There are many people that failed Adults II this past term... We started out with 138 and 42 of those failed. You have to have a 75% or better and some people failed by 1 point, 2 points (me), some people failed by a fraction!!! The had a 74.49 and they wouldn't round it... Many of us went to the department head with our concerns and she just kept saying don't worry about it.
Let me throw this in there... they made everyone sign an adendium that is to go in our file. The whole class had to sign it. They never explained it, they just told us that we had to sign it or we couldn't move on in the program. The paper stated that if you fail, you have to reapply to the program, and before they accept you, you MUST take ALL finals and make a 75 or better, redo ALL of your skills tests, ALL dosage and solutions test (that one has to score a 90), pay for your own background check and drug test.
I am not working right now because this school is so hard... with this being my second time around, if I fail, I can't go back. I will have to apply to the LPN program and then go from there. I have lost ALL of my funding... my PELL grant, my scholarships, my student loans... my mother had to pay for this term. I am on an appeal and because I failed, I lost everything.
Now... this is my problem... The department head opened a class just for those of us who failed. There was enough of us to make 2 classes. There were a few in the class behind us that was able to move forward to graduate early just to fill the classes. This first time I went through this class it was easier. You would think that it would be easier the second time around.
My grades were better last time... these tests are on a master's level, and the material that is being presented in class doesn't match up with what is on the test. The insructor is pulling information out of books that we don't have and that are not required by the college. Now, I am not saying that EVERY question is like that... There are just enough on there to make sure that everyone fails.
Our class average for ALL tests have NEVER been over a 70%. Now we have one more test and the final... I personally have to make a 90% on the next test to walk into the final with a 75 and then make a 75 on the test to pass the class.
EVERYONE is freaking out about this. If I don't pass this, I can't sit for my LPN boards, and the last 2 1/2 years of my life have been a total waste of time. All the sacrifices have been for nothing.
There are some students that are getting together and they are going to write the accredation board and tell them what is going on so that they can investigate. The department head won't do anything about it, and we are at a point where we are just desperate. I don't know what else to do!
The grades are NOT reflecting the dedication of the students. I personally spend anywhere from 40-60 hours a week studying, but to look at my grades, you would think that I am a slacker.
I just don't know what to do... Does anyone have any other suggestions???
i would like to add my thoughts on the situation...
many of the posters' opinions parallel my own, but i want to make sure that the op understands something. looking back at my own adn program, i felt targeted at some times... as if the school/instructors had something against me... and many in my class felt that way at times. but now... now that i have done a bsn and msn-np program... the problem was mostly me. i was immature as a learner and as a nurse. i didn't want to take accountability and it is easy to blame someone else. you have to realize that no one. no one is going to just give you an rn degree. it is something that is hard work and has to be earned. otherwise, just any joe blow bum could be an rn.
as i advanced through my programs, i learned a valuable lesson... you will get what you put into it. and it's dually important to note that once you are a nurse, it's not about the test questions or what book you use to study. it's about resources, which can be utilized now. there are valuable nursing resources out there besides your textbook (if you are convinced that it is not where test questions are coming from)... that give ample information to help you understand a problem/condition/procedure, whatever. and if you truly have an understanding on a concept... from reputable sources (and you can always clarify with your instructors before the test)... you will be better prepared to question any discrepancy on the test. first, read your text... understand it. then move on to the others, if you feel necessary. you have to focus on learning the content... not as much of the details. does that make sense? once you have a firm understanding of the big picture... the fine tuning comes more naturally.
for example... you may not remember step by step interventions on a patient having a myocardial infarction (m.o.n.a.), but if you have a strong understanding of what an mi is and how it affects the person, you will be more inclined to think of... "okay, an mi is lack of oxygen to a part of the heart because of a blocked vessel. the patient generally will have chest pain, often shortness of breath, so i need to remember to relieve their pain and help get oxygen back to the heart... since this is causing the pain in the first place... and try to prevent worsening of the problem. so what does that?? aspirin helps prevent heart attack... so that's good. and oh yea... nitroglycerin is a vasodilator which improves blood flow... therefore increasing oxygenation to the tissues, so i could give that. and while im talking to the patient i can put them on some oxygen to help with the heart ischemia and also the shortness of breath. if they still hurt after nitroglycerin, i can give morphine... and i need to be thinking about quick interventions in case they have to go to the cath lab."
learning to think like this is learning to think like an msn-test taker.
What turned my grades around was Doing practice Questions form NCLEX books, the second semester midway thru I would do 100 to 200 questions a night, you can buy the books that break it down to sections. Cardiac, GI, GU ect. Our school used nclex style questions and always had 3-5 that came directly from the NCLEX books, I graduated from LPN with a 3.75 and I worked full time. before that i was struggling.
You have to know how you learn. "Focus your energy on figuring out where you are continually failing to improve your test scores and why." blaming the school will get you no where.
Its all about your success. and your learning style!!!!
i agree with the above poster and forgot to mention it in my post... nclex review materials are great. also, in my program, we frequently studied with the review material for our exit test. (we took the hesi at that time...). so, we would first go over our notes... then the text to elaborate on some notes... then go through the chapter, page by page looking at any diagrams or tables... then the nclex... then the hesi. now it's all coming back to me...
I will begin the RN program in the fall, and I am reading many of these posts for a heads up. In my program you need 80% or higher to pass, and I have no time for messing around!
For the OP because I am not in the program, I can't give you advice other than listening to the stellar advice you have gotten in this thread! Try not to think of the replies as negative critisism, everyone here seems genuine about helping others in this forum succeed.
Thank you all for the advice. I just feel doomed, targeted... I have been studying my tail off and at times it feels as though it is for nothing. I have done good so far. I am almost at the end. If I can get through this, my preceptorship is next. I just feel so down because of all the stuff that has been going on lately.
I have 2 NCLEX books and that is something that I don't understand... I can do those and score really good on them... I get with study groups and spout off the information like crazy... but I can't pass these tests. Like I said, I had no trouble up to this point. Not to say that the last year and a half was easy... by all means, it wasn't.
I guess that I will take the refs that were given above and just try my best to get through this. I only have one week left... these 2 tests will be the tests that will be the deciding factor on my career.
I'm a part timer and about a year ago the class I had been in clinical with proceeded on. They had a 90% fail rate for 3rd semester theory. Their grade was based on 2 exams which they needed to get a 78% on to move on. They banded together and were told by the school that nothing would be happening to help them. They took their argument all the way to the state level. The state sent in people to investigate. While their persistence changed the program for the incoming 3rd semester students (and those thereafter), their situation remained unchanged. Even the head of the nursing department resigned (yea, she was awful).
The students I had been with the year before that failed, were very good students (much better than I) and I passed 3rd with a B. I feel awful for them and grateful because they helped turn a bad situation positive, but not for themselves.
I do have to say that the exams are based on the NCLEX or at the very least are in NCLEX format. The nursing program is designed to make you think critically. I've learned that when you take a test, the question may not be in the book, but the basic concept is there and you may need to use your critical thinking skills to answer questions. I agree with some of the other posters and suggest checking out one of the NCLEX books to help prepare you for tests. I hope you pass your test
I utilize every spare minute that I have. I don't spend time with my family at all anymore. Every night when I come home, I cook dinner, get the kids in bed, and I am back on the books. It's not because I am not putting enough effort into it. I have no life anymore. I don't socialize, I study. I don't party and I don't do anything unless it has to do with a study group or nursing school. I quit everything when I started this program. Even my job. I don't wait til the last minute to study for anything. I can sit here and rattle off stuff that we have went over, and even my instructors know that I know this stuff... as far as the master's level testing. I know because I have found websites that have games and quizes and such that are on that level. I have talked to nurses that have masters degrees and I will tell them what kind of questions that are on these tests and they agree that the testing level is very unreasonable for a 2 year degree. I cound understand if I WAS a slacker... I would deserve everything that has come to me... BUT, such is not the case. My grades DO NOT reflect the dedication that I have put into this. This is the ONLY class that I have had a problem with. All the other classes up to this point have been A's and B's. I had a 3.8 GPA before all this happened. Not to mention... how do you explain a 90% failure rate for the total class. At this rate, there will only be about 4, maybe 5 people that actually pass this by the skin in their teeth...
Then it's not the time you are putting in but the WAY you are studying...and yes, there is a difference. Find the nursing instructor that students say are the best, set an appointment with them, and get them to help you with your test taking skills and study habits.
Nursing classes are not like any of your other classes...so if you are applying the same study methods...then you have already identified the issue. You can't just memorize the material but you have to know how to apply it. Most other classes are based on memorization of facts...you can do that on lab values, etc...but you have to go one step deeper...find the priority, identify the disease, decide which is more important.
Our instructor told us once that she has students come to her saying, "but there are 4 right answers on this question." Her reponse was, "you are right, all 4 are correct...but WHICH is the most important."
Be careful on assuming what the failure rate is. Our school and no other school that I have seen, discloses that information to students as a percentage. Nursing school has a high failure rate by nature. Students with very high GPA's flunk out.
Granted, I sound a little like a hypocrit b/c I was fussing about my Pharm class earlier this year...but it's because we went from a class with instruction to ZERO instruction...and the grades reflected it...I didn't sign up for a distance learning nursing school, so to me, the school broke that contract...they did that crap for one semester and now they changed it back because of the complaints and poor grades.
Keep in mind, if your school has a high failure rate, as you claim, they are not going to have enough students to even justify keeping the program or keeping the faculty...and that DOES matter.
A local university added a pre-licensure class 4 years ago and they are already not taking anymore students...they never got approved for their accreditation with the BON b/c of the high failure rate on NCLEX but the State Department of Education was requiring them to terminate the program because of horrible graduation rates from the program.
Be careful about listening to rumors, focus on your own situation and how to fix it. At the end of the day you are going to be told that 96, the majority, people passed the class and that is going to be a very, very difficult statistic to overcome, especially with your 2nd trip through the program.
i tend to agree with what hopefull has said here... it's not how much you're studying but actually how you're studying. like she said, its about learning to apply the material, as in my previous example. i was always a memorizer... but despite the best memorization skills, it ultimately will fail you. you truly do have to try and learn the concepts... just going through practice questions will ultimately fail you. in the back of most nclex review books, there are explanations for the answers. read this. don't even bother with the question... except to know what the point of the narrative section is. instead of thinking of black and white definitions, or right and wrong choices... pick a condition and describe it aloud. if you can actually describe what's going on either with a treatment, disease, procedure, without simplified trivial facts... you will set yourself up for success. strive for being able to explain what's going on and the nclex rationales should be helpful.
I did make an appt. with my instructor... she told me to bring all of my study materials when I come. She told me that I spent way too much time studying. So, she told me to back off a bit... I did that, and my grades were about the same. I saw no change really. The more I read these posts, the more I am beginning to wonder if the nursing gene that runs in my family skipped a generation...
I will do that... I still have trouble trying to connect all the pieces with all of the different disorders. There are so many that there are times when I just get them all confused. Things start running together. I will look at the rationals in the back of the NCLEX books and see if those shed some light for me.
Thanks anyways... I will continue to do my best and just see what happens.
I haven't read all the posts here but want to comment anyway in case it hasn't been covered yet. Have you studied questions from NCLEX books for your tests? Our tests were all based on NCLEX questions from the very beginning. It is not enough to know how something works, it is how you as the nurse applies what is going on with your pt (via assessment) with critical thinking to come up with a plan of what to do first, etc. Ask your instructors if the test questions are from an NCLEX point of view, and get yourself some NCLEX books from the college or public library. I did and it really helped!
I haven't read all the posts here but want to comment anyway in case it hasn't been covered yet. Have you studied questions from NCLEX books for your tests? Our tests were all based on NCLEX questions from the very beginning. It is not enough to know how something works, it is how you as the nurse applies what is going on with your pt (via assessment) with critical thinking to come up with a plan of what to do first, etc. Ask your instructors if the test questions are from an NCLEX point of view, and get yourself some NCLEX books from the college or public library. I did and it really helped!
LOL!! It's been covered all right! Great minds think alike, next time I will read the whole thread. Hugs!
.thumb.jpg.421493329dd1f136a4222fe8e9399213.jpg){kind=small}
DaisyRN, ACNP
383 Posts
i would like to add my thoughts on the situation...
many of the posters' opinions parallel my own, but i want to make sure that the op understands something. looking back at my own adn program, i felt targeted at some times... as if the school/instructors had something against me... and many in my class felt that way at times. but now... now that i have done a bsn and msn-np program... the problem was mostly me. i was immature as a learner and as a nurse. i didn't want to take accountability and it is easy to blame someone else. you have to realize that no one. no one is going to just give you an rn degree. it is something that is hard work and has to be earned. otherwise, just any joe blow bum could be an rn.
as i advanced through my programs, i learned a valuable lesson... you will get what you put into it. and it's dually important to note that once you are a nurse, it's not about the test questions or what book you use to study. it's about resources, which can be utilized now. there are valuable nursing resources out there besides your textbook (if you are convinced that it is not where test questions are coming from)... that give ample information to help you understand a problem/condition/procedure, whatever. and if you truly have an understanding on a concept... from reputable sources (and you can always clarify with your instructors before the test)... you will be better prepared to question any discrepancy on the test. first, read your text... understand it. then move on to the others, if you feel necessary. you have to focus on learning the content... not as much of the details. does that make sense? once you have a firm understanding of the big picture... the fine tuning comes more naturally.
for example... you may not remember step by step interventions on a patient having a myocardial infarction (m.o.n.a.), but if you have a strong understanding of what an mi is and how it affects the person, you will be more inclined to think of... "okay, an mi is lack of oxygen to a part of the heart because of a blocked vessel. the patient generally will have chest pain, often shortness of breath, so i need to remember to relieve their pain and help get oxygen back to the heart... since this is causing the pain in the first place... and try to prevent worsening of the problem. so what does that?? aspirin helps prevent heart attack... so that's good. and oh yea... nitroglycerin is a vasodilator which improves blood flow... therefore increasing oxygenation to the tissues, so i could give that. and while im talking to the patient i can put them on some oxygen to help with the heart ischemia and also the shortness of breath. if they still hurt after nitroglycerin, i can give morphine... and i need to be thinking about quick interventions in case they have to go to the cath lab."
learning to think like this is learning to think like an msn-test taker.