Repeating 3rd..not because I failed...is depressing

catebsn25 · Dec 22, 2013

I had passed medsurg and maternity when I took a leave of absence from school, when I came back 18 months later they readmitted me but only on the condition that I start over back at medsurg. I was upset at the time but I did it and now I'm done and it was all worth it! you got it, don't let this deter you from finishing. it will be a good refresher anyways :)

Suey816 · Dec 22, 2013

I have to retake 1st!!!!!!! Be glad you don't have to take Fundamentals all over again, lol :) I had 3 A's in my classes, then moved out of the community college district, bought a house and had a baby. I've been out two semesters I think, but they said if I tried to go in 2nd semester at the new school, if I failed anything along the way I'd have to retake the entire program over again b/c of the time limit. I'm just going to restart as a new student and not take that risk. So the good thing is this semester will be easy for both of us & we'll get to brush up, that never hurts. But yea, its also a waste of $3k for me :/

lu2013 · Dec 22, 2013

Hopefully I dont have to start over at 1st.... they have said if I do not score in the top two levels of the med surg exam I have to start from scratch! Otherwise..If I do then I can start at 3rd. I'm trying to be positive about this but dang it..I wish I could just start where I left off

SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP · Dec 23, 2013

I passed 3rd semester..and then had to take a leave of absence for personal reasons. I've been gone 2 semesters and plan on returning after next semester. I have to take a comprehensive exam that covers semester 1 and 2 med surg before I can be readmitted. the downside is that they wont let me into 4th semester..they are making me retake 3rd again =( 3rd is OB/PEds/Mental health...I dont understand why I need to retake it when I already passed it...and if I pass the exam! If I dont pass the exam I have to start at semester 1 again..
The idea of paying for and taking 3 classes I've already passed...again...just really depresses me.
Has anyone else had to do this??

Lu2013: Did they give you any guidelines to prep for your exam? Do you still have your old notes? Do you possibly still have online access to your text books? I find doing review questions from the text (NCLEX-type) to be very helpful when preparing for an exam. Usually you can get these with the CD or online access that come with the text.

Good luck to you! I hope you get back in at the level you want

lovenotwar14 · Dec 23, 2013

Look at the glass half full. Thank God they let you back in. Do what you have to do and graduate.

Heylove, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Dec 23, 2013

Oh thank goodness, I'm not the only one. I have to repeat first semester because I ended up with a 74% overall for the second half of the first semester. I've been depressed for the last week, but I think I'm over it now. I can't go back until Spring of 2015 because of my school's requirements. It will be a nice break, for sure.

lu2013 · Dec 23, 2013

Lu2013: Did they give you any guidelines to prep for your exam? Do you still have your old notes? Do you possibly still have online access to your text books? I find doing review questions from the text (NCLEX-type) to be very helpful when preparing for an exam. Usually you can get these with the CD or online access that come with the text.
Good luck to you! I hope you get back in at the level you want

They told me to study everything..my old med surg book, ATI, Saunders...its a bit overwhelming to be honest. I have no idea WHAT is going to be on this test. I do still have access to my books and ATI so thats a positive but the amount of information between semester 1 and 2..I'm not even sure where to start or what to focus on honestly. I'm pretty sure the test is an ATI exam..so I'm going to take practice exams from there and study the Fundamentals book and the med surg ATI book.

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Dec 23, 2013

Hopefully I dont have to start over at 1st.... they have said if I do not score in the top two levels of the med surg exam I have to start from scratch! Otherwise..If I do then I can start at 3rd. I'm trying to be positive about this but dang it..I wish I could just start where I left off

I hear that! A classmate of mine failed 4th semester and was required to take a comprehensive test to be re-admitted into 4th. Unfortunately, she failed that re-test and had to start again in 3rd semester. I didn't have that option as they'd changed course content for the semester I would have had to repeat. I had to go back to 2nd semester from 3rd and repeat both of those. As it turned out, she and I are on track to graduate this Spring. Had all gone well for both of us, we would have graduated last Spring.

I will certainly say that it hasn't been a bad experience for either of us. We're much stronger on the clinical side than we were and we both managed to pick up details that were presented before but were lost in the weeds last time.

While it was a setback for both of us and bumped our grad date back a year, we're all the better for it! Even if you end up having to restart the program at an "earlier" semester, you'll end up doing a whole lot better than you did the first time and you'll have a lot less stress about things because you'll know what's coming next, how to study the material, and what the instructors will put on the exams. Yes, it could be a big bummer, but look for the positives and know you'll be a lot better in the end!

krisiepoo · Dec 24, 2013

Just to play devils advocate here, if you can't pass the exam, it's probably a good thing that you'd have to retake the classes. I can understand you don't want to pay the money again, but if you don't have the knowledge, how would you expect to be able to safely move forward?

i wish you the best of luck and I hope whatever the problems were have sorted themselves out. I saw people need to quit because of issues outside their control and it was a huge bummer, expecially since there were no re-entries for our program and they had to start from the beginning again.

erint91DC · Dec 25, 2013

Sorry that you may have to retake it! I have a friend that finished the admission requirements for the BSN program a few years ago, but they had to postpone it to have a child. By the time she was ready to start the program, they had completely remodelled the program and she ended up having to take another year of prerequisites! Sometimes it just doesn't make sense. Hope it turns out alright for you :)

Heylove, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Jan 25, 2014

[quote= but if you don't have the knowledge, how would you expect to be able to safely move forward?

i wish you the best of luck and I hope whatever the problems were have sorted themselves out. I saw people need to quit because of issues outside their control and it was a huge bummer, expecially since there were no re-entries for our program and they had to start from the beginning again.

I'm just being the devil's advocate, too. I hope you don't mind....

There are nurses that are educated in other countries that are able to come to the US and pass the exams to become nurses. They can pass the tests, but barely speak english. Bedside manner? What's that???

Which one makes the better nurse? I don't have the right answer...just a statement.