Now that the semester is almost over, how many of your classmates are still standing?

I don't know if there has been a post like this before, but I am starting a new one:) My school is like a war zone. There are casualties left and right. 2 students got booted in just the past week. The most recent was today(didn't pass the math)It's weird....everything always seems fine in classes until the end of a semester. In the last few weeks it seems that students start dropping like flies. Why is that? We started out with 8 males in our class, and now we are down to 3. Our class is beginning to look like a ghost town...Good thing: we get more 1 on 1 time w/our instructors. Bad thing: I miss my former classmates. So, how many students are still standing in your class?

[lisamc1RN, LPN]

We have lost 4 students in all, and I know 2 that are on probation right now. I so hope they make it because they have worked too hard to stop now.

[Nightcrawler, BSN, RN]

I understand what you are talking about. We graduate next week with less than half of the people that we started out with. Some of them have dropped out of the program altogether, and others have dropped back into the class behind. For us most of the people were lost during 1st semester, and others had family proplems and had to take some time off. We lost one last semester due to poor performance in clinicals. I have a feeling that we will lose at least one or two at finals this semester. THAT I cannot even imagine.....To put in all that hard work to fail out in your final semester..... No one promised us that nursing school would be easy, and I don't think any of us believed that it would be quite this hard....

[klone, MSN, RN]

We started with 35, we ended with 32 (first of four semesters). I'm guessing we'll lose a couple more when 2nd semester starts.

The three who left, all left in the first few weeks of class - I honestly don't even know who they were, we all just noticed about halfway through that a few people were missing.

[LouisianaNurse2006]

This is my 1st Semester,

Finals were today, and I am sure we lost a couple, (not me, thankfully), we had lost 4 out of 55 during the semester, which is great for our school, we were told they usually loose 10 or so the first semester. The first one dropped the second week of school, said "too much work" (she was right in a way), 2 more dropped during skills testing - the instructors made it very stressful. 1 decided nursing was not for him.

Congradulations to everyone who passed this semester! It was very hard, but rewarding. I, too, feel for those that worked soooo hard and did not make it.

[wonderbee, BSN, RN]

Of my original first semester clinical group of 9, we lost three. From my current second semester clinical group of 10, we know we're losing at least two.

There was a group of five of us that used to sit together in lecture during first semester. Out of that original five, there are only two of us left.

The thing is, nursing school is kind of like war. Like a military unit, we do everything together and we bond. I miss my casualties of war.

[Happy to be here]

I'm happy to say that I'm still standing after finals. I don't know how many others will be though. We have only lost one thus far (grades are still not out). As for those that don't make it, I'm sorry. However, nursing is not for everyone and unfortunately several people find it out after they have been here awhile. I have to say that just because you have the grades to get into nursing school does not mean that you are cut out for the job. I had one student tell me she wants to be a nurse because she can wear scrubs and tennis shoes - YIKES - and she was dead serious when she told me. I hope she isn't medicating me or anyone else that I know. Nursing school is by far the hardest thing that I have tried to do and at this point I'm making it pretty well. For those of you that are discouraged, surround yourself with other students that are doing well. Feed off of their energy. Picture yourself graduating (with an A, B or C)! If you want it bad enough you will find a way. There are tons of resources for students, you just have to use them!

[Fiona59]

My LPN class started out at 72. There was 46 at my graduation, but we picked up a few that had repeated semesters and wound up with us and five were distance ed students who finished at the same time as us. I think we lost 30+ because originally we were in two classrooms and by third semester we all fit in one room. Fourth semester, I honestly don't remember seeing more than 24 in once classroom.

I actually have a lot of respect for those who dropped out because they realized that nursing wasn't for them. Some of them had great marks, but just didn't like the patient care, wounds, or just plain regimented routine.

But we did have one young woman who admitted she like the idea of being a nurse because with her year round tanning, she would alway look great in white... She dropped out half way through 2nd semester in the middle of a surgical rotation.

[manna, BSN, RN]

Started with 60, have 54 now. I feel like we may lose one or two more after finals/end of semester (this is semester 2/5 for us). I think all but one that dropped out weren't necessarily failing, but just decided nursing wasn't for them. The other one was unsafe in clinical and asked to leave.

[LauraLou]

I just finished my 2nd semester today!!!! We started the semester with 50 and I counted 38 people at the final, so it looks like we lost 12 students. We had several people who needed a certain grade on today's final to pass, so we may lose more when grades are posted. It has been are very rough semester.

[landonsles]

We started this semester (one of four) with 36 people. One girl dropped halfway through b/c she had too much on her plate. It looks like we will keep everyone else, as there was no one in danger of failing up to finals time!

Second semester is another story--they have lost several people already and there are many who are going into the finals with borderline grades. Yikes--I am NOT looking forward to next semester.

[Nikki730]

We started out with 50...1 guy dropped the first day (I figure he must have applied to several schools, and maybe he got word that he was accepted to one he was closer to). Then, in my clinical group, we had one lady drop (too much stress, health issues, etc.).

I heard of two girls who were told by their clinical instructor to drop out, or she would fail them. She told them this at the midterm, then...every time she would see them, she would remind them of what the drop date was, and how they needed to drop. However, I'm not sure if they were first semester students or second semester students. Our skills teacher says that typically, out of 50, usually only 40-45 advance on to the second semester.

Ours is a new (satellite) program, so right now there are only first & second semester students. Next semester they are expanding to third semester. Kind of worries me to think we'll be sharing very limited resources with even more people. I'm not greedy, but I need time, space & those medical mannequines/dummies (or whatever you call them) to practice for check offs. It's already been an issue and I'm afraid it will only get worse.