College Of Nursing

The remaining of my time in college was uneventful. I was able to find enough balance to maintain great academic standing and my membership in the Marching Wildcat Band. Finally, my senior year had arrived and I was more than ready to graduate. It was time for exit exams and I was sure I had prepared as best I could. We tested in the back of the library, in a large room rarely used. Instead of creating their own exam, our dean (along with the other faculty) decided to use an exam from an outside vendor. Still, I was’t afraid. I had secured a 3.5 g.p.a and was one of the strongest students in our class. I took the best notes….so good that most depended on them in order to study for tests. My Med-Surg. and ICU knowledge was strong, so I was more than confident that I would pass the exam.

There we were. About 20 of us sitting quietly, preparing to take the exam that would either make or break us. Despite how well we had done, failing this exam would cause us to fail our final course and not graduate. And then I became numb. Question after question I stumbled. Why did it seem so different? What happened to the content we were taught in class? I was now quieted. The assurance I had prior to sitting at that table was now gone. And after about 3 hours and 300 something questions, I was done. I left unsure, and afraid. Afraid that I had failed.

We were presented with our scores privately, and I’d failed. I was in disbelief. How could this have happened? I was one of the top students. I was the one that helped most of the other students in class, including the ones that passed the exit exam. I now would not graduate with my class and would have to attend summer school.

The majority of the class failed. We were upset. Citing that we weren’t prepared for such an exam, we submitted a grievance to the Dean of Academics. ( I’d like to side bar by saying that she was stern as iron and didn’t play games.) Nervously, I presented our complaints, urging her to review our curriculum and compare it to the exam we had just taken and failed. She wouldn’t hear a word of it, though. In addition, there were students present that had passed the exam and presented something totally different to the dean. They’d commented that the exam was fair and they had no issues.

I was beside myself. What happened to the comradery? Up to that point, we had always stuck together. In addition, they knew very well that I was telling the truth. That didn’t matter though, the dean made her decision and I had to attend summer school.

I repeated the exit exam and failed again. I was then presented with a third exam (not like the previous exams) and passed. And in June of 1998, I walked across the stage of The Moore Gymnasium, marking my commencement as a Bachelors prepared Registered Nurse.

The Exit exam is supposed to predict a student’s probability of passing the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). Needless to say, I passed the NCLEX on first attempt and went on to obtain a Master’s Degree in Registered Nursing (University of Florida).

To date, my alma matter continues to have the same challenges, students moving through the College of Nursing without difficulty but failing an exam used to determine their success as professional nurses. This obvious gap has to be filled. It is almost senseless for an academically strong student to get to an exam (that is supposed to reflect what’s been taught throughout the program) and fail.

Without being a student or faculty, I am unable to come to an informed conclusion regarding current challenges. However, I am sure they are similar to the ones I endured almost 2 decades ago.

I more than loved my instructors, but at times, the degree of coddling did not equal the degree of toughness needed for such a program. In addition, the exam was not derived from the program’s curriculum (though some would beg to differ). Thus, there was a mismatch between what was taught and what was tested; almost precluding a passing score.

My hope is that the College of Nursing is able to overcome their continued challenges, providing students with the education they deserve and pay for as well as the community with much needed nurses. My hope is that everyone that “Enters to Learn” will actually DEPART so that they can SERVE.