The real reason your failing in school

Nursing Students General Students

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And the real reason is not because your not smart. Its not because nursing is hard. As a nurse I have seen the pattern, 40 students enter and only 10 graduate. Do you know why? The real reasons why is because of money. Yes MONEY!... Look at the cycle, people failing nursing programs for silly reasons, nursing programs creating exit exams that are unfair and the state boards knows about it. Well people the state boards of nursing and the schools are all part of the reason why so many people fail nursing school. And the reason is all about money. HERE is the FACT... Nurses get paid good money almost 65 to 75k to start, nurses are in demand, So what happens when something is not in demand anymore? The value goes down. People see the amount nurses make, they go to the school, if plenty people pass and graduate, that will throw more nurses into the work field, which will cause the nurses pay to go down, If the nurses pay goes down , guess what happens?? Fewer admissions into the nursing program. Thats right its a cycle, thats the reason why nursing school is getting harder and harder. To keep nursing pay up and to keep people entering nursing programs, the school benefits where poor people who invest their hard earned money into the program suffer. So believe it, its not you. This is the reason why unfair nursing instructers still remain. Shame on nursing.

There is no conspiracy it's just not for everyone.

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If anything, I would say all the nurses being pumped out of schools left and right is what keeps RN wages down. When you compare the amount of responsibility RNs assume versus what they are paid, you will realize they are not compensated relative to the services they provide.

Saying that few RNs are allowed to graduate in order to keep wages high is a just plain incorrect assessment of what's happening.

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Great addition commuter! Especially, the point about abstract thinking. Generally speaking, people fear life outside of their comfort zone. This fear influences cognition... 2 has to be after 1, and most are comfortable with this "truth." Nothing against factory workers, or the like but, after A I do B and after B I do C and so on... To many there is comfort in this. The unknown creates what is known as stress and anxiety, which give people mental blocks that impact performance. Sorry to go on and on, but how the mind controls the body is just so amazing.

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lets get the facts straight . I have been a nurse for seven years.Got my lpn and RN on the first try . I made 65K to start..there are others starting at 75K..I personally have seen the programs where only 10 pass out of 40..And there are many other cases like that. I know many people who have completed nursing programs but are being held back because of exit exams. Nursing programs are getting harder and if some of yall get off yall high horses you will not assume people fail because they dont try. Ive had my share of bad teachers.

Not sure where anybody said that all people fail because they don't try. Being 41 years old and this being my second attempt at nursing school I would have to disagree with you on nursing school getting harder. It was really hard for me the first time I went at 19. I was in a horrible marriage, had a young child, and had poor organizational skills. I find it much easier now. Life experience and growth and maturity make a big difference. Furthermore, I tend to disagree with you in general on schools getting harder at all. I think one of the big differences is that everyone is being pushed to go to college these days whether they are college material or not. I see people in college now that cannot spell (and I'm not talking common spelling mistakes, but huge spelling issues), cannot write complete sentences, and struggle with basic math. These people should be screened out before starting nursing school. Although I won't discourage anyone from going to nursing school if these are issues for you, then preparatory classes are in order.

There are also people who don't put much effort into their work. I'm not saying that's the majority. I think many fall into the same category as I did first attempt - personal growth and maturity or life issues getting in the way.

To sum it up as all people fail because schools are in it for the money is absurd. Many nursing schools are at community colleges where low income people can get a full ride. There are some for profit schools and I would agree with you that those are bad ideas, but that's mostly because I am conscientious with where I spend my money. My school is nonprofit as are many more. Yes, I'd agree there are some nursing instructors that are on power trips, but you also have to consider nursing is one of the professions where mistakes can kill people. I don't think anyone here is on a high horse. I just don't think most of us are narrow minded enough to think there is one reason for all nursing students failing.

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I've been a nurse for 4 years and only once have made over $65K, and that was with a lot of extra time. If I make $50K this year I'll consider myself lucky.

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Here are some other real reasons why some people perform poorly in school:

1. They are studying incorrectly. Rote memorization will not work in a program that requires students to utilize analytical thought and apply the material.

2. They are not prioritizing school. Some people still want to live it up, party every night and not cut back on socializing, but the night life leaves most people with no time to study.

3. They have test anxiety. Some reasonably intelligent people freeze up and develop stage fright when taking standardized tests.

4. This might be offensive, but some people are concrete thinkers. Although theorists such as Piaget claim that people develop the ability for abstract thought by age 11 or 12, other studies indicate that up to half of all adults are still stuck at a concrete operational level of thinking. I imagine the concrete thinkers of the would would struggle with nursing coursework, which requires some level of abstraction.

5. They might be distracted by other issues transpiring in their lives such as a failing relationship, death in the family, kids with difficult temperaments, unsupportive spouse, financial issues, or other people in their lives who act as obstructionists.

These are all valid points. However, when a significant number of students in a particular class are failing the fault often doesn't lie with the students, but rather the teacher. The program I'm starting tomorrow had a solid reputation, it's only very recently I've discovered some troubling 'situations'. The class that just graduated had a first NCLEX passage rate of 21%. The new second year class has already lost 17 students out of the original 40. The school somehow managed to lose their clinical site during the second semester last year and the students then had to do their Psych & Med/Surg clinicals in Long Term Care. I have to admit I'm really getting really nervous about beginning my education at this college. This isn't because I don't think I'm capable, but because the school has suddenly developed some major problems. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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Specializes in ER/Emergency Behavioral Health....
Here are some other real reasons why some people perform poorly in school:

1. They are studying incorrectly. Rote memorization will not work in a program that requires students to utilize analytical thought and apply the material.

2. They are not prioritizing school. Some people still want to live it up, party every night and not cut back on socializing, but the night life leaves most people with no time to study.

3. They have test anxiety. Some reasonably intelligent people freeze up and develop stage fright when taking standardized tests.

4. This might be offensive, but some people are concrete thinkers. Although theorists such as Piaget claim that people develop the ability for abstract thought by age 11 or 12, other studies indicate that up to half of all adults are still stuck at a concrete operational level of thinking. I imagine the concrete thinkers of the would would struggle with nursing coursework, which requires some level of abstraction.

5. They might be distracted by other issues transpiring in their lives such as a failing relationship, death in the family, kids with difficult temperaments, unsupportive spouse, financial issues, or other people in their lives who act as obstructionists.

#3 for me for sure. And the first time around it was also #5. It took a long time to get my GPA to anything my ADN program would accept, and I'm nowhere near what the BSN programs in my area would want (3.5)

#

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Specializes in EDUCATION;HOMECARE;MATERNAL-CHILD; PSYCH.
lets get the facts straight . I have been a nurse for seven years.Got my lpn and RN on the first try . I made 65K to start..there are others starting at 75K..I personally have seen the programs where only 10 pass out of 40..And there are many other cases like that. I know many people who have completed nursing programs but are being held back because of exit exams. Nursing programs are getting harder and if some of yall get off yall high horses you will not assume people fail because they dont try. Ive had my share of bad teachers.

Why do people blame teachers when they fail? Transference?? Denial?? What?? People fail out of nursing school due to many factors. Bad Nursing teachers do not equal to one failing nursing school. The logic does not add up.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
"the real reason your failing nursing school" ....is because you can't spell "you're".

Wanted so bad to say this when I first read the thread. Glad someone else did as I was sitting on my hands!

There are so many variables for why students fail. Very rarely is it ever the school or the instructor. The vast majority have to do with the student him/herself. One would be wise to remember that when one finger is pointing at someone/something else, 3 are point right back at the one doing the pointing.

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I agree. While there may be "bad" teachers, the material to study for the exam exists - and you can't blame the teachers even when they teach a subject which you consider to be poorly done. If there are things you didn't understand because you blamed it on the teacher's style of teaching, it falls on you to reconcile that on your own. Teachers are not the scapegoats. I admit, my first semester of not understanding the NCLEX questions, I fell into that mentality. Let's be real here, it's always easier to blame someone else, isn't it? Yes it is. And at some point in any adult's life, not just nursing students, I would hope that person understands that he or she is in charge of life, nobody else.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
While there may be "bad" teachers, the material to study for the exam exists - and you can't blame the teachers even when they teach a subject which you consider to be poorly done. If there are things you didn't understand because you blamed it on the teacher's style of teaching, it falls on you to reconcile that on your own. Teachers are not the scapegoats.
I agree 100 percent. I am currently enrolled in a self-study, asynchronous online RN-to-BSN degree program with no interaction from course instructors. Hence, it is up to me to learn the study plan and course material on my own. No professor is there to explain anything to me. The material is simply posted on the student portal website, and I manipulate it as I please to achieve the desired result.

Over the years I've figured out how I learn most optimally, which is the read/write method. I basically read the assigned chapters, handwrite my notes, and occasionally search the world wide web for any PowerPoints, lecture notes, resources and study materials posted on websites of other schools of nursing from across the country. This approach works for me. Then again, I'm fortunate I know how to learn independently.

Successful learning requires the student to take a modicum of ownership regarding one's educational path, specifically with regards to what is learned, when it's learned, how it's learned, and why the material is important to learn in the first place. I've had bad, unstimulating instructors in the past, but they did not disempower my mission to do well. Instead, I paved my own learning path.

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So, I actually have to "partially" agree with the original post. The city I go to school in has a plethora of RN programs. Seriously, they are inundated with new grads twice a year! Therefore, they don't have to pay as much, new grads in my town are offered just over $36K. That is very true folks! Yet if you drive about 5 hours in other directions with little nursing schools and the starting salary jumps about $10K/yr. It is ridiculous, but I understand it. Though I don't agree with that is why people are failing. We have had some people fail out and a coupe of them, our nursing department has decided to work with them and let them slow their pace so they can still become nurses.

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