I failed out of Nursing School... Appealed and WON!!
I am currently a Senior Nursing Student, I have read countless blogs, threads, and websites and have yet to find a story about a successful nursing school appeal. My nursing school journey is unique & I hope that it inspires those who have lost hope to never give up.... I failed out & appealed my grade. It is possible to win a nursing school appeal... I know this because I won MINE!!!
I didn't choose nursing it chose me. I firmly believe that God called upon me to become a nurse. I know this because he planted a seed in me long before I knew it myself. I've had quite the journey in nursing school, and I attribute my success to persevering and never giving up. Florence Nightingale once said, "I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took an accuse". This quote really means a lot to me and is what inspired me to keep going even when the odds were against me.
I was diagnosed with ADHD as a young child. I have always struggled, but I have learned to manage my disability, and I continue to strive to be an exceptional student. It is because of my learning disability, I have to make a daily effort to stay on top of my studies, and overcome the adversity of my circumstances.
In nursing school you're only able to retake one nursing course, which I already did a year prior. However, last fall my worst nightmare became a reality, I failed a second course by less than half a point, 0.43 to be exact. I was completely devastated but I wasn't going to give up that easy. If a nursing student fails a class regardless of whether it's their first or second failure, and if that student has reason to believe that the grade does not reflect his or her academic ability then they can appeal the grade with the dean of nursing. And that's exactly what I did, as a Bachelorette nursing student we have been taught that the best practice is evidenced based. After all that is what separates a BSN degree versus an ADN degree, we are trained to use our critical thinking knowledge and research the best clinical evidenced based practice.
I researched nursing school appeals to see if there were ever any students to fail out but were able to win an appeal. To my dismay I did not find any successful nursing school appeals even ones that went to court. That was a little discouraging but I knew I was born to be a nurse and that even if my appeal was not successful at least I gave it my all. Any nursing student can attest to the fact that it is infuriating when you get a test question and every answer available is correct. However, there is always one that is "most correct". Those pesky priority questions and select all that apply will always be the death of me. In this particular course there were three exam questions that I knew were reasonably debatable and I was going to find the evidence.
I wrote my nursing appeal letter and made a meeting with the dean. I found evidence base practice in my text-books, reading material from other classes and even in an NCLEX book that my school endorsed. All I needed were two points added back in order to be successful, I knew I had to appeal this because I was meant for greatness. After a long few weeks, I finally received the letter that would determine my future career as a nurse. I opened the letter and it said that my appeal was successful. That I was given back two out three of the test questions that were contested. I was in tears because I had never fought so hard for something in my entire life. But it was worth it and the only explanation that I can come up with is that this experience was a test. God knew I was supposed to be a nurse but how far was I willing to go? Also, one day I will have patients with way bigger fears and battles than I have ever had to endure. He wanted to know that I was willing to stand up for what I believe in and that I would speak even if my voice shook.
I graduate FINALLY in August this year and I plan to attend graduate school to pursue a masters in nursing. I would love to become a nurse practitioner but I think after this experience I would love to pursue a degree in nursing education. Nursing school is hard, I especially know this and hopefully my story will inspire others to never give up. I couldn't have done it with out God because he is the one who called me to be a nurse. I could have thrown my hands up and quit but I didn't. I inspire to always attribute my success to never giving or taking an accuse, like Florence Nightingale. Little did she know that her one observation of how important hand washing was between patients would forever change healthcare. And how it gave nurses and future nurses like me the hope and courage to make a difference.
-Hope this inspires others to keep going & believe in the impossible, JB ?
I know you're looking for congratulations, but, I can't help but think if you'd put as much time into doing the work required to pass the classes in the first place (or time spent thinking your BSN degree is somehow going to make you a MUCH better nurse than a peon ADN) as you did into writing your appeal and dissing a huge population of great nurses, you wouldn't have had to make such a humblebrag post
So if you were passing the class would you have completed the required due diligence in questioning the test questions in an attempt to further the accuracy of the test and improvement in the use of evidence-based practice in the academia arena? Without a response I would say that you would not have done so from the intentions of your article. So how did you pick out the 2-3 questions that you did not answer correctly to research and ultimately use to reverse the failing grade? You stated that all the questions are correct and the one that is "most correct" is troublesome and infuriating, but I would stipulate that you are incorrect in your assumption. Although the possible answers would all be useful in patient care I believe that with each question there is only one correct answer, excluding select all that apply questions. Therefore arguing about 2-3 questions that in your eyes, backed by your research, is futile.
The questions in the exam are most likely pulled from the particular text you are studying. In this case the reality used in the test spans through the included text, not part of the entire wealth of data we use as a basis of our practice. I submit to you that I could argue most all test questions in most exams because nursing knowledge is ever changing and fluid. The fact remains that you argue this after the failing grade and not before. There is no mention of you bringing the issue of evidence based interventions to your instructor before the exam to highlight your critical thinking skills or research ability. Would this also be a sign of dedication to nursing if it was completed before the fact rather than reactionary after the fact?
I do not try to tear down the words you wrote because they are worthwhile due to the pure nature of experience. I would like to point out the meaning behind the article for others that might read it. "You fought the system and won." I would like to have seen your article present the story but in a way to help others. Why? Because fighting 2-3 questions has not been historically effective. Rather I would have liked to see you point out that after your first bad exam score you were reflective and proactive in your learning to reverse the trend before you had to fight the establishment. Instead you referenced sound bites about how BSN nurses are trained to use critical thinking while other degrees are not. Not really evidence-based is it?
Being an ADN nurse, currently studying to become BSN, I am not mad or offended by your words. I do however see how your inattention to detail might be a cause for your poor performance. Your word choice ("accuse", "bachelorette") highlights the need for your more precise attention to detail that is required in the nursing field. I wish you luck in the coming semesters and when sitting for the NCLEX. Practice these questions thoroughly because this is the same type of exam you have to pass to become licensed.
Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
Durandx4 said:
We had ten people fail, appeal and all got back in. Sorry but I think if you fail, you fail. Black and white. It's the whole "entitled" era.
Exactly. You can't appeal when you fail the NCLEX. You just fail. School shouldn't be any different. Study & pass. Sorry, I'm not gonna pat the OP on the back for "fighting the man" & winning. She should've put that effort into her studies.
Exactly. You can't appeal when you fail the NCLEX. You just fail. School shouldn't be any different. Study & pass. Sorry, I'm not gonna pat the OP on the back for "fighting the man" & winning. She should've put that effort into her studies.
Sucks too bc a lot of us feel like it's completely unfair. Why are we trying to stay above the threshold if all you have to do is appeal? Really putting a damper on our graduation this year.
With three years' experience this Bachlorette is goin' places.
I agree, if all the energy spent on research, appeal and article writing had been used in paying attention, taking notes and studying OP could be top of the class instead of 2 points from failing.
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
elkpark said:
"And that's exactly what I did, as a Bachelorette nursing student we have been taught that the best practice is evidenced based. After all that is what separates a BSN degree versus an ADN degree, we are trained to use our critical thinking knowledge and research the best clinical evidenced based practice."
A) What the dickens is a "Bachelorette" nursing student??
B) Do you really believe that nonsense about "critical thinking" being the difference between BSN grads and ADN grads? Do you really think that ADN-prepared RNs are just mindless automatons repeating rote tasks?
That raised my hackles, too. I'm glad she was able to argue her case, but when she has to be precepted by lowly ADN and diploma nurses who don't know how to critically think (her words), what will she do?
It's long past due to stop denigrating the educational path others have taken and start seeing them for the kind of care they give their patients.
ETA: I take that back. I'm not glad when someone with consistently low grades argues his/her way back into school not once, but twice. This wasn't about defending EBP; this was about someone saving her neck.
I started the hard way. I was once an "orderly". Who remembers those?
Me, me, me!
I was passing time waiting for my Navy recruiter to get me into a technical program when his girlfriend got me a Nursing Technician job at the local University Hospital. Fast forward 6 months, I'm in nursing school going for my BSN and never looked back.
I sometimes wonder if the Navy thinks about their loss.
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
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I'm glad you persevered and won. That's a good life experience.
As to the BSN vs. ADN stuff - yeah, probably not a good idea . . . .although.................. in my ADN program it was almost all fundamentals of science/medicine and how to pass that pesky NCLEX. I honestly don't remember ever having to do any real evidence-based researched APA-formatted papers.
My BSN was all about writing those pesky papers. And we had an entire class based just on research and another one on statistics.
For me at least, I can see how learning about evidence-based research and stats has helped me although I've always been a skeptic about things and had to do my own digging around to find things out. In the BSN program, I just learned a little bit more about how to do that reliably.
Congratulations to the OP and I was thinking maybe Bachelorette was the name given a female BSN student in another country.
My program wasn't all about passing NCLEX, although that was certainly important. We were expected to know why we were doing what we did, and we needed to know the most recent research regarding our practice...I guess you could call that the precursor to EBP, before it became the catch-word in nursing.
It's possible the OP is destined for greatness (her words), but in general, truly great people tend to do without the fanfare.
AWESOME! Nursing school has stipulations that aren't there for medical degrees. Being a "book smart" nurse will get you no where on the floor. Critical thinking is what makes a nurse, an awesome nurse.
And not being a "book smart" nurse will also "get you no where on the floor." Nurses haveto know the necessary information, and being informed and knowledgeable ("book smart") is a necessary component of critical thinking. You can't think critically if you don't know what you're thinking about.
......... in my ADN program it was almost all fundamentals of science/medicine and how to pass that pesky NCLEX. I honestly don't remember ever having to do any real evidence-based researched APA-formatted papers.
BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN
3,520 Posts
I know you're looking for congratulations, but, I can't help but think if you'd put as much time into doing the work required to pass the classes in the first place (or time spent thinking your BSN degree is somehow going to make you a MUCH better nurse than a peon ADN) as you did into writing your appeal and dissing a huge population of great nurses, you wouldn't have had to make such a humblebrag post