After carefully thinking about it, I have decided not to do nursing. I do however thank everyone for the advice they gave me. I would like to do nursing, but virtually all of the schools in my area use exit exams, which I find are unfair. The more I research them, the more I dislike them. Here is just one recent article I found, in which the ENTIRE nursing class failed the exit exam. Unbelievable.
At my school, we take the HESI exam at the end of each rotation. In the final semester, we all sit for the Exit HESI. It's a BSN program and I am now a senior. I have watched my friend complete all of her nursing courses and cannot collect her BSN diploma or sit for the NCLEX because she has failed the Exit HESI 6 times! She attended graduation, was handed a blank piece of paper, and studies every day hoping to pass this Exit HESI exam. A handful of other students from her graduating class has also continually failed this exam and some continue to work as CNA's because they have been stunted from starting their nursing careers.
Don't allow one exam to hinder the energy and dedication that you can bring to healthcare. Alot of people become nurses for the wrong reasons. We need nurses who WANT to be nurses.
"Not only that, pharmacists and MD's take a LOT bigger entrance exam(MCAT and PCAT), than an 8th grade level TEAS test(and yes the TEAS is 8th grade level)."
True, but many nursing schools use the NLN exam, which is no picnic. It includes some pretty hard science questions. I took the NLN while I Was in HS and an A + student in A & P, bio, and chem, but totally bombed the test.
And to the people who say that FINAL exams are the "exit exam" please understand that final exams are a joke compared to a comprehensive exit exam like the HESI. On the final, you are only tested on material you learned in that one class. That's it. You are not tested on 2 or 4 years worth of material liek you are on the exit exam.
I find it hilarious how so many people here are defending exit exams. You guys do relaize that the majority of older nurses have not taken them? Exit exams have not always been around, they more or so popped up about 15 years ago. So how do you exit exam supporters argue that the exams are needed to ensure that nurses are competent, when, the fact of the matter is, a substantial numer of nurses have never taken such an exam? My mother graduated from RN school in the early 80s. I asked her if she took an exit exam. She had no idea what I was talking about. I had to explain the test to her.
This is how its done at my school. Upon entering the program, each student is assigned a NCLEX coach who is a nursing faculty member. The student must meet with the "coach" so many times throughout the semester. The "coach" assigns NCLEX questions to the student based on what is being learned that semester and what the student needs to work on. So basically the coach has the student take a test and the areas that the student scores low on are the ones they should focus more on (but the other areas still need to be focused on as well). Each student has an individualized plan and has to complete so many NCLEX type questions per semester based on their competency level. One student could only be required to do 200 questions a semester while another must do 1000.
At the end of each semester a HESI exam is taken. The first year it doesnt factor into your grade, but the second year it does. During the final year, students who are expected to graduate are required to take a NCLEX review class. And before graduation students must take the Exit HESI.
The Exit HESI does not hinder students from receiving their diploma at my school, but it can hinder the school from sending your ATT to the state board. If you dont pass the Exit HESI the first time, you must take it until you pass it before your ATT is sent out but as I stated before you still get your degree.
I think this is a pretty good system and a good way of making students prepared to pass the HESI.
Are you sure that the schools you contacted dont have a system such as the one at my school? Did you simply ask if there was an exit exam or did you get specific and ask if the exit exam could prevent you from getting the degree after so many tries? Its all in the way you word things...
On the final, you are only tested on material you learned in that one class. That's it. You are not tested on 2 or 4 years worth of material liek you are on the exit exam.
It sounds to me like there are other, more personal, issues than exit exams in play here. However you really don't need to justify your choice to us. What matter is that you are personally satisfied that you have made the right choice for you. All schools, everywhere in the world, whatever kind of school they are, are looking to continuous quality improvement. As you say some 15 years ago exit exams started popping up. Have you considered the possibility that, although you don't like exit exams, that exit exams are industry best practice to ensure certain minimum standards are reached? I'm not defending exit exams in any way but it does seem reasonable that they started being used for very good reason. More or less at the same time as exit exams appeared the training for nurses moved from being hospital based into schools. Perhaps there is a relevant link here. Certainly older nurse have criticised new graduate nurses for a lack of practical skills and I know that most institutions are now incorporating much more practicums into their courses to address that valid concern. Several other folk have commented that it is important that you know all of your training, including that which you were taught 3 years ago. Foundational skills and knowledge are vitally important to you as a nurse because without those you simply cannot function in even the most simple of roles. How do you expect to prove to the world that you have those skills if not through an exam? Getting any kind of qualification requires hard work, dedication and sheer bloody mindedness. It makes no difference if you are studying architecture, medicine or nursing, they all require you 100% commitment. If you feel that for whatever reason you cannot make that commitment that you have made the right choice in not following this career path. I hope you do find something that ignites the passion in you. A career that you can truly make you own and that will give you that sense of satisfaction at the end of the working day that makes you say to yourself: "What a great day this was!"
Specializes in Med Surg, Homecare, Hospice, Rehab.
If I recall correctly, for my class graduating Spring '93, not only were we the last class to take the NCLEX-RN on paper - 390 questions of which 300 were NCLEX-RN questions for licensure, and the remaining 90 were questions which were being tested as whether or not they were good test questions to be used in future tests. These were mixed in, throughout the entire test, since every years' NCLEX-RN was different, as we were told, so no one other than the designers knew which was which.
We assumed that meant they were at least rearranged and included some of the newer questions each year - all of which amounted to a Comprehensive Exam for your license.
As an "Exit Exam", we had a final NLN Exam which was itself comprehensive of the various NLN exams we had taken throughout the entire BSN Program.
That was the exam which the school used to clear us to take the actual NCLEX-RN.
We were offered the opportunity to take a computerized Beta Test of the NCLEX-RN, as the first class to be able to take the test for record. We asked what does it mean? We were told, " ... if you do really well you will finish early (comparatively) and if you do really poorly, you will finish early ... ".
We all decided since our entire preparatory time had been focused on the Two-Day, Four-Session approach, we said, "Thanks, but no thanks."
The one good thing about the old paper test was, if you couldn't figure out the answer to a question, you could skip over it and most likely find something further on which would be a help in answering the skipped question(s). It must have worked because I passed on the first try. I understand going back to fix a previous answer is not an option now.
Wow! Memory Lane.
Good Luck to all of you, both in your learning times as well as in your testing times.
Remember: Comprehensive means from Day One - of your Pre-Reqs.
To the OP, based on your last response it seems like you don't have a problem with the exam, moreso that you don't feel you should take an exam that is cumulative. How can you be so sure no other programs have exams like these? I'm sure in other health programs they aren't just making sure you know just what you learned in that semester. All classes in nursing are connected in some way. When I did my Physiology pre-req class we were required to know Anatomy, regardless of how many semesters ago the class was taken. They go hand in hand, you couldn't just be tested on that and forget the rest because it passed.
Aren't entrance exams based on things you learned years ago? If you were required to take the HESI A2 entrance exam, they had freaking dividing fractions and roman numerals. I haven't done that in about 10 years! So yes I had to study it again because the last thing I remembered in math was statistics.
The NCLEX doesn't prevent you from getting a degree but it's not just going to be based on your last semester of nursing. You will have to know things from that fundamentals class you took two years earlier..
To the people that say they believe exit exams aren't useful, do you also think entrance exams aren't? I'm just asking because they seem to do the same thing. If you don't pass you can't get into nursing school. And if you're saying that passing your nursing classes should be enough to indicate you can take the NCLEX, isn't that the same as saying passing your pre-reqs with high grades should be enough to get into nursing school?
After carefully thinking about it, I have decided not to do nursing. I do however thank everyone for the advice they gave me. I would like to do nursing, but virtually all of the schools in my area use exit exams, which I find are unfair. The more I research them, the more I dislike them. Here is just one recent article I found, in which the ENTIRE nursing class failed the exit exam. Unbelievable.
you may want to reconsider...as long as the school has a good NCLEX passing rate it would be worth it. My school did exit exams, and an exam to gauge how we were doing every semester, but they have an over 90% passing rate on the NCLEX...the honest truth is...exit exams are a good gauge because if you can't pass an exit exam you probably won't be able to pass the NCLEX.
"BTW, my school has a 100% pass rate on the NCLEX-RN, which leads me to believe that the Exit HESI is doing its job."
So the only purpose of the HESI is to allow schools to have a 100% NCLEX pass rate?
And more importantly, is there any justification at all for exit exams in nursing school when medical school students do not have to take any exit exam to get their MD? How can anyone justify holding nursing students to a higher standard than medical students?
Because nurses have to be on their game almost immediately out of school, however doctors get to have about 4-8 more years of having someone else tell them how to their job.
In my school, we have competency exams at the end of each semester. We have two tries: the first try we can pass with three or less errors. If we don't pass the first time, we have a second chance but two or less errors are allowed only. If we don't pass the second time, we are dropped from the program. One may apply to reenter the program, but can only get in if there is an open slot. I hated those competency exams, and they were the source of much stress, but now after graduating, I feel they are essential. If one is unable to perform the skills in a mock situation, how can one perform them on real people in a real situation? Also in our program we have a math test at the end of the first year and one the second year. Again, if not able to pass, one is dropped from the program. Once again, if you can't figure out a drug dosage, what does that mean in terms of patient safety? Our nursing program is tough, but I feel proud to be a graduate from this school!
Selene006, BSN, LPN
247 Posts
At my school, we take the HESI exam at the end of each rotation. In the final semester, we all sit for the Exit HESI. It's a BSN program and I am now a senior. I have watched my friend complete all of her nursing courses and cannot collect her BSN diploma or sit for the NCLEX because she has failed the Exit HESI 6 times! She attended graduation, was handed a blank piece of paper, and studies every day hoping to pass this Exit HESI exam. A handful of other students from her graduating class has also continually failed this exam and some continue to work as CNA's because they have been stunted from starting their nursing careers.
Don't allow one exam to hinder the energy and dedication that you can bring to healthcare. Alot of people become nurses for the wrong reasons. We need nurses who WANT to be nurses.