But has the same amount of information as a 16 week course
Med-surg was the devil incarnate
Before today, I had 5 classes left
Now that I have failed
I have 6 left as I have to retake med-surg
(which I have to wait 3 months to do because of the way the classes are spaced)
Soooo my grad date is pushed back another 3 months
I don't understand what I did wrong
I mean, I could have taken a wee bit more time to prepare for exams
But good Lord! I made flashcards, highlighted the crap outta my book, did amazing in clinicals, used reference books, and did the KA-JILLION practice questions that came with the book.
I recommend meeting with your instructor as well. Ask for tips and guidance - that's what they are there for. In the meantime, while you are waiting to go back, take some time to review the material covered in your med-surg course. My school was very tough with grades, but with good reason. I graduated in May and I believe all but one (and they might not have taken it yet) have passed the NCLEX.
I really admire you... I finished my Med Surg 1 class a week ago and managed to get a B on it, but my class lasted for 10 weeks and I was always stressed and felt that I didn't have enough time to study the material and to prepare well for my tests. There's no way I could have done it in 5 weeks . I'm actually relieved that my Med Surg 2 class is going to last the traditional 16 weeks.
As a previous nursing instructor I agree with many of the previous posts. Here are some things that may be helpful in the future. First don't just highlight in the book, really digest what you are highlighting. Many of my students highlight in their books and when I look at the book almost every sentence was highlighted. What good does that do? I am not saying you do this, I am just pointing it out. Second thing I tell students is to make sure you are keeping up with the readings. Do not wait until the night before the test to read the chapters, etc. Thirdly, get a study group together. Obviously other students passed this class that maybe you could have benefitted from their knowledge and vice versa. Lastly, and this is what I stress the most; DO NOT study with any distractions. Many students tell me that they studied for 20 hours for the test, but when I ask them if they had their phones, computers, or tv in the room many of them stated yes. Lock yourself in a room or library with no distractions and see how much more information you retain. I hope this is helpful. Otherwise keep up the good work. You will get there.
Remember that studying for nursing school isn't like studying for anything else you've ever learned. People really do not understand this until they fail, as you did. You aren't just learning rote facts, you are learning how to be a nurse who understands and applies the nursing process, a process that includes assessment, judgment, planning, and evaluation. I would be willing to bet good money that the questions you got wrong on your tests had to do with those concepts and actions.
Yes, you need to know that a normal serum sodium is 135-145. But you also need to know what to do with that information when it's presented to you in a patient context-- what it means for a sick person, and what that means for you who will plan that person's care because of it.
You need to know this at increasingly higher levels as you progress through school, too-- med/surg II is going to demand more of you than med/surg I. This is because you are expected to progress in your ability to function as a registered nurse, and meet that beginning standard by the time you graduate.
So, everyone before me has given you good ways to make it easier for you to meet this challenge-- not that you should expect it will be remotely easy. Absolutely, meet with your faculty. Be brave enough to face your screw-up, own it, and ask for help. They have seen it all before, believe me; they also really do want you to pass...but they want you to pass because you earn it. Faculty take their responsibility to produce competent nurses very, very seriously.
Then lose the cell phone, the Facebook time, the Angry Birds, the "must-see TV," and retrain your brain to focus-- if you do that stuff, it has forgotten how. If you have a learning lab in your school, go ask them for suggestions. They've seen it all before too. Don't highlight what you think is important. Write. With a pen and paper, not a keyboard. Say it out loud to yourself. Give your brain multiple ways to absorb and contemplate this process and its attendant information. You'll need to do this when you get out of school, so you might as well start learning it now.
Good luck to you.
Note: to get full impact of this message, it should display in Comic Sans, green. Thank you.
I highly disagree. When we go to clinicals, we are always complimented and told how much more knowledgeable we are than the various University students who have clinicals there as well.
I learn when I am challenged. I was previously enrolled in a traditional ADN program and I was utterly bored. Nothing challenged me!
So as I said, I humbly disagree with you.
So you are saying that you feel you had plenty of time in 5 weeks to learn everything you were supposed to learn, but that you did not learn anything in med-surg ... or enough to pass the class ... because you were bored?
So you are saying that you feel you had plenty of time in 5 weeks to learn everything you were supposed to learn, but that you did not learn anything in med-surg ... or enough to pass the class ... because you were bored?
NO. I get bored in the traditional 16 week courses. They do not offer any challenge to me. I will admit Med-surg was hard, extremely hard, and I do feel that they should split the class in half because IT is too much in 5 weeks.
I failed because I tried to learn every single thing in the book and I didn't give myself enough study time between care plans and clinicals.
I may not be in a typical program, and many may disagree with the length of classes, but I can tell you this: When I come out of this program, I WILL be one of the BEST nurses around! Mark my words.
I failed because I tried to learn every single thing in the book and I didn't give myself enough study time between care plans and clinicals.
I tend to do that too - I sometimes don't know where to stop, so I just study every little thing - and it ends up taking up too much time from my actual sit-down-and-study-and-absorb-it time. Keep your head up - you'll pass the class the next time around with flying colors!
You do NOT need to learn everything. If you refuse to learn from your mistakes then you will be in the same place as before. Learn what is important. I don't assume you have a lot of time to begin with so use it wisely.
I know exactly how you feel our courses are only 4 weeks long, it's an accelerated program and it's very challenging. Of course it's going to get more difficult the further you go up. But if you really want this, you can do it. Try and figure out what you did wrong and change that to help you do better and to pass. When I study I have to have NO distractions and it has to be quiet. I do highlight important things then I go write them down and say them out loud to myself. I always ask my instructor for help or I go straight to tutoring. You're not going to learn everything, some of it will come from experience.
If it's been done before, it can be done again. Do not give up!
. I'm actually relieved that my Med Surg 2 class is going to last the traditional 16 weeks. 
krazylady
79 Posts
I recommend meeting with your instructor as well. Ask for tips and guidance - that's what they are there for. In the meantime, while you are waiting to go back, take some time to review the material covered in your med-surg course. My school was very tough with grades, but with good reason. I graduated in May and I believe all but one (and they might not have taken it yet) have passed the NCLEX.
Good luck!