Depressing:Classmates Are StartingTo Drop

RN BSN 2009 · Oct 19, 2006

I've lost a couple classmates too.

firstyearstudent · Oct 19, 2006

A lot tend to drop out early on. Once those who are unable or unwilling to do the hard work required are gone, drop outs will be rare. And some, you will see, will rejoin the program (albeit on another track).

Some of the gals who dropped first semester were my favorite classmates. Oh well...

allthingsbright · Oct 19, 2006

I am in second year on my ADN and people are dropping like flies. If they havent dropped already, then they are failing...

It takes a LOT of work to make it, huh? I am working my a@# off.

nurse4theplanet, RN · Oct 19, 2006

land64shark,

Yes it is very depressing when you see classmates with whom you have created a bond, fail the program. We lost half our class (30 or so out of 70 or so students) in the first semester alone. One of those girls was my best friend.

In second semester, I left behind two really good friends. And in third semester, another.

I still speak to each of them on a regular basis. Though they may not be going through the same experience, they are still very close friends and I am glad to have met them.

Keep your head up! Focus on your studies! And try to remember that nursing isn't for everyone, and that sometimes a person needs to fall before they can pick themselves up and come back stronger.

land64shark · Oct 22, 2006

The odd thing is that we only lost one person midway through first semester (she had medical issues) and two more didn't pass at the final. (They both had language issues as English was not their first language.) It just rots to sock it to everyone in the second semester.

Rumor has it that we are guinea pigs this semester. Last semester had a very high fail rate of Nursing 4 students and their chief complaint was that Nursing 1,2 and 3 was spoon-fed to them and Nursing 4 expected them to be totally independent. So this semester they changed it so that Nursing 2 and 3 are also expected to be independent. Our "lecture" class is not a lecture at all, we do "activities". I personally don't get much out of these activities. They might be good in ADDITION to lecture, but not instead of it. It's basically like an online class. Read the material and learn it yourself. The previous Nursing 2 classes didn't have this kind of fail rate.

WDWpixieRN, RN · Oct 22, 2006

this semester they changed it so that Nursing 2 and 3 are also expected to be independent. Our "lecture" class is not a lecture at all, we do "activities". I personally don't get much out of these activities. They might be good in ADDITION to lecture, but not instead of it. It's basically like an online class. Read the material and learn it yourself.

:no: :barf02:

BSNtobe2009 · Oct 22, 2006

I'm just curious about something. I always hear how nursing schools have a high drop-out rate or those that fail and get dismissed from the program.

It would stand to reason that if they have such strict admission requirements, and they are still getting people that drop out, what does that say about their admission standards?

Sometimes I wonder if test scores are everything. There are alot of people out there with high GPA's and no people skills.

The nursing school that I am applying to has their highest dropout rate with those that have a high school diploma and did well on the TEAS and got in.

It just makes me wonder.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Oct 22, 2006

Please let go of the "survivor's guilt". You are worthy, and you will make a good nurse.

It's a sad reality that those who you know will make great bedside nurses, don't pass the book stuff, but you have to have both to make it.

We also have to let them go, with sadness of course, but we can't feel guilty and we have to move on.

Good luck!

Roseyposey · Oct 22, 2006

We have a low retention rate as well - not many willingly drop out, a lot get asked to leave or fail the courses. Out of the original 64 of us, there are maybe 1/2 left (2nd year) and I'm sure we'll lose some more. The school artificially pads its retention numbers by looking at the overall number of enrollees - without accounting for those who have joined that have been working as LPNs for years and are finishing their ADN. That being said, however, listen to Tweety. Don't feel guilty that you are still in the program; you've worked hard to get where you are. People don't make it for many different reasons. Some don't realize the time committment going in, some study their rear ends off but don't "get" the different testing style of nursing school. Still others commit "suicide by instructor" and intentionally screw up at clinicals to get kicked out. Don't carry this burden on your shoulders; the only person you can afford to worry about at this point is yourself, sounds cold and cruel, but you can't control other's study habits and life situations. Good luck.

analee23 · Oct 22, 2006

Man, I've heard that there are nursing programs out there like this, but have never seen them. It is probably very difficult to go through classes knowing half of the class is failing. Just keep truckin' and you'll get through. Has anyone in the class tried to organize study group? Or how bout sharing a study guide that someone puts together, that may help some of the classmates that are struggling.

I went to a large school with a high pass rate (I think 7 of the total 50 students failed or dropped out through the whole program) and a 96% pass rate for NCLEX. Maybe it's because of the standards for acceptance into the program, who knows?

Best of luck!

Analee

Sheri257 · Oct 22, 2006

I don't understand why people drop, especially when they've waited two years to get into the program.

A couple of failed tests isn't the end of the world. I've seen people pull up at the end of the semester who had really poor test scores in the beginning. It can be done.

:typing