Help. Is my outrage justified?

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Is my rage justified. My friend just flunked out of her first semester at Charity with a 76 average. 77 is the cut. The failing question (and I don't know it word for word, but here is the general gist of it): An african woman who lives in Africa has an intestinal bug. She believes that by eating pumpkin seeds, the bug will be eliminated. Is this a : religious belief, a cultural belief, is she correct, and few other choices. My friend answered, a cultural belief. As per the teacher: WRONG. First of all, regardless of the question or answer, how is this question even relevant to Nursing? Upon doing her homework and research, she could prove it very much IS a cultural thing. She appealed the question. The woman who wrote the question refused to budge and the committee sided with her. So boom. My freind is out. Never mind she is an excellent student. I am outraged. 44 people apparently missed that stupid, trick, unfair, irrelevant question. When teachers result to trickery on exams, it is so unfair and the students will never win. What can be done about this? This is a power issue and the teacher is getting off on it. People like that have got to go. I am beginning Charity in January. If I wasn't sufficiently terrified before, I certainly am now. Feedback, please.

Well, now it is up to you to decide if you want to run the gauntlet.

Nursing school is a joke.

You will learn nothing that will prepare you for nursing while in school. Thing is, you have to just do it and hope you are a good and fast learner once you get to real life nursing.

Just being real for you. Best you know these things before going in, as you can always change your mind. But if you want in, this is how it is going to be. :smokin:

I don't agree with this. Granted I do agree that nursing school has a lot of BS you need to deal with that doesn't make sense but if school didn't prepare you for what you needed to know to be a nurse then you would never pass your boards in the first place

Specializes in ER, ICU, Education.
We're all pumpkins here, love....:clown:

Yes, I presume one of the settler groups brought seeds over with them. "Boerepampoen" (farmstyle pumpkin) is very popular; cooked with butter, sugar and cinnamon. As far as I know, the only gourd indigenous to Africa is the calabash, but there may be other smaller varieties of squash that originated here.

Mmmmm! That sort of pumpkin sounds tasty!

Specializes in Pediatrics.
LOL! Wish I could! But we are relying on the collective memories of a bunch of frazzled students.

Ah, this is quite a common problem, when students approach an (another) instructor or vent here about a question. 99% of the time, a key word/phrase is missing, usually the thing that distinguishes the right answer from the wrong one ;)

As far as 'failing by one question', it is clear from the responses here that no one buys that. Depending on the final exams point values and percentage of the grade, it could take up to 3 or 4 correct answers to raise a students average up to a full point. I was on the receiving end of a student protesting her grade by one point. She maintained an average right below passing the entire semester. On the final she coincidentally found 3 questions she felt were unfair (my guess is, her friends who did well 'found' them for her). She argued, appealed, and did not pass the class.

There needs to be a cut off point, and this # cannot change from semester to semester.

And (I know this may open a can of worms :idea:), a student who is on the verge of passing or failing (even if they end up passing) is rarely excellent in clinical. They may be very good with their patients and confident in their skills, and a 'people person', but their ability to think is not strong. There are few rare exceptions that I have seen. For the programs where clinical is Pass/Fail, there is often little to no distinction between the excellent clinical student and the barely passing clinical student. It is extremely subjective.

Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
. . .And (I know this may open a can of worms :idea:), a student who is on the verge of passing or failing (even if they end up passing) is rarely excellent in clinical. They may be very good with their patients and confident in their skills, and a 'people person', but their ability to think is not strong. There are few rare exceptions that I have seen. For the programs where clinical is Pass/Fail, there is often little to no distinction between the excellent clinical student and the barely passing clinical student. It is extremely subjective.

I agree with that! Looking back, many the students who were deemed excellent in clinicals were those who were naturally confident and outgoing and at ease with new situations, rather than how they actually do the skills and procedures. I was a mess at the beginning of clinicals because of social anxiety, not lack of prep or knowledge. After people like us learn to feel comfortable in the role, or project confidence even if we do have butterflies, the personality distinction fades. You can't separate critical thinking, which relies on your knowledge base, from the actual hands on role.

It sucks she was kicked out of the program for having a 76. BUT she didn't fail because of that one question. She failed because of her overall semester grades. Every exam has what I think unfair questions, she should have argued from the beginning to the unfair questions. She was banking on one question when she could have argued many. Your rage is justified because we all know how much work it takes to get into the nursing program BUT your friend failed overall not based on one exam.

You hit it on the button! And you know...if I fail a class (or test or essay) that in my opinion does not make me a failure, quitting would be failing IMO.

Some classes I have 90+ % and am way ahead of others, then in another class I am sitting at a B or C. However I look at that as good as I am not sitting on my butt, Im working hard for those grades, just as hard as the A, however I tend to struggle more so with the material (and yes that is with studying, not goofing off!).

Again, if I have to repeat because the grade of the course did not cut it, I dont let it get me down. It is not the teachers fault, it is not my fault, it is part of MY learning process :)

Unfortunately, there is no grade for effort in nursing (theory, that is). 95% of nursing students try hard, some just don't get it. My daughter struggles in math. Her teacher says "she tries so hard, she is a good student". But that doesn't raise her grades at all (and this is elementary school, so she is learning early on).

Speaking of my daughter, she thinks I am mean. Why? Because I tell her things she does not want to hear. Its the same thing with instructors. They are often the bearer of bad news. Think of all the people in life who get a bad rap (bill collectors, the IRS, DMV workers, etc). Life is full of people telling you things you don't want to hear. Wait till you guys have to work holidays or during your kids vacations or birthdays.

Has anyone ever noticed this about the ones who complain or get angry on this forum...when they fail, it's the teacher's fault. BUT, if they pass, they toot their own horn and no credit goes to ANYONE but themselves?

God sure knows what He is doing.. I stumbled on this thread yesterday because I got tired of studying for my finals. Low and behold the same questions were on my final today. After reading the questions and the options given, it turns out that obesity is not a lifestyle, it can be genetic, sunbathing however is a lifestyle that can be changed by the person. It was a select all that apply question.. Something good did come out of this. Thank you for posting. BTW... I have no question that I passed my finals...:yeah::yeah: :up: :D

Has anyone ever noticed this about the ones who complain or get angry on this forum...when they fail, it's the teacher's fault. BUT, if they pass, they toot their own horn and no credit goes to ANYONE but themselves?

Some people do, some people don't. Ever notice how easy it is over-generalize? :p

Boy, does this one roll ever on!! I'm not going to say out loud what I really think but something's missing from this story. Wonder if the student who allegedly failed is outraged?

Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.
Boy, does this one roll ever on!! I'm not going to say out loud what I really think but something's missing from this story. Wonder if the student who allegedly failed is outraged?

You must be new to the internet. It is always someone else, friend or neighbor, never themselves ha

You can never know the full story about what is going on with another person. If she failed because of one question she was already hanging on by a thread. There is more to this story than meets the eye.

Nursing school is hard. You can prepare yourself for that but often it ends up being difficult in ways that you hadn't expected......much like nursing and life in general.

As someone else pointed out, it's best to go in with an open mind. I can understand being upset and sympathetic, but being outraged is going to consume a lot of time and energy that would be more wisely used focusing on your own studies.

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