Haybah

What really makes us quite different from others is that we have already tasted the bitterness of failure. We have learned our lesson and move forward with utter determination. We can't afford to take it easy from here on. Our failure will forever remind us to work extra hard to succeed.

You really addressed an important issue that I had in my mind for a while. Definitely, I may feel very confident in my chances of passing first semester of the program this time round. However, getting used to the old material and slow pace may become a barrier to my performance in the second semester. Also, as you said, I have no more chances to repeat a semester. My only choice is to always study extremely hard and not take chances.

Thank you everyone. I appreciate your advice and suggestions. I also appreciate your encouraging words (akulahawk). Next time: - I will have the instructor go over with me the entire exam (or at least the questions I didn't know) - I will try to be more involved with study groups - I will try to read to understand rather than memorize - I will also try my best to improve my skills in answering NCLEX style questions (will buy and make use of books such as Saunders) I like that idea of reading to understand, but I find that difficult when I study from my notes. I am better at reading and memorizing the material.

More studying is always helpful, but I was wondering if there was something I could do differently next time.

Hi Everyone! I failed my first semester of nursing school. It was very difficult and disappointing to me. What makes it even worse was that I got a 77.9% with just a 0.1% remaining. I passed very well on the lab and clinical portion of the course with an 87%, a B. However, I needed to pass both parts of the course to pass the entire course. I am now over that phase of sadness and disappointment. I had a meeting with the director of nursing program and the instructors. They told me that I had another chance to repeat this semester and make amends. They said they would have more meetings with me from now on to closely monitor my performance. This will be my only chance within the three semesters of the program. I would also like to mention that during this semester I did not pass any of the four exams. I tried my best on the final exam and got an 82%. Also, my grades in these exams were not consistent. I believe that I had yet to adapt to nursing school exams. That is why I sometimes wonder that perhaps being able to pass this semester might not have been good for me. I don't know. Anyway, I would like some advice on what I can do differently now. I would also appreciate advice on books that would help me understand NCLEX style question better. Any advice would be helpful. Thank you very much.

Hi Everyone! I don't know how to feel about this but according to our schedule for next semester (my first semester of nursing!), we will have 4 hours/week of theory class, 8 hours/week of lab, and 9 hours/week of clinical. I will be taking both the theory and lab classes twice a week. So I was just wondering why the class hours are so short. I have heard from several people from different schools that they usually have very long hours of lecture (around 6 hours) twice a week; they would also have long lab hours. Is it actually good for me that our school is like this? I cannot understand how the instructors will be able to teach us much in class given the amount of information we have to learn in our textbooks and the duration of our program which is only three semesters. *Textbook: Nursing: A concept based approach to learning 2nd Edition, Volume 1, 2, 3 This textbook is used throughout the three semesters of the program. Thank you

Hi everyone, I will be starting the nursing program at a community college that I have been accepted to, yay. Anyway, I am registering for the nursing courses (of semester one), and need help deciding a few things. There are two available options I have for the 9 credit course, foundation of nursing. The difference between the two options is in the clinical and lab day. The clinical day is typically nine hours. For the clinical, I have to choose either Tuesdays or Thursdays. The lab day is Mon or Wed respectively. Which days do you think are better. I am personally free on both days. Depending on which option I go with, I will either be more busy on Mondays and Tuesdays or more busy on Wednesdays and Thursdays. I was thinking about which day would be more busy in hospitals and whether I wanted to do clinical on a busy day or not. Aside from that, I am also taking a psych life span course, and I was wondering if I should take it as an online course or not. I have never taken an online course before, so I am a bit worried about it. I would appreciate any piece of advice.

Thank you so much everyone for the advice! It is so encouraging to have people who are willing to help. I appreciate your advice la_chica_suerta85! You sounded intimidating; I hope this will help me into changing.

Hi everyone! I am a pre-nursing student, and this semester will be my last semester:yes:, taking some remaining pre-requisites, namely micro, physio, and socio. I was told by many people, including students and professors, not to take these two science courses together. But that was not an option for me. I was accepted to the Mane Nursing Program at my community college with the condition of finishing all remaining courses by Spring 2015. Okay, so after reading many threads regarding the load of reading and studying that is required in nursing school, I was thinking of trying to train myself into learning how to manage my time in these last courses before I start the program. Frankly speaking, I am a big time procrastinator. I am the type of person who starts writing a psychology research paper in the last three days when I am supposed to prepare it ahead of time in four weeks (given time). I survived being like this since back in high school. If I mention some of my stories, I am sure it will really shock many people. It's not that I was content with this, though. I would always tell myself to start early every time I had assignment, exams, or research papers to complete by a certain deadline. It just happens that I would get distracted by other stuff. I hate to say this, but I really get this ineffable joy of having to study and learn during the time just right before a deadline. And then, the best part is when I get my results and know that I passed the exam. Oh, the excitement... I don't know why this happens; maybe it's because of the challenge that I enjoy. Anyhow, knowing all this, I want to change. I want to actually start reading ahead of time, let alone revising what I learn from lecture each day. I want to use this last opportunity lying in front of me. Thus, I ask my fellow nursing students, or even pre-nursing students who are better than "me" in managing their time for studying to give me some tips on how I could change for the better. Thanks in advance!

Congratulations on your acceptance! Same here. In the beginning, I wanted to hand in my letter in person to Betty, but she was on vacation, so I just sent it through the mail. I am absolutely delighted to know of a person whom I will spend two years with in the nursing program beforehand. See you on orientation day. If you don't mind, could you give a description of yourself? You could also mention why you want to become a nurse You can also mention something about your expectations of the program.

Question: I will be starting the nursing program at Normandale Community College this coming spring. After that, I will be transitioning to Metropolitan State University to complete my BSN. So I was wondering, what specific skills do you learn in RN-BSN program? I understand that the ADN program teaches you nursing skills you need to pass the NCLEX, but if there will be no clinical rotations for the other part, how will a load of paper writing help in practical nursing? I just want to know the essence of learning about leadership, management etc. In other words, I just wanted a clarification on what man-nurse2b said earlier in the thread?

Are you starting the third semester of the nursing program? If so, that would be awesome! Do you have any advice that you could share with me regarding the nursing program? (More preferably at NCC). For instance, any particular professors, course I should watch out for? I would also like to know which clinical the students go to? A brief description of how the clinical rotation works would be nice.

Thanks for inquiring about this issue and sharing it with us!

When I read the contract paper that I would transfer to Metro State after my NCLEX exam, I clearly understood that we could not go to any other University to finish up our Bachelors of Science in Nursing. However, after reading many negatives things about Metro in this thread, I am really worried.

Congratulations! So are you going to accept Normandale's admission?