rather than committing to a minimum grade, say something like, “I will get an A- on this test.” I find that if I don’t commit to a particular number, I do better. Maybe because I don’t put the extra stress on myself. Do you tend to go back and change answers? If so, STOP! On my exams, I skip over questions if I can’t determine the answer quickly. I don’t want to spend a lot of time stressing over the one question. When I am finished with the exam, I do go back and look at the questions I marked as unsure. Then I take the time to answer them.

pockunit, ADN, RN · Dec 21, 2010

I never, EVER think about the minimum score I need. I concentrate on the maximum score I think I can achieve. So far, I've got a great gpa.

I read the whole test before I answer a single question, highlighting key words, underlining things, crossing out distractors, and then go back to answer. Sometimes you can find the answer to a question further down the test, so this is a handy practice. I only change answer if I am SURE I need to. I circle questions I'm not sure about and go back to answer those at the end. I don't spend time on them until I've answered everything I DO know, so I don't waste test time on things I'm not sure about. Then, if I run out of time, it's on a few questions I wasn't sure about, not the balance of the test because I spent too much time on a few upstream.

I stop and breathe. I eat something sweet. I drink water. I think about my answers, each and everytime. I don't read into questions (any more; I used to, and I always got them wrong).

I also don't skimp onthe sleep. I'll spend the weekend studying and miss out on family time if I need to, but I will not operate on a sleep deficit.

CrazierThanYou · Dec 21, 2010

well, the thing is...if i fail...i am out of the program until next fall, the nursing program is just one class...it's kind of all just rolled into one. they only count our test grades, clinical homework is not counted, and neither are papers. we jst get an "S" for them...we have about 10 tests each semester...and i know there are about half in my class of 32 who are below passing now...

In my state, nursing programs are only allowed to base grades on our tests. No papers, no projects, no extra credit as those are considered "padding" for grades. I see that you do have to do papers and such but they aren't counted. I'm just curious, what would happen if a student didn't do a paper?