Fight or Flight ? Advice needed.

[SuperNurse19, LPN]

Okay first of all I would like to warn anyone who reads this that what I'm writing is a LONG and somewhat complex chain of events that you would think could pass for a good novel, but none of this is made up..so please bear with me, and excuse the title of this topic I just needed something to grab people's attention in hopes that someone will help me out.

I am a former ADN nursing student from a certain university in Arkansas (trying to remain professional and not mention any names). I was recently dismissed from this university's nursing program, again, a few months ago for not passing a class. But let me start by explaining everything that happened up to this point.

I was accepted back into this program in August of 2013, I was a fresh new student into the world of nursing...well I knew somethings about nursing but just the some of basics of what I heard from everyday conversations with those not associated with the medical field in general. Anyway, I had just started my first level and I'll admit that I didn't do so great on exams but I was pretty good at clinicals and hands-on lab experience; even my teachers gave me high review on my hands on learning capability. All in all I managed to make it to the end of my first level and failed out ( now keep in mind this is attempt #1 for me). According to the program's policy a student can appeal at any level of the program if they had a REASONABLE case for appeal; you'll understand why I had to point out the word reasonable soon. So I honestly wasn't sure how to appeal the process but thankfully this school's program allowed for a second attempt after failing out, but the only catch is you'd have to wait out a year...so that's just what me and a few other students had to do.

Coming back in August of 2014, as a returning student (along with those who failed out with me in 2013) I was greeted back into the program with a brand new crew of potential nurses. Now upon my return the second time around a lot of things went down during this time that came close to resulting in me failing out again, most of them being last minute changes for the new incoming students who were unsatisfied with the way the curriculum was being taught. Thankfully I was able to make through my first level and passed, some of the newcomers were not so fortunate to pass but they were able to appeal on the basis of "ineffective teaching" (please keep this reason in mind because you're about to see it come up again very soon), anyway, these students were given the opportunity to retake an exam and if they passed it then they would receive a grade of a "C" and progress on; with no record showing that this would be considered a second attempt at the program or that they ever really failed in level 1 in the first place. Some passed and others failed, and were permanently removed because the university was closing out the ADN program.

So moving on into my second level of nursing school, January of 2015. I was able to successfully pass this level with no issues. I noticed thought some of my peers were not so lucky in this level; mainly the male students( it was the OB/Maturity course of the program). These students were failing the class at one point but somehow were able to make to the third level with me, now don't get me wrong I believe that someone can pull up in nursing school and can pass with flying colors after a string of failing tests but in a few weeks? Turns out these male students were given the opportunity to retake failed exams over again just to help boost their grades..are you starting to see a little pattern here?

Now we get to the tragic event of this tale, The dreaded Med-Surg level or as we called it Level 3. In Level 3 we are presented with 3 classes we have to take and pass: Pharmacology I, Mental Health, and Med-Surg I. I had no issues with Pharm or Mental health but that Med-Surg was a PAIN, and usually most of the med surg questions I practiced on a daily basis were almost a cakewalk versus the horrors I faced on the exams presented in this class. Where do I start? Well my teacher.

She taught both Pharmacology and Mental Health, and didn't make those classes no where near as difficult as Med...I actually passed both classes. In Med though, that's a different ballpark.

Her lectures were confusing and all over the place, she couldn't answer questions you asked her half of the time, she was rude and made it seem like we were complete idiots, and her exams were complete BS...and what I mean by that is, she taught one thing in class and stressed what we needed to know but none of it was on the exams and if it was she literally re-worded it so poorly it was hard to understand what she was asking for. Long story short..the class was complete hell. So what you see from what was previously stated, I did make it to the end of Med-Surg but sadly I didn't pass; despite my efforts for studying and constantly staying in and out of her office asking for help on what to study or how to improve my studying. Also before I continue any further I did forget to mention how I studied for all of my tests: Well I first took notes in class and printed out power points provided by the teachers, I then would re-write some of my notes just to help instill the important points in my head, I skimmed the chapters on my book and hit only the important points, and finally I would answer NCLEX based questions on the topics we went over in class;I tried to record her lectures but I don't really learn well that way...and even after all of that I still ended up failing.

I'd like to take this moment to thank all those who stayed this long throught my saga to get to this point, but stick around...it gets worse. Now remember a few paragraphs up I mentioned the appeals process for the group of people who came in August of 2014?

And remember how I said that these individuals used the case of "ineffective teaching" as their reason for failing out the first time and how they were allowed a retake of an exam? Well I figured since it worked for them and they got the results they wanted I tried to use the SAME, EXACT reason and was denied on the basis that "ineffective teaching" was not a good reason to appeal. Now wait I'm sparing a lot of details that went down with this appeals process but I just wanted to let you know how it ended before I get into the complete crap of an appeals process I had.

Now dealing with my appeals process, like the student handbook and nursing policy states that I had to start my process within 7 days of the class ending..So I did, which was around December 11th of 2015. Of course I had to go through the chain of command so it started with the teacher and the program director, both of whom were quick to try and make it seem like I did not make an attempt at studying or passing exams. So after them I talked to the vice president of academic affairs( now yes I know I skipped over person but some other students did it too and got the results they wanted...they were included in the group that appealed in August 2014), now I told him my dilemma and he promised me he would relay my tale back to the program director and the dean..and i spoke with him around December 13th? or so...all of this took place before Christmas. Now I did not hear back from anyone until January, which was understandable everyone wanted to enjoy their break..which I did, it's just the dean of the program told me to contact him after the New Year (January 4th). I managed to email him but he didn't respond to me until January 12, and this was after I had to personally drive to the campus and talk to him..just to find out nothing I told the Vice Pres was mentioned to him-not my appeal letter or anything. So basically in his words, it was like my appeal process was never started...crazy right? So he told me to email him my official letter...AGAIN, and we could get started on my appeals process..now class had been started roughly around January 10th, and I had no idea you could attend classes while the appeals process was being pended and worked on..so keep in mind I was missing out on a lot. It wasn't until January 19 I was finally able meet with a committee and discuss my experiences in the program again...seriously it was getting exhausting to keep re-telling all of this..kinda how it is to have to type it right now.

Anyway you saw how it ended but here's where it gets EVEN crazier, during my meeting with the committee I was asked what would I like done to correct my grading error. I gave them a few choices: 1. Be allowed an exam retake 2. Have my previous attempt at the program dropped because I had already corrected it upon return or 3. be allowed to take the hybird class(yes there was a hybird class being offered at this time-the only reason I bring it up is because the program was closing out anyway and we had to sign paper contracts saying once we failed out at any level we couldn't come back..so don't ask how this hybird class came about but it exists). Now the committee told me I wasn't able to come back but they didn't say I couldn't ask for an exam retake and honestly they didn't really understand the nursing policy enough to understand how to base their decision off my case-yea i have an email of one of the committee members admitting to that, so he told me to ask the Dean of the nursing program or the program director about that...seriously...

So I did inquire on it and told the director that I was fully aware of students in the past who appealed on the same basis of "ineffective teaching" and got an exam retake and I also mention how the hybird class came about and we had to sign papers saying once we were out we couldn't return into the ADN program because it would be closed anyway. The only thing I received back was a statement saying that I was a repeat student that failed again and that she wishes me the best on my future endeavors. The only difference between me and those students who got the exam retake was the fact they appealed in a different level than I did.

Now...here's my question after all of that..

Should I continue to fight this case on the basis that this is a form of discrimination or should I let this go and try else where?

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

I don't think I was able to follow the whole convoluted story, but I definitely sense your frustration.

In my part of the country, it is unlikely for anyone to be admitted to a second nursing program after failing out of the first one. If that's the case in your area, you may need to factor this into to your decision process.

[kiszi, RN]

I skimmed the chapters on my book and hit only the important points

This is why you failed. Now you know that you cannot depend on your instructor to feed you all you need to know. Unfortunately, I don't think you have much recourse. I had trouble following your post, but it appears that you appealed and lost. Hopefully you can get into another program.

[SuperNurse19, LPN]

Thanks for the reply! and well yes its a lot to read trust me I had a hard time typing it but everything was needed to sorta help get my point across. I learned very quickly that I couldn't depend on my instructors which is understandable, and I honestly tried not to for the most part. It took me years to come up with my own study method that did help me in the first two levels and wasn't so effective this time around, which is why I tried asking for a little advice in the direction I should go when I came to studying;unless of course you're referring to the grammatical error within that sentence then I'm sorry, I was typing this early in the morning and failed to correct that( probably along with other grammatical error) along the way.

[SuperNurse19, LPN]

Thank you for the reply ! And sorry for the long story, I understand that it was pretty hard to follow; even harder to try and type to be honest. May I ask how should I go about getting them to see my point? I want to keep my professionalism and try to work things out without getting the state board involved again but it seems like no one wants to budge or even consider my recall of the events.

[caliotter3]

It is a fact of life that instructors and/or administrators will treat different students in different manners, even to the point of contradicting written school policy. Your time, money, and peace of mind are worth more than fighting a battle that you have little to no chance of winning. If you were to win in the end, it would probably be way past the point of no return since the program is being phased out. Once they make up their mind about you and how they are going to treat you, an Act of Congress will not get them to change, so it is better that you redirect your energies.

[SuperNurse19, LPN]

Thank you for the advice, it was much needed.

[Atl-Murse]

Truly sorry for your issues but I do have to call you out on male students having issue with OB and getting "help". You are too concerned with other students, maybe a contributing factor to your grade? I am a male and my best class was OB. I sense some prejudice on your part. Anyways good luck to you

[Reds5588, BSN]

I agree that its common in nursing school to see students get treated differently. When I was in med surg 2 (8 months pregnant with many complications during finals too), I bombed my final and missed the passing cut off by 0.87 percent. Two other students that I knew failed by 2% and 5%. The student who failed by 5% was given an opportunity to retake the class next semester after an appeal. The student who failed by 2% had to leave after his appeal failed, and started at a new school. It was the 2nd class fail for both but they obviously had different outcomes.

It was only my 1st fail but I had to wait a whole year to retake the course. I know how frustrating and awful it feels to fail something. When I restarted I had reevaluated my whole study method and got tutoring during finals. I ended up excelling and graduating with honors. I'm starting my first job at the hospital of my dreams in a few weeks. Don't let a failure define you, use it as a learning opportunity! I was tempted to hold resentments towards teachers and the more favorably treated students, but I chose to come back on top and never allow myself to get in that situation again.

FYI: I kept in touch with the student who had got dismissed. He started at a new program which he felt was more suited to his personality anyway and he graduated a few months ago also, and is about to start his first job!

Hang in there!

[canigraduate]

So, let me boil down this long-winded and repetitive post:

You started in the fall of '13 and failed out of the first level. You didn't appeal it because your school allows a second chance.

You waited out the required year and started again in the fall of '14. You passed the first and second level. You failed the third. The same professor taught all three classes for this level. You were successful in two classes but failed Med Surg. There is no explanation for why you failed other than the tests were worded funny to you. Your study habits are more than likely inadequate, judging by what you wrote. Med Surg is a very hard class where many are weeded out.

After you failed, you had seven days to start the appeals process, which you did. You then skipped part of the process and went to the VP of academic affairs, who was supposed to talk to the program director and the dean. There was no follow up, so you talked to the dean yourself a month later. At this point, your appeal had been lost and had to start over. You were allowed to see the appeals committee and they asked you what outcome you would like. You said a) retake the exam you failed, b) have your previous fail negated, or c) be allowed to take a hybrid class. The committee denied your appeal.

During all this, it sounds like you think there was a conspiracy afoot to pass the male students. It also sounds like you tried to use what had worked for other students rather than there actually being anything wrong with your education.

My thoughts are that the school owes you nothing. You failed the first time and didn't appeal it. Others did and were successful. You failed the second time and tried a Hail Mary that didn't work. I think you missed the boat by not appealing the first time you failed. Using the same reason as those who did appeal was never going to work, because it was a different class, probably a different instructor, and more than a year later. You needed to appeal based on your specific situation.

Your best option is to try a different program, if you can find one that will overlook your lack of success in your previous program.