Sabotage? Failed by 0.1%

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A week prior to my final I calculated my grades and knew I needed an 80 on the final to pass the class. I met with my instructor to review the previous quiz. It was a test question that she said she would throw out because it could have been two answers. I didn't think about it any further until after I made a 79 on the final which made me fail the class. I needed a 79.5 to pass the class and I had a 79.4

I emailed my instructor. Asking about the test question she said she would throw out because if she threw out that one question then I would pass. She emailed me back and said "Sorry all test are final and grades can not be changed. I misspoke during test review regarding throwing out that question."

Is that fair that she can tell me one thing and then go back on her word? Especially when that one question will pass or fail me? What would you do in this situation?

Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.

The only person who sabatoged you is yourself. Don't aim to just pass, aim for the best. I doubt you will be granted anything, most nursing programs don't round up. Mine didn't & the bridge program I'm looking into doesn't either.

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First of all..... The highest grade on the final was an 82. Of course I wanted higher but the exam was hard. They purposely make it hard to test our knowledge. and I'm not expecting anyone to "give" me anything. Some of you in this group have horrible attitudes. Have a good day dear. Thanks for commenting :)

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
First of all..... The highest grade on the final was an 82. Of course I wanted higher but the exam was hard. They purposely make it hard to test our knowledge. and I'm not expecting anyone to "give" me anything. Some of you in this group have horrible attitudes. Have a good day dear. Thanks for commenting :)

Unfortunately, folks who are already upset when they post here are not liable to accept honest, realistic answers, let alone thank those who took the time to thoughtfully respond.

Fortunately, time will likely teach some of life's realities far better than a nursing forum can.

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If all you can manage is a 79 on a final, you don't know your stuff. A decent grade on the final would have more than made up for one controversial question on a small quiz.

Re-take the class and if you can't easily pass (having already been exposed to the material) that will demonstrate whether you should continue.

Quit expecting people to be "giving" you your grades.

It amazes me how judgmental and insensitive posters can be (nurses for one) to students as if the instructor is error free.

This doesn't make the poster a bad nurse (to be). Let's face it, there are some ridiculous questions on a nursing exam without an adequate rationale. I just don't see how you accuse the OP of wanting something 'given' to them. Sort of crass.

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Specializes in Med-Tele; ED; ICU.
It amazes me how judgmental and insensitive posters can be (nurses for one) to students as if the instructor is error free.

This doesn't make the poster a bad nurse (to be). Let's face it, there are some ridiculous questions on a nursing exam without an adequate rationale. I just don't see how you accuse the OP of wanting something 'given' to them. Sort of crass.

Sure, there are the occasional bad question... which maybe knocks your grade down a little... Over the course of a whole class, though, it averages out and one's course score is largely reflective of their knowledge and performance... and 79% is simply a poor performance.

That's not mean nor crass nor bullying... it's the simple and objective truth... and the truth is worth speaking and hearing, even if it points out one's deficiencies.

Whether the OP will be a nurse at all, let alone a good one or a bad one, is impossible to say based on his/her poor performance in this class but to seek to shift responsibility from the student to the instructor, especially based on an argument over one question out of probably hundreds is absurd and, frankly, not helpful to the student.

In this case, the student is absolutely wanting something "given" to him/her... S/he wants a grade that s/he didn't earn.

And going to the original title: The choice to preface the post with the term "sabotage" sets a tone which clearly communicates a sense of victimization and a lack of responsibility for his/her inadequate performance.

This is the classic 'everybody gets a trophy' mentality and 'it's somebody else's fault that I failed."

Nope, s/he failed all on his/her own and s/he doesn't deserve the 'trophy' of a passing grade in the course.

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
First of all..... The highest grade on the final was an 82. Of course I wanted higher but the exam was hard. They purposely make it hard to test our knowledge. and I'm not expecting anyone to "give" me anything. Some of you in this group have horrible attitudes. Have a good day dear. Thanks for commenting :)

We don't have a horrible attitudes. We have gone through nursing school, passed out NCLEX & are working nursing. If you can't pass nursing school how on earth are you going to pass the NCLEX?! It's obvious you can't grasp the material, so it's you. If EVERYONE in you class was failing then obviously I would say it was your instructors. But you faile, you didn't grasp the material, you didn't pass so there is no one to blame but YOURSELF! Period, end of story!

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I'll give you a perspective from the instructor's side :

1. You sabotaged yourself by putting yourself in the position of needing an 80 to pass. You left many points on the table through an entire semester. Don't put yourself in the position of barely getting by. I can tell you no one wants to be cared for by the "80%" nurse.

2. There are times when students just get a question plain wrong. Get over it and move on.

3. If you do decide to Go up the chain of command-be courteous to everyone. If you are antagonistic, you risk alienating the faculty and will have a difficult time in your program. You really need to ask yourself if one question is worth it in the grand scheme of things.

Good luck going forward.

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Look, you have to stand up for yourself. No one will. You are the customer and paid a lot of money here. Customer is king and you deserve an explanation and a chance to fix this. I don't understand why people think it's ok for nursing schools to screw students??!??. It's not ok!!!. We as nursing students know that we will be dealing with life and death situation. We deserve a solid education. This whole culture of nursing schools screwing students has to stop!!!!. All these folks defending nursing schools are either working for them or somehow affiliated. Enough is enough!!!

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
Look, you have to stand up for yourself. No one will. You are the customer and paid a lot of money here. Customer is king and you deserve an explanation and a chance to fix this. I don't understand why people think it's ok for nursing schools to screw students??!??. It's not ok!!!. We as nursing students know that we will be dealing with life and death situation. We deserve a solid education. This whole culture of nursing schools screwing students has to stop!!!!. All these folks defending nursing schools are either working for them or somehow affiliated. Enough is enough!!!

No, we are no affiliated with the school or any school. We are just actual practicing nurses with lots of experience under our belts. By the way, customers are NOT kings. Especially not in nursing school. Are you even in nursing school yet? If you aren't, how can you give such advice to the OP?

There is no nursing shortage (but people think there is) so nursing programs can pick whoever they want for their nursing programs. If you fail, oh well, that's on you! There is absolutely no hand holding! You don't get spoon fed any information in nursing school like you did in your pre-reqs. You better be ready to teach yourself because there is not enough time in the day for the instructor to teach you everything.

Nobody "screwed" the OP over except for the OP. He should've gotten help from his instructor, figured out where he was going wrong instead of struggling all semester & then had to get an 80 on his final.

You will see this soon enough & then come to eat your words.

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Yes, you guys are affiliated with the nursing schools and yes, OP paid money and he is a customer of the nursing school and he deserves top notch education. Let's make sure these crooked nursing school don't get away with their business conduct and screw people over. It is OP who has to pay for his loans not the crooked nursing schools who look out for themselves and want to take advantage of poor people. You are right there are no shortages in nursing and nursing schools keep on lying to poor students that there is. Good luck for living in Lala land and supporting crooked nursing schools.

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Yes, you guys are affiliated with the nursing schools and yes, OP paid money and he is a customer of the nursing school and he deserves top notch education. Let's make sure these crooked nursing school don't get away with their business conduct and screw people over. It is OP who has to pay for his loans not the crooked nursing schools who look out for themselves and want to take advantage of poor people. You are right there are no shortages in nursing and nursing schools keep on lying to poor students that there is. Good luck for living in Lala land and supporting crooked nursing schools.

Aren't you a treasure.

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Specializes in Med-Tele; ED; ICU.
Yes, you guys are affiliated with the nursing schools and yes, OP paid money and he is a customer of the nursing school and he deserves top notch education. Let's make sure these crooked nursing school don't get away with their business conduct and screw people over. It is OP who has to pay for his loans not the crooked nursing schools who look out for themselves and want to take advantage of poor people. You are right there are no shortages in nursing and nursing schools keep on lying to poor students that there is. Good luck for living in Lala land and supporting crooked nursing schools.
1) I assure you that I am not affiliated with any nursing school... I am feasting off of the OT opportunities in local EDs and couldn't take the pay cut.

2) Yes, the OP is paying for the education but that doesn't make him/her a customer, it makes him/her a student. Even if you choose to insist that a student is a customer (and that patients are clients), an old boss put it very well: "The customer isn't always right but they are always the customer" meaning that you treat them fairly... which is what was done.

The OP is simply a mediocre student, one who barely failed as opposed to barely passing. Either way, their marginal academic performance is on them. They haven't been screwed, they're simply a lousy student.

3) Nursing schools aren't lying to students. Every school in Northern California has been very clear about the situation ever since I started 9 years ago.

4) I routinely meet new grads who have excelled in school and been hired into well-paying jobs... perhaps they're simply smarter and harder working than the OP... and perhaps yourself as evidenced by the clear bias in your posts.

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