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.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

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.

You could petition for the opportunity to do a special project for extra credit to make up some of the lost credits and demonstrate your commitment to your education.

They might suggest you do it on sleep hygiene :)

[cannolis]

Your post has just convinced me that everytime I've used three alarm clocks, I know I'm not crazy lol. Really sucks about your situation but don't let it get you down. Thanks for sharing!

[tigerRN2013]

I'm so sorry that happened. You were right to be honest though. Dishonesty will always come back to haunt you.

[applesxoranges, BSN, RN]

I did that once. I worked a night shift and then planned on sleeping for two hours. Then the instructor was nice enough to already schedule my make up at the computer lab so I didn't have to provide an excuse. Then she forgot to open it so I had to run through it in about half the time but I still did super well.

However, she technically should not have done that per policy.

[rubato, ASN, RN]

I can't believe people are suggesting going to the dean or appealing. You missed a test because you overslept. While I admire your honesty, you shouldn't get to make it up. You weren't in the hospital, in an accident on your way to the test, or otherwise disposed. You just didn't set a second alarm on a test day and your phone died. It sucks, but it's fair that you don't get to retake the test.

We had a student do a similar thing last year, and she got a zero on the test. She passed the class by getting As on everything else, and our final counts for a lot. But, after her initial anger, she agreed that it was the right decision. The test was at 8:00 and she wasn't there. End of story.

[lub dub]

The member who started this thread does not understand that honesty & integrity are the cornerstones of what it means to be a nursing professional. The fact that your user name is 'glorifiedbuttwiper' speaks volumes...

[nursel56]

Your post has just convinced me that everytime I've used three alarm clocks, I know I'm not crazy lol. Really sucks about your situation but don't let it get you down. Thanks for sharing!

Hi there! Fellow alarm clock nut here. I managed not to be late to class or clinicals or miss a test, but on the job was getting ready for work one morning and noticed it looked way too light out there . . .:-/ the power had gone off for 2 hours and back on while I was asleep Went out and got myself a wind-up alarm clock that day. Oversleep panic is horrible.

To the OP, please don't take the lesson "it's better to lie". No, it absolutely is not, especially in nursing. I would take the B and move on with respect to the exam. Hopefully you will further explain why they would encourage you to quit when it sounds like overall you're doing well (grade-wise anyway)

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

I can't believe people are suggesting going to the dean or appealing. You missed a test because you overslept. While I admire your honesty, you shouldn't get to make it up. You weren't in the hospital, in an accident on your way to the test, or otherwise disposed. You just didn't set a second alarm on a test day and your phone died. It sucks, but it's fair that you don't get to retake the test.

We had a student do a similar thing last year, and she got a zero on the test. She passed the class by getting As on everything else, and our final counts for a lot. But, after her initial anger, she agreed that it was the right decision. The test was at 8:00 and she wasn't there. End of story.

Wish I could like this a thousand times.

OP, I'm sorry you had to go through this, but honesty, accountability, and integrity are part of being a professional. Encouraging others to lie is wrong, and lying about a reason for being late is wrong too, as is refusing to accept accountability for your actions. Yes, you were honest, and yes, you didn't like the outcome, but every action has a consequence, whether good or bad. Oversleeping is not a valid reason to be late. Accept what you can't change, learn from it, and move on.

[OrganizedChaos, LVN]

Like many have said, if you were at work it would be much worse. Any employer would not be too happy with tardiness. Unless it was something that caused you to go to the hospital or just couldn't avoid, nothing would be valid. Power goes out, batteries die. It's always best to plan ahead for anything.

You shouldn't lie, especially if you need to have proof. Yeah, it sucks. But if you can still pull a B, be proud! Also invest in another alarm clock.

[liberated847]

I'd like to offer an alternative perspective (I know I'll get flamed), do all the people here sitting on their high horse think a lie is ALWAYS bad? Consider the following scenario: you are alone at home when a bloody beat up woman knocks on your door and rushes inside. She tells you that two gun men are after her. Two seconds later the gun men knock and ask you if you've seen a woman around. Now, would you lie and say no and in the process saving the woman? Or would you tell the truth and risk getting yourself and the other woman killed? If you do not lie in this scenario then you are an *******! For the OP, it's not a matter of honesty, it's a matter of self preservation. If I knew telling the truth would result in me failing the test, you better believe I would have come up with an alternate more creative excuse. Now go ahead and flame me but know before you do that in life not everything is black and white , there is a lot of gray. Go ahead and let go of your hypocrisy and show the OP some sympathy.

[frivoloussal]

I'd like to offer an alternative perspective (I know I'll get flamed), do all the people here sitting on their high horse think a lie is ALWAYS bad? Consider the following scenario: you are alone at home when a bloody beat up woman knocks on your door and rushes inside. She tells you that two gun men are after her. Two seconds later the gun men knock and ask you if you've seen a woman around. Now, would you lie and say no and in the process saving the woman? Or would you tell the truth and risk getting yourself and the other woman killed? If you do not lie in this scenario then you are an *******! For the OP, it's not a matter of honesty, it's a matter of self preservation. If I knew telling the truth would result in me failing the test, you better believe I would have come up with an alternate more creative excuse. Now go ahead and flame me but know before you do that in life not everything is black and white , there is a lot of gray. Go ahead and let go of your hypo car and show the OP some sympathy.

Nice try, but false equivalence. And that's just dramatic.

The OP was confusing an honest excuse with a valid excuse. The two are not the same. No one has argued about self-preservation.

Many of us WOULD have given a "better" excuse. Why? Because yes, self preservation is a thing. Our point isn't that honesty isn't the best policy... it's that honesty doesn't entitle you to have been able to sleep until TEN FREAKIN' AM (seriously?) and then get to have the benefit of taking the test at a later date than the rest of the students who DID get there on time.

I'd much rather hear a creative story than the tired "I don't know how I slept all the way until 10 am, when my schedule has had me waking up three hours beforehand since the beginning of the semester, and both my alarm and internal clock didn't wake me up" trope.

[liberated847]

Nice try, but false equivalence. And that's just dramatic.

The OP was confusing an honest excuse with a valid excuse. The two are not the same. No one has argued about self-preservation.

Many of us WOULD have given a "better" excuse. Why? Because yes, self preservation is a thing. Our point isn't that honesty isn't the best policy... it's that honesty doesn't entitle you to have been able to sleep until TEN FREAKIN' AM (seriously?) and then get to have the benefit of taking the test at a later date than the rest of the students who DID get there on time.

I'd much rather hear a creative story than the tired "I don't know how I slept all the way until 10 am, when my schedule has had me waking up three hours beforehand since the beginning of the semester, and both my alarm and internal clock didn't wake me up" trope.

Ok you are saying he should have lied, then we agree