1/2 nursing class cut, WHY??

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I start nursing school in one month, and have been hearing how half of the class before me has been weeded out!! That worries me, and I'm wondering for those of you in the program or just finished.....Why do you think most of those people get cut? Are we talking just like one point from passing....or are there really obvious things that people don't do, or do in error???:uhoh3:

Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

My class lost 25% of the hundred students that started. One was gone the first week because she not only fell asleep during our 1st day orientation but also again in class that week. (i'm guessing someone who worked full time overnights and thought she could do a 5-day a week 8A-3P program). Many were lost in the first semester due to failing grades. Some should have failed out but were given a 2nd chance (and those that accepted assistance were more likely to be given the benefit of the doubt in borderline situations)

However when 14 out of 75 miserably failed a pharmacology math exam the administration realized that all 14 barely passed the math portion of the entrance exam. So for the fall class they raised the passing level for math on the entrance exam. Those that don't meet the mark in math are advised to take a basic skills math class at the county college or elsewhere and are invited to reapply for the next semester.

Several that failed out in the beginning were consistently late for class, unprepared for class, thought "oh they won't fail ME", missed class due to hangovers, and worse several felt it was all the school's fault that they failed (um yeah ok). One student nearly failed a specialty class because they didn't think that they REALLY needed to get the text book & study guide...

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Specializes in ICU, PACU, OR.

We need good nurses who know the basics because when you get out of nursing school, boy does the true learning begin. If you don't apply yourself, you waste your time and money (maybe your parent's), the instructors time and can endanger lives.

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I Those who pick nursing as a vocation are very serious about and already know its a lot of work in the class and on the job.

Many schools are rather secretive about their programs and how hard it is until you actually get into the program. They don't let you know the schedules and they don't tell you how long you will be in school per day or which clinical sites you will go to. So unless you can find a site like this one or you know someone who has been through it you have no clue what you are getting into sometimes.

I do agree that those who are not serious about it should not take the spaces but I really think that most people just comprehend the true difficulties. Most posts in this forum from people who started nursing school say that they didn't realize how hard it was until they were actually in the program. At my school you have to be a CNA first before getting into the program so they should know if they will like that type of environment before applying so most do not drop out because they don't like clinicals.

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When I went to school at St. Francis in Trenton, NJ we has very few people drop out. Some had to retake classes because of pregnancy or personal problems but only one or two

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.

High attrition rates are often an indictment of suspect admissions policies, IMO.

I'm aware of no other field in which you can gain admittance to a program simply by meeting some minimal requirements and then getting lucky in a lottery or just waiting around for a couple years to move up a waiting list.

It would be very interesting to me to see a comparison of graduation rates with admission requirements.

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Specializes in geriatrics.
High attrition rates are often an indictment of suspect admissions policies, IMO.

I'm aware of no other field in which you can gain admittance to a program simply by meeting some minimal requirements and then getting lucky in a lottery or just waiting around for a couple years to move up a waiting list.

It would be very interesting to me to see a comparison of graduation rates with admission requirements.

At the community college I attended, entry to clinicals is very competitive based on a point system, ie: GPA is worth 4 points; A&P classes A=4pts; B=3points; C=2 points. Total possible points is 50 for LPN and 100 for RN; admission starts there and descends until all spots are filled. You usually need 43-45 points for LPN and 92-95 points for RN to get into clinicals.

Despite that, of 24 admitted to our LPN class, 9 graduated.

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