Okay, so I've been lurking on this site for over a year. Hi!
I've been working on my core classes and with each day now, I question everything.
I wonder if I'm doing the right thing in life?
I am working as a nursing technician (CNA) at a hospital here. I've been doing that since 2010. It's a tough job and I'm ready for a change.
So here I am, almost done with my core classes and thinking of applying for nursing programs and I still need to take that dreaded Teas V exam. Yes, I've purchased a study book to prepare for it. Your input on that is encouraged if you have any!
This semester, I'm taking 4 classes- Micro Lab , Micro Lecture, U.S. History, Art Appreciation.
The latter is the only one I'm taking online and the rest are strictly on campus.
The problem: In the first 3 mention classes, my professors are trying to weed people out it seems. They know the majority of us are there working on our Pre-Nursing classes and they've cracked down on everything. I'm starting to think that people need to stop telling colleges and their professors that they're nursing majors because if they find out, they're already trying to weed people out so most folks don't make it to the nursing program.
There's nothing I can do about that, but a little rant helps!
No matter what I do these days in my classes, all the tests are curbed and nobody seems to be passing. I have a good GPA! I've talked with other students and without me mentioning my grades, they're telling me their grades. Well what do you know? We are all being given the same grade in our classes. It seems they're giving a 57 to everyone in the class. Socialism and grading nursing students is a horrible idea.
I keep questioning everything. Why do I want to be in a program where nursing students aren't welcome? Why do I need to be there?
I would rather be in a program where students are welcome to learn and actually succeed while there.
Could it be just my college? It's pretty bad over here in Georgia. I've heard nothing but horror stories about how Georgia colleges weed the crap out of classes to make people want to drop out of classes and make them want to change their major. They're all for failing people it seems. I am not lazy. I work day and night on my studying and I talk regularly with my professors. I've done research on my professors as well to make sure I didn't sign up to take classes from a neo nazi.
I will be applying to nursing programs here and I am open to applying outside of Georgia. Does anyone know of a good nursing program that actually wants their students to pass and they have a great support system (great learning environment, great professors, etc)?
I know someone who said she can get me into a nursing program at a college she teaches at and she's a nursing clinical instructor. However, I don't want to limit myself to just that college and for all I know, I could be walking into another disaster. I have had my fair share of pain from the college I'm at now. We don't have open labs at all after labs are done. We get 7-10 minutes to perform 2-5 different labs per class and that's it. If we don't finish, we never get the chance to go back and work on it because "the school doesn't allow open labs for micro and they can't afford open labs for micro". Oh, the classes are 1.5 hrs long. Not learning anything!
I do all my reading before classes.
My brain is fried. No support here. The students in my classes are more motivated to pay someone $300 to do their work for them and they want to cheat off the work.
The next college I transfer to, I need a break from all this mess.
Is that even possible or are all/most colleges a power trip?
I take exception to this. Honestly, how do you know that" each and every one of them was not meant to be a nurse". You state " in my opinion"-- more like, in your judgement
Yes, I will say it is my opinion. What I said was referring to people I knew, not just all the random students who didn't make it. Sorry I didn't make that clearer. There are so many circumstances that could cause a person to have to drop or fail. I knew many people on the same path as me that dropped or didn't pass. They were usually people that I predicted wouldn't make it. Maybe they didn't seem to really want to be nurses, but just wanted the paycheck? I don't know, but I do know that there are a lot of crappy nurses that you have to wonder why they became nurses. I think if a little "weeding" occurs, everyone is better off.... Even the student.
I am currently attending gpc, enrolled in a and p 2... I have just one more course to take (micro in the summer) before graduating in july... I have applied to gpc nursing school as well as other adn programs here throughout GA... Preferably I would like to be admitted to the ADN program here at GPC. So far the prerequisites havent been extremely difficult at all. The work is laid out to be completed and you either do it and study the necessary material or you dont... But thats just my take on it... I have earned a B in all science prerequisites so far and have taken all lectures online... (I work 40 hours plus currently, so online is much better for me). Im not saying its not challenging at times, I graduated high school in 1997 so I've had to do A LOT of brush up so far, especially when I took the TEAS... Best of luck to you!
Weed out classes are a thing I guess in the sense that certain science classes (bio, Chem, a&p, micro) have rigorous standards and the people who fail to rise up and meet them usually don't go on to get into nursing school. They are "weeded out". The school collectively doesn't conspire to weed students out, they weed themselves out.
This experience will be how you make it. You'll believe what you tell yourself. If you keep telling yourself that people are trying to " fail you" then you'll undoubtedly have a difficult time in school. Micro, history and art isn't that bad of a workload to be perfectly frank. Last semester I knocked out 2 of my sciences, their labs, along with 2 social sciences, while working three part time jobs and coming home to deal with awful family issues, including homelessness for a brief period of time. I work hard so I can better my life. I made a 3.8 GPA. This semester I'm taking my A&P with my micro, a logic and history. Loving every second of it. Love my teachers, love the material (especially the science classes--my fave) and do not want this semester to end. Is the work grueling at times? Absolutely!!! In my opinion it's more time consuming than hard. Perfectly do-able though. This curriculum is DESIGNED to be challenging. It's like this for everyone, not just at your school. Somebody's life will be in your hands one day. The victim mentality is only going to hurt you. If you make poor grades, study harder, change your habits, ground yourself...don't let it happen again. But don't blame anyone but yourself. People who go on to become nursing students didn't have all the best teachers...they had some duds but were able to figure out a method to plan their success around that.
I think that simply changing your "poor me" mindset will help you immensely. This isn't intended to be a snarky message, just an outside looking in perspective on how you could make your journey a lot happier.
I feel that weeding out in A&P 1 and 2. There were 175 students for A&P 1 for the Fall semester, there are now only 64 students taking A&P 2 for the Spring semester, with spots available. Now that could just be the material, but I do understand what you are saying.
I don't believe in weeding in general but I can see why people would think that. There's a ton of students wanting to be a nurse but the schools cannot make everyone a nurse due to faculty shortage and negotiations with hospitals. Nursing is very scientific based anyways so the harder the science class, the better imo. If you can get through that, you'll have better chances to get through a nursing program because nursing school is no joke. You can't complain in nursing school either. You're expected to study to succeed. You're expected to do the best you can to be a great nurse, not to take the easy way out. I find a lot of prenursing students tend to just want to do the least work possible to maintain an A but nursing school is not like that at all. You have to learn as much as you can. This work ethic should be applied in all classes, imo.
Specializes in Oncology, Rehab, Public Health, Med Surg.
Maybe they didn't seem to really want to be nurses, but just wanted the paycheck? I don't know, but I do know that there are a lot of crappy nurses that you have to wonder why they became nurses..MamabeaRN2be-----
This is an presumptious misinformed statement for a student with zero experience to make.
At least BE in the field before you start crapping all over your coworkers
Of course there is a *weed out* taking place; however, there isn't a conspiracy going on. Simply put, the professors are saying the rigors of the science(s) weed out students. It is one thing to say you want to be a nurse and a different thing to walk out the journey. Students step into their science courses unprepared for the level of commitment they must invest. The journey of becoming a nurse is grueling, as it should be; everyone is not meant to be a nurse.
As far as school being easier *back then* as opposed to now. There is absolutely NO WAY I would have been able to go back to school 20+ years ago. The internet has made it possible for me to stay home, study and take care of my family. There was no khanacademy or any of the other countless resources available to my fingertips. My hat goes off to anyone who obtained their nursing degree prior to the internet!
Ummm...at my school, the first class bio majors take 30-40% of the people are weeded out. For our pre-nursing, however, such a culling does not occur. Bio majors. People who are not necessarily going to be dealing with the safety and health of human beings (save for the veterinary and medical school hopefuls) - 30-40% get bounced out. So......? Is weeding people out during the pre-nursing phase so wrong????? I've known some pre-nursing students that were trying their hardest to figure out the easiest way to get into nursing school. This usually sends up red flags all over the place. I wish such a thing happened where I'm at.
I am a pre nursing student which just recently finished my core classes. During my time I ran into one teacher who happened to be my first science teacher. Anatomy one my first and only dropped course. This teacher had truly unrealistic expectations. She taught the class like it was a med level class. One of my lab partners before I dropped stayed in the class, however he had already taken anatomy but was retaking it because it due to it being older than 5 years. At the end of that class there were 7 out of 40 students left. 2 Passed and 5 failed. This teacher made numerous comments on how impacted the nursing programs are.
Reason I mention this is that there are teachers that do weed people out intentionally and this saddens me as teachers should only focus on teaching you the material and giving you a fair chance as any to succeed.
Very good observation! Reading this has opened my eyes because it makes sense! I previously felt that the "weeding out" of pre nursing students in their science pre-req courses was a reality. You hit the nail on the head, nursing is "very scientific based". I've received advice from nurses of that very fact. Based on numbers from the Fall 2015 semester, a total of 33,000 (no joke) students were enrolled at Kennesaw State University. Our nursing program gets about 500-800 applicants for nursing school per semester (and they take about 30-40 for the accelerated track, 80 for traditional of those applicants). The applicant number is high and variable, but believe me, the number of nursing interest students prior to their science pre reqs must be out of this world. It feels good to know that for the most part that those who get that seat - WANT that seat.
I don't believe in weeding in general but I can see why people would think that. There's a ton of students wanting to be a nurse but the schools cannot make everyone a nurse due to faculty shortage and negotiations with hospitals. Nursing is very scientific based anyways so the harder the science class, the better imo. If you can get through that, you'll have better chances to get through a nursing program because nursing school is no joke. You can't complain in nursing school either. You're expected to study to succeed. You're expected to do the best you can to be a great nurse, not to take the easy way out. I find a lot of prenursing students tend to just want to do the least work possible to maintain an A but nursing school is not like that at all. You have to learn as much as you can. This work ethic should be applied in all classes, imo.
Very good observation! Reading this has opened my eyes because it makes sense! I previously felt that the "weeding out" of pre nursing students in their science pre-req courses was a reality. You hit the nail on the head, nursing is "very scientific based". I've received advice from nurses of that very fact. Based on numbers from the Fall 2015 semester, a total of 33,000 (no joke) students were enrolled at Kennesaw State University. Our nursing program gets about 500-800 applicants for nursing school per semester (and they take about 30-40 for the accelerated track, 80 for traditional of those applicants). The applicant number is high and variable, but believe me, the number of nursing interest students prior to their science pre reqs must be out of this world. It feels good to know that for the most part that those who get that seat - WANT that seat.
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MamaBeaRN
115 Posts