HESI Petition: Students of Duquesne University School of Nursing

Students should not need to take an exit exam in order to graduate!

Oh really? Life will not nearly be so hard as nursing school. Not at all. No stress. No problems. Any student who turns to these drugs should not be nurses to begin with. What will happen when you have two patients die in one day and come home to find leaking plumbing or that your child is sick or a parent is dying. It is grow up time.

As a graduate of Duquesne, I personally saw how negatively the HESI exit exam impacted my close friends upon gradution. Many turned to usage of benzos like ativan and xanax to cope with the stress - a professor even encouraged us to get a one-time dose for Ativan for the HESI exit exam. Students should not have to turn to the usage of these types of drugs for a simple exam.

This is an unfair practice. Please, in the interest of fairness, discontinue using it. Nursing curriculum is difficult enough without. Standardized test added to it!.

9 years ago Featured

I fully support this petition as one of the many students who were held back in order to inflate Duquesne's pass rate. I am an excellent nurse and it has nothing to do with HESI.

standardized test do not make great nurses, that takes care and compassion, something that Duquesne University is apparently in short supply of.

Cannot agree more with this. For the people saying to shut up and study, when over 25% aren't passing, there is a trend and problem.

I agree 100% with the students petition. HESI should be used as a preparatory tool only. Graduation should not be dependent on 1 test score, rather, graduation should be based on the satisfactory completion of cumulative course work.

Unfairly eliminating people when their careers are almost ready to take off is ridiculous especially when they would pass the official testing requirements and academic requirements elsewhere. To employ a test just to ensure accreditation is not a testament to the students but the staff itself so maybe introspection from the university is in order before stomping on a perfectly viable candidate's future.

Withholding a 4 year diploma over one test is not right. These nursing students have worked very hard over the past 4 years. Most chose Duquesne over the high job placement percentage after graduation. The HESI test contradicts that.

As a nurse and one that was required to pass HESI exams in order to be released to take the NCLEX, I have to say this is a lot of foot stomping by upset students. First, get off social media and making stupid petitions. Second, start studying for your HESI retakes. Third, take the damn HESI. Fourth, study for your NCLEX. Fifth, forget everything you studied the last 4 years and start relearning. ECPR and open cardiac massage aren't experiences taught in school. Lastly, tell mommy and daddy to fire the PR guy and whatever third party support they hired, they're throwing money down the drain. You will only get out of this situation by studying and working hard. Your nursing career will be no different, only less forgiving. Better learn fast.

Gone gone go

I fully support this petition. Nursing is one of the most grueling academic undergraduate majors . I am hopeful that this policy is changed .

The HESI requirement of 925 was clearly stated in the course syllabus in January of 2017 and was clearly stated it was necessary for graduation . Every student was given this same HESI test at the beginning of the Spring 2017 semester as a benchmark and those that did not bench were offered remediation and assistance from the nursing school throughout the entire semester. Many students who did not reach the benchmark in January chose NOT to attend the FREE sessions from paid faculty or get outside tutoring. Every student took the same HESI in April 2017 and those that failed then were given an extra chance to take the test in May (BEFORE GRADUATION) and then failed again. I know many students who received the 925 benchmark score in January also attended the semester long remediation sessions as preparation for the final exit HESI and NCLEX, even though they were not required to. It was a free review and specialized assistance to further your nursing education! Those students who failed the HESI took it three times in total and are now receiving free assistance this summer. Do you want nurses taking care of you and your family who can't pass this test and maybe injuring or killing you or a family member? Nursing is career which requires quick and accurate assessment skills, which require critical thinking. It can be a life or death position! I certainly want a health care provider who is hard working and dedicated. All of these students could have taken advantage of resources from the school of nursing to pass the HESI and graduate in May. The school of nursing has already administered the same HESI three times in one semester! Maybe these students should have been weeded out before this point. STOP WHINING AND START STUDYING!

The HESI exam should not be tied to graduation!!!!!!

As a recent grad from a nursing school who also deals with the HESI program, I feel your pain. I believe you all have the right to graduate regardless of your HESI scores.

A travesty to hard working students who deserve better!

If four years of education does not prepare these kids to sit for the NCLEX then obviously Duquesne is not the school to go to for nursing. Gannon, Pitt, and many other schools have no problem doing just that. Community College students are prepared for the NCLEX in a mere two years. Not the school I would choose to go to for nursing.

9 years ago Featured

I completely agree with this petition. It's is beyond comprehension why the University would base four years of education of the results on one test. The other nursing schools in the area have equal or better NCLEX 1 st pass rates but don't have this high stakes test requirement.

Please let these students graduate