How many quit???

Daryn · Jul 21, 2004

A lot of people dropped out of our program at St. John's School of Nursing in Springfield, MO, but if you are determined and are persistant you should be able to get through nursing school. It simply takes work and prioritizing your time. If you really want to get through it all you will!

I've heard that a large % of people who start the nursing program drop out - what is your experience in this? I'm worried about going so much in debt and not being able to finish the program once I start.
Guess I'm feeling kinda dumb today - have a test and as usual feel totally unprepared even though I've studied for hours!!
Any tips on studying for A&P???

Quickbeam, BSN, RN · Jul 21, 2004

I can only speak from what I saw with my class which was , as I said, very small. We were also all returning adult students who all already had a bachelor's degree.

The first big loss of active practitioners was to motherhood. Many of my fellow students had a baby before their first year anniversary in practice as an RN and never went back to any form of work (outside the home). As a variation on that, a few went right on to graduate school, got an MSN, then had the baby and never returned to work outside the home.

2 Left nursing to sell real estate. 1 is now a financial planner and one sells yachts. Since we were older, by the five year point, a few had already retired. Now, more have retired or are working a "low stress" part time job as a non-nurse. I want to add that everyone seems happy...just not in nursing.

This has made me think of a summation point....success in nursing school (my class was very competitive) can be very different than success in the day to day work of a nurse. I think once the grade grubbing, "thrill of the hunt" of academia was gone, a few of my peers found they really didn't like the actual work of the nurse. But then, you could say that about any professional training program. Most of us have known MDs who really hate working with patients. My cousin loved the rush of getting into medical school and the learning...just hated sick people. He's a lawyer now!

hollyberryh2 · Jul 24, 2004

Hi all,

I am pre-nursing and just finished A&P 1 with an A..as far as study tips, I didn't have the time for a study group because I have 2 small children at home, but what helped me tremedously was I became friends with another student in my class who has children also and we studied on the phone together.

If your instructor will allow it tape the lectures so you can refer back to the lecture if you forgot something.

Another thing I did was when it came time for the dissections in lab, my lab photos were in black/white (no help when what I was to dissect was in color), I purchased a cat dissection cd and a cd on histology, all in color, so I could study better at home. An added expense on top of my books, but well spent.

As far as the drop out rate it does vary with each school and with each student, my anatomy instructor is wicked hard but she is awesome at teaching, I wouldn't take my sciences with anyone but her..she certainly knows her stuff.

The one thing she said last semester that I will never forget is if you don't like the sciences or don't do well in them because you don't like them then you shouldn't go into allied health or a field that requires so many sciences, because these courses are your bible courses for nursing/allied health, and I completely agree with her.

The majority of the students I attend class with are mostly in there 30s and 40s going back to school to pursue nursing or another allied health field, and I will say it boils down to dedication. I am 35 and have been trying to become a nurse for 15 years (marriage, children etc), but I will continue to go full force ahead, part time of course until I get that RN degree I have worked so hard for.

I feel a passion for science and helping others is the key to getting through it, if you like what your doing you will excell..too many people go into nursing for the money or they think it's easy..those are the ones who will drop out or fail because they will find out soon enough it's not about the money and it certainly isn't easy.

Hang in there, you'll do fine, and what ever you do don't let anyone discourage your decision, nursing is tough and it does have downfalls just like any other profession, but always remember why you chose nursing in the first place.

:nurse:

katzrkool · Jul 25, 2004

My freshman class started out with about 130 and 57 graduated. The school is very focused on NCLEX pass rates which they claim to be 97 percent for them.

notamannurseanymoRCC · Jul 25, 2004

I am one of those ppl that quit nursing school but I dont care what ppl think. I did very well my first semester but got out during the second semester. One of the reasons I left was that I thought that the Nursing model was crap. Reality is that there is "nursing" model is just a stupid catch phrase that nurses use to try and claim that they provide "different" and "better" care than doctors. Its used as a ploy to increase nurses scope of practice. They try to claim that doctors have no say over what they do because they operate under a "nursing" model whereas doctors are on a "medical" model. Its all a bunch of BS pandering and propaganda. Our nursing instructors were also trying to brain wash us into thinking that the stereotypical nurse-physician relationship of nurses deferring to doctors was a thing of the past and that nurses could do everything an MD could; nothing was further from the truth, this is laughable at best. Also, I didn't feel that nursing, at least the program I was enrolled in, didn't teach enough about the pathophysiology of disease or about medications. My clinical experience amounted to a bunch of code browns, linen changes, vitals, and the most interesting I got to do was d/c an IV. Nursing is a noble job, both my parents have their BSN, and requires a special type of individual to be successful at nursing; but for better or for worse I am more sure of the fact that Iam not that type of individual than I am anything in the world. I have decided I want to write my own orders, script medication, and operate with more autonomy; I have decided to pursue a medical education. So yes, there are ppl like me that quit nursing and just because they quit nursing doesn't necessarily mean they are idiots or they couldnt handle it, they just figure out quicker than some that they should run as for away from nursing as humanly possible.

Ali_Oop07 · Jul 25, 2004

Our ADN program started with 32 and after one year, there are 20 left. Of the 11, half quit within the first eight weeks of the first semester (before clinicals), and the others failed out. All 32 paid for the uniform!

Nursing school is one of the hardest things I have ever done, and I have done alot!

busykim · Jul 25, 2004

Our program started with 40, and only one dropped first semester. Even the instructors were somewhat surprised by the low drop rate. I guess just an unusual group. The class behind us started with 33 and by 2nd semester had dropped to 25 (they still have 2 more to go so who knows?) I think alot of it depends on how bad you want it, and some chance--barring health and family/personal problems. Our program is good/tough with a high NCLEX pass rate too--(100% last year). You just got to want it!! :nurse: Kim

RN92 · Jul 26, 2004

Reality is that there is "nursing" model is just a stupid catch phrase that nurses use to try and claim that they provide "different" and "better" care than doctors. Its used as a ploy to increase nurses scope of practice. They try to claim that doctors have no say over what they do because they operate under a "nursing" model whereas doctors are on a "medical" model. Its all a bunch of BS pandering and propaganda.

You are going to have to KISS so much *** as a medical student (attendings are going to treat you like a dog for a very long time).I know, because I work at a teaching hospital. Also, nurses are accountable to their patients...not their doctors. I realize that Doctors have a wider knowledge base and training, but that doesnt mean nurses are un-intelligent. We just chose to be nurses instead of Doctors. To be an MD - you have to sacrifice your private life for a very long time. These residents I work with have NO LIFE outside of the hospital. It is very stressful and unforgiving. Not everybody wants that kind of life for the sake of a dollar. Im just wondering, if you couldnt make it past your first year of nsg school - what makes you think you can make it in medical school.? You better leave your ego at home - because you will be eating sooo much crow in medical school. You are going to be in for a very big surprise. I wish I could be a fly on your wall.

notamannurseanymoRCC · Jul 26, 2004

ERslave, you had to wipe so much *** and replace bed pans as a nursing student, its pathetic, I know because I did clinicals in a teaching hospital too. I never meant to imply that nurses are unintelligent. I was already "treated like a dog" as a nursing student cleaning up code browns, changing soiled linens and bathing patients,etc. There are thousands of medical students who graduate every year who have never been a nurse or gone to nursing school, so the fact that I chose to leave nursing school will have nothing to do with performance in medical school; I didn't leave nursing because I couldn't handle the material, like the vast majority of ppl in nursing school I left behind one career in the pursuit of another. Just what makes you think you have any idea what my capabilities as a healthcare provider are, you are the one that needs to leave their ego @ home and you clearly do not know any more about what medical school is like since you have never been. You certainly wouldn't lash out like this to a premed who who went into nursing instead would you? I won't apologize because I don't believe in the nursing model, feel free to quote me again. And yes, I am sure I will be in for a big surprise when I encounter nurses such as you who want to be treated as the profesionals they are and do not like be stigmatized as being the handmaidens of doctors, yet perpetuate onto aspiring physicians the stereotypical motivations to study medicine. With nurses like yourself, I'll take my chances with the attendings as a medical student and resident.

jschut, BSN, RN · Jul 26, 2004

In LPN classes, we had a few drop out, and a few more who simply didn't make it, and yet a few more who failed a class or two, but went back and finished. I don't know the exact numbers, but we kept and graduated the better part of 80 (maybe 68-72 of us graduated?).

For my BSN, I don't know, haven't gotten to that point yet.... I know the school accepts 40.

daraowl · Jul 26, 2004

Hang in there!!! My A&P instructor was a boring monotone who put us all to sleep! I was working night shift as a Nurses Aide while in Nursing School. My Nursing instructor told me that I would never pass and that I would not make a good nurse. Well after 25+ years since I graduated I have work in PICU, CVICU, CCU, Trauma, ER, Neurotrauma, I am now a Clinical Director with my CCRN anc CNRN. So much for what she knew!

Stick to your books, find a study partner, dig down deep in your soul, and don't let anyone discourage you or tell you what you can not acheive!

Altra, BSN, RN · Jul 26, 2004

My clinical experience amounted to a bunch of code browns, linen changes, vitals, and the most interesting I got to do was d/c an IV.

I think the decision to pursue medical education is a complex one, and I wish you luck in your studies. However, when I read the above part of your post, the first thing that occurred to me was that you simply didn't stick around long enough to get to the "good" stuff. In my program, by the second semester we were passing meds, and in this 3rd semester we've expanded that to include IV meds, and observing, assisting and in some instances taking responsibility for more procedures than I can name here. Our assignments each week include demonstrating our plan for all aspects of the pt.'s care. When caring for 3 or more pts. we've been encouraged to ask the aides/PCTs for help when appropriate.

Good luck to you.