about half my class is failing first semester in an ADN program.

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Specializes in Family medicine, Cardiology, Spinal Cord Injury.

The main problem that I see that people have are lack of critical thinking skills. A lot of those who are failing are the younger kids with the minimum requirements to get into the program. Those who have the A's have a minimum bachelors degree and have been actively continuing their education while waiting to get into a nursing program. e.g. taking Developmental Psychology, Pharmacology, Pathophysiology, Sociology, Argumentation, Philosophy, and Logic.

If you can and have time and would like to be ahead before even entering a program, I suggest you pick up some Nursing Process books. Our school uses the Roy Adaptation Model. Some schools use other theorists.

If you would like a sample of the first semester module of my school, send me a PM. It'll give you insight about what's expected of you and just how tough it is.

deliverator

edit: Try and take a medical math or dimensional analysis math class. you don't want to fail out of your nursing program because you can't pass a simple math test.

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Specializes in Pediatric Intensive Care, Urgent Care.

thanks for the heads up! Another problem i heard one of my instructors the other day talking about is the fact that many students take their pre-reqs part-time and when they get into a nursing program they are not only faced with more complex classes but also a full class load and clinicals that demands that one learn to prioritize and juggle several ongoing assignments, etc...

Some students fail to learn how to prioritize when faced with these sudden heavy school demands and subsequently can't adapt to the new rigorous schedule. What happens? you get nursing school drop outs.

I'm going to keep this and what you said in mind once i start my BSN program this Fall. Once again, thanx for the heads up!

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Math actually helps my critical thinking more than any other class I have taken. I hate philosophy, but I'm a natural over-analyzer, so this is right up my alley.

I agree with everything Mexarican says...if you just take a couple of classes here and there and then get hit with a full -course load, and the demand for high grades is high...it's no wonder that some students fall apart at the seams.

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Specializes in Family medicine, Cardiology, Spinal Cord Injury.

agreed about the full load of classes. at my school, the only class you take in the nursing program is Nursing 100 (150 2nd semester, 200 3rd, 250 4th), and it's a 10 unit class. If you get below a 75% in the class, you're failing. 74% is an F. And you don't want 10 units of F.

I was totally overwhelmed the first few weeks of school. I felt like dropping out. The reading was wtfpwning me, I couldn't raid in World of Warcraft anymore, I get to see my friends only once a week now. It's tough. It still is, trying to prioritize my time. That, and I'm pretty lazy.

We've had two classmates drop out of the program already. One after the 1st week of class, and just last week, an internal medicine doctor from another country dropped.

I really have no choice in the matter, I can't drop out. I waited 2 years to get into my program, and I'm going to study my ass off to pass.

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Specializes in ICU, med/surg.
I couldn't raid in World of Warcraft anymore,

I COMPLETEY feel your pain on this one!!! Nursing school and WoW are pretty much mutually exclusive.

Sean

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Hey deliverator,

I feel your pain, I have just quit WoW in preperation for starting my BSN this fall because I already know I can't play and still keep up with all my studies, lol.

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Specializes in OR Internship starting in Jan!!.

lol, I didn't realize there were so many gamer/nurses out there :) I had to quit WoW, too!

A lot of people are failing in my program as well. While I think some people are failing due to the things you mention, it seems that the program has a lot to do with it, too. They don't give us direction and expect first semester students to just *know* all these medical terms. They either need to require a med term class before we can start the nursing program, or at least build one into the program and have us take it first semester.

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Specializes in Family medicine, Cardiology, Spinal Cord Injury.
I feel your pain, I have just quit WoW in preperation for starting my BSN this fall because I already know I can't play and still keep up with all my studies, lol.

I still play, but play time has to be scheduled, and I can't do 3-4 hour raids 5 days a week. I'm pretty much limited to end game 5-man instances with real life friends about once a week, if even I get that much of a chance. The rest of my guild is already getting phat loot from farming Karazhan, Gruul's Lair, and Doomwalker.

But agreed, gaming and nursing don't mix too well together.

Deliverator

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Specializes in OR Internship starting in Jan!!.

I found some other people I know in RL on WoW, but we were all on different servers. It just wasn't worth the effort to start over. I miss it sometimes, but that's just the way it is, I guess.

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Thanks so much for the info. It's scarey. You work so hard to get in and there is that possibility that some of us won't make it. Ughhhhhh...

Question: Do you think nursing school is easier if you get your science pre-reqs out of the way? I'm done with my scienece classes and will prob take 10 units each semester of only clinicals/classes. Just wondering if that helps?

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Specializes in OR Internship starting in Jan!!.

I'm taking 9 hours of just my nursing classes this semester. It does make it easier, but it doesn't make it easy.

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Specializes in Family medicine, Cardiology, Spinal Cord Injury.
Question: Do you think nursing school is easier if you get your science pre-reqs out of the way? I'm done with my scienece classes and will prob take 10 units each semester of only clinicals/classes. Just wondering if that helps?

While waiting to get into my nursing program, I took all the classes needed to complete the ADN degree requirements. These included: Public Speaking, Pharmacology, Psychology: Human Growth and Development, Introduction to Sociology, 1 Humanities course, 1 PE Course, in addition to Physiology, Anatomy, and Microbiology.

For my future BSN requirement, I took a combined 5unit Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry course, and a Critical Thinking Argumentation class.

I didn't get a chance to take Pathophysiology, but if you can before starting a nursing program, I highly suggest you take it. It's a requirement for a BSN as well.

With all those classes out of the way, I only have my one 10 unit Nursing Process class that I can focus on.

Some of my classmates are taking Pharmacology along with Nursing 100. Trust me, it's not fun. Although it may help in the pharmacology portion of 1st semester nursing, the added stress of making the grade in Pharmacology just isn't worth it. Take Pharmacology before starting the nursing program.

All these classes I took at my local community college, which was really cheap. Tuition for my first semester Nursing class was only $400. Books and other necessary supplies came out to over $800. Most of the books and supplies will last the rest of the program with an additional book here and there.

There are a lot of scholarships out there since the demand for nurses is so high. Take advantage of them.

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