One thing I learned today is that honesty will get you nowhere in Nursing School.

[guest08/05/2014]

I was supposed to take an exam at 8:30 am in the morning today, but my phone which was fully charged and plugged in decided to completely die over night, how? I have no idea.

I woke up at around 10:00 am and noticed how bright my room was, I quickly tried looking at my phone to see the time and noticed it was off. Yep, I have missed a nursing exam! I felt sick to my stomach and started panicking.

The very thing I immediately did was explain my situation honestly to my instructor and what happened. Our Syllabus policy states that we are able to make up an exam with a VALID excuse before the test, but I of course decided to be honest, and well, guess what? I was denied my exam and got a big fat 0.

So I pretty much lost a letter grade.

Anyway, I know the instructors will tell you to be honest all the time, but in situations like mine, you should lie.

She even encouraged me drop out of nursing school, even though I got A's on my last two exams. I can still make a B if I worked hard, but I can't believe she would encourage that.

That's my rant, thanks for listening.

[jetsy62]

Work hard, continue to get A's, take the B for the course, and learn from the experience. Not a pleasant experience I am sure but if that is the best outcome, accept it and go for it. The part that irks me is the instructor telling you to drop out of nursing because of this incident. Really!!! Karma is a ***** and I wonder if she would like to be fired if she were to oversleep and miss a class.

[runsalot]

In real life nursing we are all going to over sleep our alarm clock every great once in a while. Life happens. Luckily in the real world they are more understanding. That being said. Nursing school is not real life. Sorry OP.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

Aside from the test, which I hope you get to take, I wonder why the instructor advised you to quit? Is your professional attitude reflected in your username?

[pmabraham, BSN, RN]

Good day:

Honesty always matters. The issue is not honesty, but understanding that certain things have no excuse or extremely low tolerance of an excuse. Sleeping in doesn't past the muster of any valid reason -- testing or more importantly when you are in the workforce. Please don't let this experience teach you lying is a good thing; it never is a good thing. Just learn that you need a more reliable method for getting up on time.

Thank you.

[NewGrad2014]

While people still value honesty, it was a valid excuse she was looking for. If you would have lied she most likely would have requested proof and, when you could not give her any, she would have denied you the exam all the same and you would have been no better off - probably even worse than you are now for lying.

I think her encouraging you to drop out of nursing school is completely unprofessional and crosses many boundaries. If you feel uncomfortable about that I suggest speaking to someone higher up in the program about how she is acting towards you. Although teachers should be objective and fair, it could be going forward that she is unfair towards you and grading you.

I hope you do not drop out! Work hard, prove her wrong, and get that B! Or get that C, whatever you can manage. Life happens and we can go forward because we learn things along the way. Good luck to you!

[llg, PhD, RN]

I guess I am just a "softie" of an instructor. I would have let you take the exam (that day, preferably) ... but given a penalty for being late. You would have been punished for being late, but a lowered score on the exam is better than a zero.

My co-teachers and I just did that with a paper that was due. We had a couple of people who turned them in late. Those who notified us in advance and arranged to hand them in a little late got no penalty. But those who handed them a little late got 10 points (10% of the possible points) deducted from their grades. Those that were more than 24 hours late got bigger deductions.

[CrazyGoonRN]

Yeah just because you were honest it doesn't mean your excuse will be considered valid. Oversleeping is not a considered a valid excuse by many people. My advice is to start setting 2 separate alarms to wake you up.

[melissagee]

So sorry that happened to you; I recall having nightmares about JUST THAT scenario in nursing school.

When I was in school, I made spreadsheets (I am very good with excel) to calculate my grades for me. I was then able to calculate exactly how many points I could miss. Of course, I was always under the impression I couldn't miss a single point, but that's another discussion!

Have you done this exercise to see where the 0 will put you?

Is there any chance possibly at the end of the semester, the teacher might feel you earned an extra point by toughing it out? Basically, I'm asking you what your current average in the class is, how many points remain for the taking, and about the teacher's leadership style and severity, in general, not their reaction to your excuse for missing a test.

[Beautiful Mind RN]

Don't let this experience defer you from a great quality that you have. Being honest. I am the same way and so far, in nursing school, it has paid off. Not always, but mostly. I would rather be honest than be caught in a lie later. I am sure your teacher would appreciate the same courtesy.

As for the situation, OP, any college instructor, whether it is a nursing one or a general education one, would act in the same manner. Missing the alarm, sadly, is not a valid excuse in their books. That is for high school.

I have missed exam in the exact same way and trust me, I know your horror! I was so mad at myself, but I learned to just work harder, so you continue on doing that, WORKING HARD FOR THAT B! :)

The only thing I would like to say about the teacher's comment in regards to you dropping school, is that, she took it a step too far. She had no right to say that. If you have good grades or even PASSING grades for that matter, there is no reason for you to be dropping. If this teacher was a nurse, she was in the same position how ever many years ago as a nursing student - ABSOLUTELY EXHAUSTED.

With that said, just brush this off and keep marching on with a chin held high and best of luck to you becoming a nurse!

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

Stuff happens in life and you have to deal with the consequences. You would have also been given a 0 at my school. They are trying to prepare you for the real world. I had a migraine so bad I could not see the past week. I was throwing up and my son commented on how I looked green to him. I was slurring my words also. Not in any condition to drive to school. I had lab yesterday and they did something worth points in lab. Wasn't on the syllabus. I emailed my instructor in the middle of the night when I realized it wasn't going to be gone by the next morning. I got a 0 for attendance and a 0 on the lab for the day. I wasn't happy about it but those are the consequences of me not going. You won't see me going above her head for it. Things happen.

[Beautiful Mind RN]

I guess I am just a "softie" of an instructor. I would have let you take the exam (that day, preferably) ... but given a penalty for being late. You would have been punished for being late, but a lowered score on the exam is better than a zero.

My co-teachers and I just did that with a paper that was due. We had a couple of people who turned them in late. Those who notified us in advance and arranged to hand them in a little late got no penalty. But those who handed them a little late got 10 points (10% of the possible points) deducted from their grades. Those that were more than 24 hours late got bigger deductions.

Wow, your students are lucky! Sign me up for one of your classes!

[loriangel14, RN]

I hope you appeal the teachers decision. Good luck.