nursing school first semester

bgxyrnf, MSN, RN · Sep 20, 2017

I need advice ! or help. I am in week 4 into my first semester of nursing school and I passed my first exam and have failed the next 2 exams.

The good news in this is that you seem to be having one exam per week so no single exam can be weighted very high toward your final grade. Sure, an A is probably out but passing seems quite attainable still.

I'm very scared that I won't be able to succeed in the program

You're right to be concerned... there's clearly a problem which needs to be solved but it's the very beginning so you still have some time.

this is all I have ever wanted and I'm passionate about.

There you go... motivation to figure out what's going wrong and redouble your efforts.

What should I do? do I give up?

I'm not much of an advocate for quitting... quite the contrary, in fact.

do I still have a chance to pass ?

You should... and it's easy enough to figure it out... look at the syllabus and see how scores are weighted and what else is considered (homework, project, final, etc), then calculate what kinds of scores you need in order to hit 80%. A spreadsheet makes a simple way to consider various alternatives.

Most importantly though, you need to figure out why you're floundering and make some changes.

daj21 · Sep 20, 2017

We have 10 test that count for 75% and a final which is 25%

bgxyrnf, MSN, RN · Sep 21, 2017

So your equation would look like this:

0.075*(S1+S2+S3) + 0.525*Save + 0.25*Sfinal = 80

Save = (80 - 0.25*Sfinal - 0.075*(S1 + S2 + S3)) / 0.525

Plug in your actual scores for S1, S2, and S3 and guess a score for the final... this will tell you what you need to average on your remaining 7 exams in order to hit an 80% overall. Obviously, the higher your averages, the lower can be your score on the final.

For example:

I'll guess that you got a 95 on your first test, a 77 on the second, and a 70 on the 3rd

I'll also estimate that you will earn at least an 83 on the final.

Using those numbers, you would need to get average a 78.3% on each of the 7 remaining exams in order to pass the class with 80%

bgxyrnf, MSN, RN · Sep 21, 2017

I made a Google spreadsheet which you can use to model your possible grades based on current scores and a guess at the final.

Here's a link: For daj21 - Google Sheets

This is a public link so anyone can enter the spreadsheet and edit it... meaning... don't leave your scores in there for all the world to see... delete them when you're done.

LaurenceM · Sep 21, 2017

Most importantly though, you need to figure out why you're floundering and make some changes.

Yup, completely agree that the first step you should take is identify what the problem is.

So you didn't pass because you missed too many questions on your weekly exam. Why do you think you missed those questions? This is where you have to be a bit insightful and honest with yourself.

Were you truly as prepared as you should have been prior to taking the exam?

Did you study and review the material enough to be able to grasp an understanding of the underlying concepts?

If you believe that you had done both of these things, then the problem lies elsewhere.

Did you fully understand what the questions were asking of you?

Or perhaps did the available responses that you had to choose from confuse you or conflict with what you had studied?

I remember during my first term in nursing school a large portion of our cohort initially struggled when faced with "NCLEX-style questions". Remember that many of these questions are accompanied by responses which one may argue can all be correct. But you're tasked with selecting the "best" response. This is where your ability to prioritize, or your ability to utilize ADPIE, Maslow's or any of the other fundamental nursing concepts truly comes into play,

Personally, I think that the best way to overcome this hurdle is through discussion with your peers. Get together and talk through some practice questions. This can help you as a group unravel the correct answer together. It also gives you insight into different ways of thinking that you may not have been able to see clearly before. Group discussions/study sessions allow each one of you to justify why you chose a particular response and it also allows others to challenge these differing answers. collectively forcing your group to use your critical thinking skills to hopefully arrive at the one that is most correct.

Remember NCLEX-styled questions aren't like anatomy, physiology or other questions from prereq courses that may just require you to memorize the information. These questions that you're going to continue to face throughout nursing school will challenge your ability to use your critical thinking skills and they'll also continue to challenge your ability to look through the surface of each question and unravel the deeper concept lying beneath.

Keep your head up though, you're only 4 weeks in! Just don't lose hope or motivation. And remember to identify what the issue is specifically on why you're getting the grades that you are. Finally just do your best to form a strategy to overcome that issue.

CaffeinatedVulcan, ADN, RN · Sep 21, 2017

All is not lost, dear! Keep trying. Figure out where you are lacking (specific skills, lab values, pharmacology, physiology, etc.) and strengthen that either by switching up your learning method (if you're visual, there are many amazing videos out there. If you're hands on, there are lots of cool tools out there). Find a study group! Or if you're not quite ready for that, talk to your professor. They are there to help you succeed. No need to give up now. You still have time. Best of luck!