Failing a course in nursing school must be one of the hardest things to experience in your college career. Unfortunately, because of the climate we live in, we sometimes put our success on a time limit. This can be both a good and a bad thing; a good thing because it motivates us to work harder, but a bad thing because when we’re not allowing ourselves enough time to make it to our goals.
Here are some things you might consider doing if you failed your med surg course during nursing school.
1. Know your school’s policy
If you end up failing a course in nursing school, you’re probably distraught. You’re wondering what’s going to happen from here and what to do next.
The first step is knowing your school’s policy. Your school policy has all the information you need about what happens if you fail. Some schools allow you to repeat the course, but with a subsequent cohort. Other schools allow you to appeal. And, the option we all wouldn’t want: some schools might kick you out of the program.
You must know what policies your school has in place if you do end up failing a course so you know what to do if it happens to you.
2. Reflect on what happened
If you end up having to repeat a course, you must reflect on what might have gone wrong.
You may have studied hard, but realize didn’t do enough practice questions. Or, that you didn’t read the questions properly.
Think of it this way: you’ve already taken the course once. You know what kind of materials you’ll be tested on. Now, you have a second chance to do better. It might be intimidating because now you might feel like you can’t do it, but you can. You got into nursing school, that’s hard in itself.
Using studying tools like Osmosis can help you make sense of med surg so you’re not second-guessing yourself on exam day. It’s one of the tougher courses in nursing school, so don’t beat yourself up if you need to take it again. Osmosis videos and flashcards streamline your studying so what you’re learning can just “click” instead of overwhelming you.
3. Get a job
You might have a lot of time before you are able to repeat the course. So, in the meantime, you can take on a part-time job.
Positions in hospital settings, like patient care assistant jobs, are offered to student nurses.
These roles help nursing students get more clinical experience. Not only will this help you to keep learning and improving your overall nursing skills, you can also make some extra money.
4. Take some time, then get back into it
You might feel like you now need to study your butt off extra hard so you can be successful.
However, it’s okay to take some time off. The last thing you want is to burn yourself out. You deserve to have some time off just like everyone else. Take this time to rejuvenate yourself. Once you’re rested, you can get right back into studying.
5. Talk to someone
This is the last thing I think might be necessary for your success.
You hear it all the time, “humans are social beings.” It helps a lot if you have someone to talk to and express what you’re going through. The feeling of failing a course is intense, so don’t take it on all alone. If you have someone, you’re close to and whom you trust, reach out to them and just talk it out.
Kyanna is a final semester nursing student at the University of Rochester, School of Nursing. In her free time, she enjoys catching up on her favorite books and spending lots of time with family. She plans to start her career in nursing working in the Emergency Department.
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