Just wondering how many people failed/had to retake a class while in college and still made it to become nurses?
-Jeremy
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November 27th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Hi Jeremy,
did anyone respond to your question? I am currently in Nursing school and am struggling in my Microbiology class right now. I am currently failing and am hoping this last exam will bring me up to a passing grade. But I have heard many times that people fail and re-take or drop classes and still make it, it is just going to be a slower and a little more complicated process for us. I hope you do well and everyone else who is struggling like me!
Angela.
November 27th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
I tooke A&PI and got a C and took A&PII and got a D. I had to take it again during a summer, and had to take both together for 6 hours…I got a B. I am glad I had to retake it…I retained so much more. Sometimes reinforcement is a good thing. Good luck…keep plugging away finals are close…then a fresh semester!
November 28th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
I haven’t had to re-take any classes (I am in an accelerated program, and if I did fail or get below a “C” I would be out of the program). But, I do know of several traditional nursing students who have had to re-take courses. Many do it during the summer so that they are not behind. If your university doesn’t offer the summer course that you need, see if they accept credit transfers from a university or community college that does offer it during the summer. Many of the nursing students at my university take community college courses anyway because they can take them at night 1 day a week, which fits into their schedule better. Hope this helps!
November 28th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
I didn’t pass 102 the first time around. I was taking Nursing as well as Physiology. I got 2 “D’s” and was not allowed to continue in the program.
I had to retake the Physiology course first. I did this during the summer and got an A, then I had to write a letter to request to be readmitted back into the program.
I was re-admitted and I am now hoping to graduate in May of this year. It’s not over yet but it can be done. If you really want it keep trying.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
I did. I failed my last assignment but thankfully was allowed to re-do it and I just passed the unit. I had to re-do bioscience 3 and i only just passed it the 2nd time. I got 3 low passes over all.
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:46 pm
I failed a nursing course once by 1 point and the generous hearted faculty allowed me to ‘pass’-they recognized that I was having a very bad day when I took the final exam. I also failed chemistry on my first round (I honestly didn’t ‘get’ it)but on the second try, got an A+ – and ended up loving chemistry to this day. “Failing” can be an opportunity.
I went on to get a master’s and a PhD from top tier universities and am now a nursing faculty member. I always remember the insight and generosity of the faculty who ‘gave’ me one point to pass. I also realize from the chemistry experience that ‘failing’ may be a sign of some other issue – like not being able to grasp difficult concepts the first time but learning to love the conceopts the second time around or that personal crisis can impede nursing judgement.
These are valuable life lessons that can often only be learned from ‘failure’.
January 3rd, 2008 at 5:03 pm
That’s pretty wild that they “gave” a point. We are “SOL” at that time!! I haven’t failed yet (but come reallly close with passing grade at 74% or higher!), and hopefully with one semester of MedSurg and Management I won’t! I do agree that failure can bring up a lot of opportunities that aren’t otherwise thought of.
January 3rd, 2008 at 5:47 pm
So before I moved to Colorado I attempted nursing school in Cincinnati, OH and I failed my final exam by 2 points and if you were already failing going into the final you were not allowed to re-take. I ended up with a BiG F and couldn’t re-take that test!
I never thought I would be a nurse because I was so upset, I cried for about a week straight and I ended up leaving the program and moving to CO.
Now I am an RN that graduated this past Dec. w/ a 3.0… I you want it NEVER GIVE UP!!!!!
January 5th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
I failed physiology II and pediatrics, and close to pathophysiology! I hated it at the time thinking I was a loser and not meant to be a nurse, but really, I am so happy I stuck with it! Nursing is so rewarding. I know many people who have failed a class, just stick with it. Heck I had to take my boards 3 times…I passed and now in reality it doesn’t matter how many times I had to re-take a class or boards, all that matters is how I treat my patients and all. nursing isn’t just books…it’s hands on! I have learned so much more since I had graduated and been a nurse than I ever did studying nightly. So have faith, it is definately worth all the hard work!
January 6th, 2008 at 3:07 am
Yes I failed Med-surge 1 and patho with a D. I am retaking the classes starting monday. They are providing remidial classes for all those who were not successful. 50 of us were not out of 180. Good luck. I can’t wait to start again and know what I am doing now.
January 13th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
I got a C- in both A&P 1 and A&P 2, so I had to take both of those over again. It was definitely pricey to have to re-take them, but I’m very glad that I did. I feel like I definitely learned the information as opposed to cramming the info for a test and forgetting it the next day. :]
February 26th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
I just want to thank everyone for being so honest about their tests. This is my first semester in Nursing School and I failed my first test with a “D”. I just took my second test today and I’m not sure I passed that one either. I’m feeling very sad. I love nursing and I know I will be a great nurse someday, but I’m not grasping the “Critical Thinking” as of yet. Anyway, I still have some hope left and reading your responses has given me the courage to stay in school.Again, thank you
February 26th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
I never made anything less than a B in the actual program but I had to retake Intermediate Algebra that was a prereq for the Algebra 1 which was a prereq for the program….
February 27th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
I was in the nursing program just this year. I made it through fundamentals, and med surg. I got to OB and failed my math test. I was done. I cried for a week and was feeling really depressed. I am thinking more clearly now and am leaving it in gods hands. I want to be anurse really bad. I have been a CENA for 10 years and it took me 7 years to get to the point to be considered for the nursing program If you want something bad enough then it is woth working for.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:40 am
i have testing problems! i know all of the info.. teach it to my friends in the study groups, and then i go and take the test and fail while they pass. this is my second and last opportunity allowed in fundamentals. i am not doing well again, i do not know what else to do. teachers are very strict and not supportive. my friends that go to a 4 year school can keep retesting and i think it is unfair. i am hopeing for the best but dont know what to do from here? dont give up. i agree that nursing should be tough.. but cant they give extra quizes and assignments to help the grade, other than two hard tests and a final? and they raise the grade for the second time you take it! unfair. good luck to everyone!
May 10th, 2008 at 2:36 am
I just got a C- in my pathophysiology course. I missed a C by 1.5 points. I’m really bummed because I was supposed to go on a missions trip all summer but now I have to take a summer course. It stinks but at least I will be allowed to continue as long as I make it through this course!
October 7th, 2009 at 12:46 am
I’m a 1st semester ADN student. I have taken 4 tests and failed 3. I have 4 more to go and they keep saying “hang in there, you’re gonna get this”. I study, study, study, take the test and think I did okay and then see that I bummed them! IDK if I have actual “test anxiety” and just haven’t realized it or what is going on. In all my pre-req’s I had all A’s, B’s and only one C but the nursing tests are totally different & I am freaking out! Any pointers anyone? HELP! I have to find my stride and make it thru this!
October 9th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
I never failed a Nursing class, but I know if I did it would just increase my determination to succeed. We should step back and look at all the most sucessfull people in the world, at least 80% of them failed before they achieved thier goals. Failing is not the end, use it as a stepping stone to the beginning of your future. GOOD LUCK
October 13th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Hey, Renee,
I have anxiety and panic disorder. I struggle with testing as well. It doesn’t matter how much I study, in the room, I’ll get hot flashes. Then, I’ll get dizzy and clammy and feel like I’m going to pass out.
It killed me one semester. I made ten to 15 points lower than usual on all my test scores. But, I went to the part of the school that helps students with learning disorders and disabilities and got a note from my doctor and counselor to take my tests in isolation and have a little extra time.
First test, I made a B.
Try to get help.
October 16th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Hi Kisha,
First let me tell you that I have been an RN for almost 30 years. When I went to take the state boards, there were about 1500 of us in 5 different rooms and it was all written. I was so nervous that I flunked the psy part of the exam. We had the exam in 5 parts. I had to wait 6 months to retake that part of the exam again. Now, I run my own unit, and have even returned back to school.
I began to have those little panic attacks also, with college algebra and statistics. I get to the point that I can’t think and get tunnel vision. But, with the help of my instructors and a quiet test environment and a little extra time, I managed to pass with A’s. You will get through it, it will pass and you will pass. A grade of B on a test is nothing to be ashamed of or disappointed
about. You are doing great. You will get used to taking tests and it will become second nature. I have an advanced English exam this Monday. Am I nervous, yes. I am preparing. The more you prepare the less nervous you will be and don’t forget to always ask for help.
DeeDee
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:07 pm
I am in my first year of clinicals, just finished Nursing Fundamentals and Gerontology. I did excellent in all aspects of the class except for my exams. In both classes my exams averaged 71% and you need 76%. You are only aloud to flunk two classes and then you are no longer aloud to continue at that school. I am so devisted because I had emailed my teachers and requested to meet with each of them after exams to get feedback but they never made time for me. I have proof that I requested the help and never got it. I went to the Dean and shared that info with her and she seemed generally concerned that her facility staff did not intervene when I asked for help. But it is what it is and now I am lost and depressed and have no idea what to do.
October 25th, 2009 at 12:36 am
OK I’m going to be the bad guy here.
If you all are failing your classes — esp core classes like A&P or pharma, I’m not talking about algebra — I don’t want you as my nurse. I don’t want you to take it 7 times until you finally “get it.” Does that mean a doctor has to give you an order 7 times until you “get it”?
If you have anxiety about taking tests, how are you going to fare in the ED, when people are coding?
Nursing isn’t for everyone. Nursing requires caring and compassion, yes, but it also requires brains. These are people’s lives on the line — you can’t screw up the math or have a panic attack when things get stressful. If you do, you’re not a bad person, just not cut out to be a nurse.
My husband with type 1 DM had a nurse who tried to give him grape juice, saying it was “no sugar added.” I explained to her that even though no sugar was “added,” it’s still grape juice, which has even more sugar than orange juice. Got a blank look. Another nurse we complained to said “Oh yeah, I went to school with her, she’s an idiot.” I know every class has a bottom — even medical school classes — and SOMEONE finishes last, but maybe the last-finisher should re-evaluate their fitness for the profession.
Congrats to those of you who almost failed out of nursing school and now have prominent positions of leadership. I admit there might be some people who had a bad day, a family trauma, or bad luck, and didn’t get the grades they should have gotten. But of all the students with failing grades, I believe (backed up by experience) that the unlucky are very few — mostly they’re just not academically cut out for the work.
This is my first time posting on these boards. I’m not trying to stir up the pot but I’m sick of all these posts saying “It’s ok to fail your classes, just retake them 20 times until you pass!” or “It’s ok to steal drugs, just beg and plead until you get your job back!”
Be honest: That’s not the nurse you want treating you, or your loved one.
October 29th, 2009 at 4:13 am
Wow, Denise
There are nurses who are Straight A’s nursing students w/o an ounce of common sense.
There are nurses who are in the profession to catch themselves a physician to marry.
There are nurses who are cocky and needs a reality check.
There are nurses who screw up unintentionally.
There are nurses who believe they are perfect and those are the ones everyone needs to watch.
I can keep going and going about nurses. What will this resolve? Nothing.
Not every nursing school is a fit for each nursing student. A nursing student may have different learning needs and able to grasp the concept through hands-on learning than reading a book. You cannot make a broad statement “they’re just not academically cut out for the work” without knowing the student, their learning style, the nursing school’s teaching method, and observing both of them prior of making negative remarks. There are many nursing students who did not do well at one nursing school and went to another – their performance was a lot better.
Its ashame you do not have any positive thoughts or motivation words for nursing students to improve their situations. They are all ready down and kicked in the butt. Now, you are stomping on them.
Yes, there are some who donot belong in the profession as there as some in every profession. The person will know in time without causing harm.
Are you negative and cold toward your peers after you found out they are drug addicts or alcholics or stole from a patient? or just selection populations you address? Could I say hypotheically, if those are your friends does that mean you do the same thing as them?
Try to be nice and still be in reality will killing someone’s pride. Everyone has a chance to participate in nursing school and to become a nurse. No one has the right to discriminate against another academically.
I guess you will not speak to me…I graduated with a 3.49 gpa….I tried to go lower…No one wants a book worm.
October 29th, 2009 at 4:18 am
The first and last course I had failed in class was Abnormal and physiology of psychology my freshman year. My major was Athletic Trainning. I recieved a C+ and I needed an A. I had to retake it. It was stupid of me not to read. I was the only freshman with seniors. I did it over and recieved an A. Does this retake make me stupid or a weak nurse?
My patients love me and I love them too.
October 31st, 2009 at 3:07 pm
oh denise,
allow me to be “that guy” for a moment…
i had to retake my final nursing school class (with clinical, which was passed with flying colors) because i missed the cut-off by 2 points. my school didn’t let me (or the multiple others) who are clearly “too stupid” to be nurses know about this until 2 days before graduation. families were planning parties, flights were booked, a few of these “idiots” already had jobs waiting (which in this current climate for new grads is no small feat.)
i was in an enviable position, due to the fact that i was a second-career nurse, so my family already got to see me walk across the podium years ago, but there were students who were the first in their families to go to college, one of the students was the president of our student nurse association, another had just been diagnosed with a life-changing illness and was granted no special dispensation when she had to miss a few days for painful tests.
the point is, ALL OF US, all of the ones who were 2-5 points shy of the 80% needed to pass this class, passed our boards on the first try, have jobs, and have yet to try and give your husband grape juice. i am not making excuses for anybody, simply reminding you that things happen.
for someone who is so concerned with the intellectual integrity of our profession, what are YOU doing as a nurse to make it better? are you teaching? are you precepting? are you publishing?
while i agree that there are definitely some who are not cut out for this work due to their intellect, there are also some who are not cut out for this work (or to continue on in this work) because they have lost sight of what this work is all about: PEOPLE.
nursing is a tough and unforgiving field, true, but it is not especially helpful to kick the youngins while they’re down, either.
p.s. this “not cut out for the profession” nurse didn’t just land a job, she landed a job at one of the top hospitals IN THE COUNTRY, that has been on a hiring freeze for over a year. students who are stressed, just remember to breathe, focus on the basics, and try to rise above.
November 8th, 2009 at 2:15 am
Wow…Thanks Denise for YOUR compassion and encouragement! I so needed that! I am NOT an idiot and I have a brain and have had a 3.50 GPA throughout all my classes! I haven’t had to RETAKE any tests until “I got it”. I have test anxiety, not stupidity! I get extremely nervous ON TESTS. When I am in clinicals, I take EXCELLENT care of my patients and take pride in my nursing skills! So instead of “being the bad guy” as you said, encourage, be compassionate, and kind…I promise you it will help so much more!
November 11th, 2009 at 12:37 am
Hello all. I failed my one semester in nursing school by less than 1% and had to retake the entire semester. I retook it inspite of being bitter about it and went on to pass state boards the first time around. I have been a nurse for seven years now and just finished getting a double master’s degree. Its hard and discouraging sometimes, but take it from someone who has been there, it does get better.
April 12th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Wow Denise,
I hope to god that Neither I or my family members ever have you as a nurse. I thought nurses were supposed to be kind compassionate people. My aunt failed her nursing boards the first time she took them and that does not make her any less of a nurse than anyone else. I hope that when you make a mistake or “fail” at something you will have someone speak to you the way you have spoke to all these people on here who are looking for encouragement.
April 13th, 2010 at 10:47 am
Hi guys,
I’m pretty bumbed out right now. I just took my first out of two OB exams in my maternity nursing course. I didn’t do well. And I just wanted to know if any of you have fallen in the same predicament as I’m in and what you did to bring yourself to a “safe” zone. I don’t want to fail OB, considering I passed harder courses in previous quarters (Pharm, Patho, Med/Surg). I only have one more exam left, which is the final. Please any tips is greatly appreciated.
April 14th, 2010 at 11:55 am
Hey Jeremy,
Two words: Med-Surg! It kicked my tail in college and I unfortunately made a D in the class (made 73 and passing was 75). So yes, I had to take it again and like another poster above stated it helped me to retain more knowledge of the topic than I had the first time. I just wasn’t getting it. I could do the clinical, could take care of a patient all day long, but I would just bog myself down in the details in my Med-Surg book and all those notes, to the point it became incomprehensible jibberish. Ultimately every test in that class I had to wing it and hope for the best.
I fell short, but the next semester I made it just fine and as you can see from my name in the post, I’m definitely a nurse. Now I’m going for a MSN!
It’s tough Jeremy failing at anything, but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Perserverence is a big part of nursing even once you’re in the profession, because you’ll always have challenges you have to overcome, it’s inevitable I’m afraid. And sometimes, even after school, you’re still going to fail. But, if you learn from it and resolve to correct those issues, at least you’ve improved yourself and if nothing else you learn how NOT to do something for the future.
So I don’t know if this was just a general question or if you’re truly dealing with a potential failure, but either way just know that it’s not the end all of all by any means and your success is only measured by your willings to achieve it. Hope that helps.
April 14th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
And to you Denise,
Sounds like you needed to be a doctor instead of a nurse, you have the mentality for it, which is a complete lack of respect, compassion and common sense. A lot of doctors fall into that category because they can’t see past their own treatments long enough to see the person they are treating. People like YOU are trying to make nursing the same way and it has to stop!
A nurse should be well rounded, Denise. Obviously you haven’t learned that. I remember a student nurse in school that essentially made all A’s every semester, but hated clinical! Now, that’s great that she understood all the book smarts of the profession, but she hated the very thing that IS nursing, so how then is she going perform as a nurse?
I remember seeing her, briefly, since she graduated before me due to my apparent incompetence, as you would put it, and she always looked stressed to the max. Within 6 months she was gone completely from the hospital I worked at. She couldn’t handle it. 10 years later I’m still working as a nurse, in a more administrative position these days, but I can tell you I was one of the BEST NURSES on my unit during the 6 years I was there. How do I know this, because my manager, colleagues and even the VP of Patient Care at my hospital said so!
So to anyone else on here that despised Denise’s comments, let’s all try to weed people like this out from the profession altogether. We would be doing so in the preservation of our profession before the mediformation (medical transformation) of nursing is allowed to take over completely!
May 1st, 2010 at 2:30 am
Hello, I am in the same boat as many of you. My school was a 27 month dilpoma program. 77% average min. 2 strikes and your out. The first time was patho 1. Short a 1/2 pt. waited a year, retook and passed with a B. Just finished med-surge aqnd fell short 2pts. Now I’m down and out. I believe in retaken classes, for reinforcement, without a doubt, it makes you a better student. Looking for a different route to accomplish my goal. Registered for EMT in aug and in Jan of 2011 applying for paramedic school. Not sure if this is the right way, but I feel like I’m running out of options. Any opinions or advice. Would love to hear my peers take, you only understand if you’ve been through a program.
May 1st, 2010 at 7:26 pm
does anyone have any special study habits that they would like to share for med surg. do vango notes really help.
May 4th, 2010 at 11:51 pm
Im am so glad I have found this posting. I just finished my second year in a four year nursing program and I failed microbiology and clinical chemistry. I’ve had a lot of trouble dealing with the feelings of failing a course, I have felt ashamed, guilty, angry, and stupid, worst of all I began to question wether or not I should continue to become a nurse. I felt i didnt have the right. Reading the comments to this post has reaffirmed the passion i feel for this profession, i love helping people and i go home after clinical content that i have helped someone’s life. I know that i will have to work harder and it will take longer to graduate but i will keep my head high and face each day because in three years when i graduate it will be worth each tear shed and each long night spent studying.
May 16th, 2010 at 10:51 am
These postings are so helpful. My daughter made it to the pinning ceremony and received her pin and then the next day was told that she failed the clinical. The entire family is so upset. But reading these posting gives us hope.
June 7th, 2010 at 11:49 am
Ugh, I’m in a 2 year associates degree program and just finished my 2nd semester but failed my L&D class. In our program, you have to get an 80% and you can only fail 2 classes, then you’re out of the program.
I’m going to retake it in the fall and then i’m eligible to take the LPN boards. I think i’m done after retaking this L&D class and taking my LPN boards. I can’t imagine going through another year of hell like I did and thinking if I fail one more time i’m kicked out of the program. I think that would be awful for my self-esteem and i’m just going to cut out now with an LPN degree. I think i’m going back to finish my BS in something non-nursing. I think Nursing is REALLY unhealthy for most people. MOST nurses who i’ve encountered either in my clinicals or know as a person seem so unhappy and have really ugly attitudes.
June 12th, 2010 at 11:44 pm
I thought you all would find this interesting. I had attended a 2-year registered nursing program, never failed a class, worked part-time, and had graduated with a GPA of 3.29. Was so burned out afterwards that I really didn’t know if I had wanted to continue with being an RN. Took my boards and had failed. I had enough and pursued another career path. Am deciding to take NCLEX again if it’s possible, but I really think that going through the grind of nursing school should be sufficient, and that the NCLEX is a moneymaking racket.
June 14th, 2010 at 1:45 am
@ Mitchell
Just out of curiosity would you want a nurse taking care of you that hadn’t been verified to be able to implement basic safe nursing practice? I wouldn’t. I just recently took the NCLEX as well and honestly didn’t see what all the fuss is about. It asks basic questions on nursing. I think people get way to stressed about it and over study. Most of the questions you can’t study for. Take some time and brush up on Fundementals before you take it again and you should be fine.
October 27th, 2010 at 8:52 am
ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR ALTERNATIVE MEDICAL CAREERS FOR THOSE WHO FLUNK OUT OF NURSING SCHOOL AND DON’T WANT TO PURSUE BECAUSE OF THE STRESS?
November 3rd, 2010 at 11:48 pm
Wow! I got a U today in nasosuc and NG tube skills check off..I got everything right on the procedure and risks and nos. The ONLY thing I couldn’t remember was the no. 40! I knew to stop suctioning if the pulse went up, but couldn’t remember how much..it was 40. Then I heard someone broke sterile technique 3 times..I don’t understand why they do that…I guess it really hurts when you feel like you have a relationship with the professors and you’re confused and let down with yourself…but I will keep going.
November 9th, 2010 at 7:30 pm
I am a first semester senior of a 4 year BSN program. I have been struggling throughout these last 3.5 years to make it through this program. I do not have the best reputation among my classmates, and this has subsequently prevented me from joining study groups or being a part of a team, as is one of the goals of my program for each class. It is likely that I will not pass this semester. My school has changed the curriculum of the school of nursing so that my class is the last one to go through the old curriculum. This means that should I fail, I will not be able to take a class or two in order to graduate even a year behind where I should be. I have a difficult time learning material only one way (I need auditory, visual, and hands-on training in order to fully understand a topic).
I really feel that my success in this program has been significantly hindered by two or three instructors who really did not seem to set students up for success. They taught in their one specific way, and if you didn’t hear them the first time they said something, they made you feel incompetent for not remembering facts told weeks or months ago.
The stress this program has put me under has made me miserable for some time. When I do interact well with patients, it is extremely rewarding. I want to help people, I want to make a difference. But this program and those professors make me feel like a dunce. All of my personal relationships, friends and family especially, have been compromised or broken due to my stress, workload, inability to handle everything in my life and in this program.
I know that I am an intelligent person; when I look at all that I have learned, I think that I can be a good nurse. But this last semester and clinical in high risk OB has made me feel like giving up. Basically, if I flunk out, I don’t know if I would have the courage or will-power to go through a program like this again. I have put my health and happiness into this degree; I don’t think I could handle this again. I don’t know that if I fail and try again, would I not always think of myself as a second-rate nurse because I couldn’t hack it the first time with the rest of my class?
But if I fail and don’t try again, would that discredit the last 3.5 years of my life? I don’t know when it happened, but at some point, I became a health care professional. I gave sweat, blood, and many tears into this dream of mine. And now I’m not even sure that it is my dream. My failures this semester have got me contemplating other jobs I might be happy with. Basically, I just feel like a failure. I worry that I could ever be a great nurse. Right now, I just want to be done, to get through this, to have security for my career and be done with all this stress.
Do you know of anyone who has been in a similar situation as mine? Do you have any words of advice? If I fail this semester, which would probably mean failing out of this program, should I put myself through the humiliation and stress of finishing my BSN? What do you think?
November 16th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
I think everyone has had a few setbacks in college. No one is perfect.
While pursuing my BSN degree, I failed ob/gyn with a 68.4. (I failed the final bc I found out my ex was cheating on me. Boys are awful.lol) But I finished my degree and graduated a semester behind my class. I know it may feel like its the end of the world bc you have spent so much dedication and time to this degree, but there are ways to work around it.
I had several friends who failed out of the program completely and went on to pursue their nursing degree at ADN programs. They have finished and are currently nursing just like me.
I know while in the storm you may feel like there’s no way out, but once you overcome it you’ll realize how much of a stronger person you’ve grown to be. Promise. I did.
August 12th, 2012 at 10:27 am
I failed 102 peds drug calc test. I have a slight learning disability that was documented at the school but never used the resources, because I was passing the class with a B. I had also passed all the other drug cal test the 1st time because of a great tutor. This was a summer course, and the great tutor was on vacation when I needed him. Because it was a summer course, I was not aware that the “special services” were in operation.
The school I am attending is redoing their curriculum so, I am not able to go to that campus. They are letting me go to another campus that is rumored to have a high kick out rate.
I am extreamly determined, and want to be an RN so bad! I will get their! (just frustrated at times-did learn a valuable lesson!)
August 30th, 2012 at 10:40 am
, the largest chlgeale you will face is the time that a nursing program demands regardless of the degree program you choose. Nursing programs are very consuming of all your time which definately takes its toll on a family. On the first day of my nursing classes, the instructor asked for a hand count of who was married and flatly told the students that over half would divorce within a year of completion the program and that 90% of us would gain 20lbs during the program and made us order scrubs 1 size larger than normal. We thought she was nuts but this scholar of 20 years knew what we didn’t. The program is grueling. You don’t even have time for your own health much less your family and I did gain 20lbs and the majority of those married did seperate or divorce.But . nursing is one of the most rewarding careers you can imagine. It’s hard .. a lot of days you feel like a drug pusher or a waitress but those moments when a patient grabs your hand and looks at you with sincerity and tells you how much they appreciate you well, that makes all those bed pans you emptied, vomit you cleaned off the floor and out of your hair, and all the days you said you’d never come back to work WORTH it. It is amazing to feel like you made a difference.Best wishes on your career choice.
January 10th, 2013 at 6:07 pm
Hi there I just read your post… interesting to say the least. I completed all my prerequists for my nursing program, at kalamazoo Valley community college in michigan… over years ago… When I finally got in…. I was so over the top excited… the first semester was good, the second was good with the exception of one class. I developed such anxiety when I took my test that I started filling my scantron out incorrectly… as a result this past December I failed one out of 7 classes by 1/2 point… if I would have filled the scantron correctly (as my test showed) I would have gotten a 92%…. It is very hard to understand why this happened… now I am waiting to re-enter the class in march of this year. Passing score that was required was a 78%… I got a 77.5%…
April 9th, 2013 at 3:19 am
I have always wanted to be a nurse. I finally went to nursing school at the age of 50. I am 53 years old now and I failed out of Nur 102 because of the psychomotor test in lab requiring filling a syringe. I never got below a B in all the 3.5 years I was in nursing school and to flunk out over a syringe is still unbelievable to me. I talked to the director who put me on the waiting list for this September to retake Nur 102. I will miss all my school friends who I have known for 3.5 years. I feel very bad about myself and sometimes do not know if I can go on. Nursing school was my life. It helps to read these forums. I don’t feel so alone after reading them.
June 5th, 2013 at 5:41 am
My goal was set on to be a nurse until my junior year of nursing school, that is when I felt my stress started building up and final took a toll on me and now I am at a point when I feel like giving up. I failed my med/surg clinical got a D and failed my OB theory course got a D.. I had a very discouraging instructor who completely affected me and made me feel like I would be a bad nurse so that really took over me and with the stress , time management , and exams overlapping each other and my last failure I really wanted to quit that I stopped studying and failed. My motivation just went downhill. But I am retaking these courses with some insight help emotionally and see how that works out. I will be posting again with updates. I am being more positive and not let anyone crush my dreams and goals, Also I am too close and not far off from being a nurse I just need positive guidance. But I am still lacking insight if I should continue and am very afraid of not succeeding. Just venting
July 3rd, 2013 at 4:00 pm
Hey there, Jeremy. I would be one that did not pass a course the first time, nor boards the first time either. When I was in nursing school, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I felt kinda aimless at times, but at the same time I’ve always believed that anyone can do nursing if they are willing to put their minds to it. Of course, that doesn’t always translate to making the grades. The content is hard, and sometimes the way it is presented can seem to make it harder. But ultimately, at least for me, it came down to my own willingness to get the job done. During school, when my back was against the wall in Med-Surg, the course I did not pass, I met with my clinical instructor that semester to talk about my future. She saw it as bleak. I wasn’t far off from thinking the same, but had not thrown in the towel on that semester yet. But one thing she did that I’ll never forget, she looked me straight in the eye and said, “I don’t think you’re cut out for this.” To this day, I don’t know if that was a motivational statement or just declarative. I just know it deflated me beyond belief. I had never been told before that there was something I couldn’t do. I’d never had someone in authority tell me I was not going to make it in something I had set my mind to. Of course, pride made me spit out something back at her, like that I believed she was wrong, but the damage was already done. I didn’t pass that semester and then had to decide what I was going to do from that point on. Do I give up? Do I try again? Do I go somewhere else? Am I really cut out for this? Is she right? Obviously, I went on, made the grades the rest of the way and got my BSN. After working a while I got my MSN, and now I’m enrolled in a PhD in Nursing program, helping to teach students how to be nurses themselves. Never would have dreamt this is where I would be today after sitting face-to-face with someone that believed I was not cut out to be a nurse. I later was able to reconcile things with that teacher, who even helped to tutor me some while I was taking the NCLEX, again, and by the time we were done with the tutoring she believed in me…so maybe the statement was motivational, maybe it wasn’t, but no matter what I know I can never look someone in the eye and tell them they are not cut out to be a nurse and mean it! I just can’t do that. I can’t make them feel what I felt that day. All I want to do is help them get where I am now. And that’s all that matters to me. Thank you for your question, Jeremy.
January 25th, 2014 at 2:37 am
Hey thanks for posting this board. I am a brand spanking new 1st semester nursing student. I’m behind and I’m having trouble catching up, though determined to do so.
I was able to make an 86 on my first test so there is still hope, but I assure you that doubts are filling my mind.
Anyway, reading your posts, along with your success stories is quite inspiring! Now I do not feel so alone and can see that the key is to never give up.
Thank you to all who have posted.
April 30th, 2014 at 10:50 pm
Hello everyone,
I have read all the posts from 2008 to 2013. Wow! what a wonderful support system! To know that nursing students of all ages (as I am a mature nursing student @ 41 yrs old, but youthful!! LOL) can come here and read and share their emotions, anxieties and depressed tendencies is a coping factor that strengthens a nursing students capacity and ensures an individual feeling of empowerment…after all that’s the common denominator in nursing care isn’t it? Encouraging our patients and providing them the education and resources they need to achieve optimal health, in what they define as their health. Nursing school is HARD. I have almost failed a course and have performed poorly on multiple choice exams. However, my clinical practice grades have all been exemplary! That’s what counts and that’s from the mouths of all my clinical professors. 🙂
To Denise, the nurse that marginalized, stigmatized and completely contradicted the relational core of nursing…go back to school, you need to learn more about what it is to be a nurse. You, seem to be insecure and only feel better about yourself when you are stepping on others who show their vulnerability. Very unethical and a poor demonstration of nursing ability.
To everyone else, wishes for all the best! From my university faculty, classmates and me 🙂 You can do it! The world needs you! You are worthy!
From the Canadian side (London, Ontario Canada) at the University of Western Ontario!
February 10th, 2015 at 1:03 am
well i’ve read plenty…I went to college right after HS and I was not interested in it.I did not know what to study and major for so I was taking courses left and right, changing my major and finally ended up with an AA. My grades then were C average and I was not interested on school until I became a parents years later. So I decided to go back to school and get into nursing. I maintained a 4.0 while getting my pre-reqs but ended with a 3.2 because of combination of cumulative courses..made a 98 on my HESI… So..I’m in my first semester and got low 60s on my first two tests. I read, I study and take notes and I seemed to study for other tests because I feel the material I study is never on a test..Any who, Today while trying to study I was thinking If I had made the right decision to go into the program, I’ve invested so much, not only financially but mentally and emotionally too that I feel like I’m letting every one down..I cant put my kids (toddlers) as excuses for not succeeding.Other parents work and go to school so I am not an exception. I just thought about what Denise said on her post, It did cross my mind and made me second guess myself about becoming a nurse.
March 31st, 2015 at 8:10 pm
This is unbelievably encouraging to read. I am a senior in college just finishing my BA’s in Psychology and Biology. I was an awesome student (3.6/4/0) until my dad died 6 months ago and my grades tanked (2.7/4.0). My ACT was an average old 24. I’m still recovering emotionally to be able to do well in my classes like I used to. I accepted that I’m not going to get back up to my previous gpa in time for grad school, and that’s ok. Seriously, future kids who want to be nurses, it’s OK! I work with a midwife as a doula part time and am gaining vaulable experience in what I love to do. Being lazy isn’t acceptable, honestly sometimes you just needing more time to reach your goal. Take your time, LEARN, get help, and you’ll absulutely get there. I start grad school next fall (MSN) then plan to go on for the DNP and be a midwife. Every advisor I have talked to didn’t care about my grade slump (I’ll graduate with a 3.25) and thought I would be an excellent midwife. Some people just need more time. Cry if you have to, but keep going. Visit schools and meet people. I’m getting there and you can too.
Off Tangent & to Other Dammaged People:
Especially if you went through something traumatic that threw you off academically. KEEP GOING! TAKE YOUR TIME! My first term after my dad died I made two D’s and a B- (Retook one of the D’s). You won’t be yourself for a while. Communicate WEEKLY with every teacher and advisor you have. Update them, show that you care (it’s mini therapy, too, which helps). You will get there exactly when you are supposed to. Also, sleep regularly and evenly. You’re heartbroken self wont function off of irregular sleep.
June 4th, 2015 at 2:10 pm
Hi Jeremy–and everyone out there brokenhearted from a failed class:
All the way up until I got my first fail, I was A’s and B’s. I tutored Introductory MedSurg, pharmacology, pathophysiology, chemistry, and statistic at my nursing school’s tutoring center. But when I got to Intermediate MedSurg, it was a struggle the whole way–I ended up not passing with a 72%.
It was… difficult, after that. I cried when I got home, not gunna lie. I had no external excuse–nothing that I could point to for my poor test grades. I couldn’t believe it. If I failed one more class after this, I was out of the program. It wouldn’t even matter that I’d done so well before.
But in that week break afterward, I came to terms with the idea that things can’t always be easy. I took stock of something that you might want to look at too:
Are you happy? I don’t mean about school–I mean when you come home from that. Are you stressed out all the time? Exhausted? If you are, you need to find something to keep you going, like a hobby or sport.
You can’t be miserable for the year or so left that you have of nursing school; you just can’t. Otherwise, there’s no point. Life’s too short and you deserve better.
When I came back for round two with the class, I was the most aggressive student there, I’m sure. I recorded lectures (even when the instructor didn’t technically say we could–screw it, this was war! Hide your recorder under a book or something), haunted the class tutor, showed up at every office hour the professor had to go over every inch of content, trolled the internet for study questions, read and re-read the books, and asked questions during lecture (possibly pissing off everyone else there because I wouldn’t shut up, but I didn’t care).
I got an A in that goddamn class and it was ten times more satisfying than scraping by with a 76% to pass would have been on round one.
It teaches you something, failing a class. Resilience, for sure, but also that you aren’t going to die if you aren’t perfect. It’ll hurt, it’ll suck, but there’s always a percentage of students in the class that will drop/fail–you aren’t the only one.
Also, nurse recruiters aren’t looking at your grades. Whether you do good or bad, no one give a shit; the only thing that matters is that you have your nursing license and some experience.
So let this disappointment go, but don’t forget it.
July 17th, 2015 at 2:12 am
Thank you for this post I failed both nursing 1300 and 1450. Simply because I never had to study like this before, I needed to learn a different technique. Oh, and some of lifes other little messes that popped up needed to be resolved. Before reading these post I was contemplating giving up, but after seeing that others have succeeded I have faith and a better outlook on my situation. My gpa was 3.8 before nursing school now I have to become more aggressive recognize my weaknesses and fix them.
Again thank you.