Student nurses to discuss pass mark on exams

The students expressed disappointment that the pass mark was raised
The students expressed disappointment that the pass mark was raised

Nurses who failed the Regional Nursing Exams (RNE) because the pass mark was allegedly raised without their knowledge, will be receiving official word on the matter from the General Nursing Council (GNC) on Friday.

The matter was first brought to light by a group of concerned student nurses who only noticed that the pass mark, which was initially 60 percent, was pushed further to 66 percent when they went to collect their grades this week.

According to one of the students, Kelma Sabaroche, 24 students sat the exam; out of that 12 passed, 9 received grades between 60-65 percent and the other 4 received below 60 percent.

“It is said in the blue print that the pass mark was 60 percent and today we are picking up our results and they are saying now that the pass mark is 66 percent,” she said. “This means that the persons that got within 60-65 percent failed. We were not informed that the pass mark was 66 percent prior to the exams.”

Sabaroche, stated that they would like the matter addressed by the GNC since the students were no aware of the new pass mark.

She stated that it appears some of the student will now have to re-sit the exam again.

“I’m not saying that we aim for just 60 but it’s just really sad right now that a lot of people have to go back and sit the exam,” she remarked.

She explained that re-sitting the exam is not going to be easy.

“About $600 is needed to sit the exams, and we are students, we are not working and it is very, very tasking right now to have to come up with that kind of money,” Sabaroche noted.

Sabaroche also informed that they would not be able to work as nurses if they fail the RNE.

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61 Comments

  1. VI Vibez
    December 7, 2014

    I understand the fact that u failed, and u concerned about the fact that the passing mark was I increased by 6%. The truth of the matter is, aiming fot 100% should have been your target. It I s nit good to just settle for the mere passing mark. Had everyone failed, then it would have been an issue.Nursing exams are very hard for a reason. You are dealing with lives, and must have everything down packed. My personal testimony…I am a nursing student, at school my passing grade for drug calculation is 90%, and guess what, you must meet that standard if you even want to continue school. So please don,t be discouraged, I think the better thing to do is review some more, and just do the exam over. It will benefit you in the future.

    • Sheka
      December 16, 2014

      you cannot be real calculations is 1,2,3. by right that should be a 100 percent….. As for regional exams when you get there you will see. ‘A’ students get flustered too. you have med school whose pass mark is like 40. At the end of the day the argument is about the unethical way in which this was done. Which ever school you are apart of they have a set pass mark and sometimes you did your best and thinking oh I definitely got an ‘A’ only to realize you just barely pass. Nursing is really not about an A its about ensuring you have the skill and the knowledge and compassion to do the job adequately. I want all who talking about A and C to when they walk into an hospital to go ask for a A grade nurse and look if that matters. For the info I passed my exam and I was not an A class nurse.

  2. me
    December 6, 2014

    Pass mark is above 70%, redo the exams guys and be the best nurses that you can be.

  3. lookeett
    December 6, 2014

    The examiner is trying to send home a point to our potential nurses whick is enough is enough.stop barely passing and pass the subject.

  4. Myrtle
    December 6, 2014

    First give these Nurses their pass as they were not informed of the increase in grade scores. Second, what is the general grading system in DA education System? If its 60% for a passing grade, the entire grading system should be increased. For professional, trades and college degrees and beyound passing grades should increase to 70% and above.

  5. Marie
    December 6, 2014

    And what’s your point? The pass mark went up you fail. Go back do it over and try harder.this is part of life. Life is not fear welcome to the real world ladies.

  6. Marie
    December 6, 2014

    Please ladies get over it go back to your books and aim for a 100% and stop crying over the pass mark was 66%.so you went with the intention just to get the papas mark? That is sooo sad.

  7. dady
    December 5, 2014

    ladies stop your foolishness nursing is not gardening if you cannot pass an exam that is set lower than that of taking care of livestock you all are not fit to treat humans period

  8. P.C
    December 5, 2014

    The pass mark was 66%, what’s so hard about that? No wonder
    there are so many horrible nurses running around threatening the
    very lives they say they are going to help save. They coming to the
    hospitals with 44% papers cutting style. Some passed so you all have
    no reason to complain. It’s not like they changed the material that was
    supposed to come on the exam. All you too sort, go and do all you thing
    again lol.

  9. truthman
    December 5, 2014

    hello all that millions we have in the country bating and bowling all you complaining about fees. let the PM pay for that, is just $ 600

  10. Penvillle Massivve
    December 5, 2014

    I mean theses nurses serious? 60 0r %66 that is my two year old pass mark. You cannot be in that profession and aiming for %60. You should aim for %85 and up. Shame on those who settled for just %60. And you all even have the audacity to have this in the media.

  11. shalom
    December 5, 2014

    A midwife does not need 60% to deliver a baby. :)

  12. December 5, 2014

    I am not surprise that the nurses failed the exam. The majority of nurses i have come across at the hospital are totally clueless, very unprofessional, no bedside manner, rude the list can go on and on. All they are good for is to show of in the uniform walking around. I personally have a problem with nurses wearing their uniform out of hospital. In my opinion they are carrying what ever germs there are in the hospital to the public. Having said all that i am quite sure there are some nurses entering the profession with the right attitude i.e caring,gentle,good interpersonal skills etc. Good luck girls try again but please aim higher than a mere pass, strive for excellence.

  13. December 5, 2014

    I am not surprise that the nurses failed the exam. The majority of nurses i have come across at the hospital are totally clueless, very unprofessional, no bedside manner, a brut, rude the list can go on and on. All they are good for is to show of in the uniform walking around. I personally have a problem with nurses wearing their uniform out of hospital. In my opinion they are carrying what ever germs there are in the hospital to the public. Having said all that i am quite sure there are some nurses entering the profession with the right attitude i.e caring,gentle,good interpersonal skills etc. Good luck girls try again but please aim higher than a mere pass, strive for excellence.

  14. Anonymous
    December 5, 2014

    I read some of the comment but but I want to let u guys know alot of the 60% nurses have taken very good care of u or other family members. .and what about nurse who r in the field who have never sit renr exam back in there year of study .until ur in the shoe u will never know what it feels like. I hope justice is serve, the blueprint is a legal document between student nurses n the council. .it has not up date it’s b print so the mark remains at 60% not when u get the result ..

  15. I and I
    December 5, 2014

    Well it seems that even if they were informed before, they would have still failed, because they still didn’t reach the 66% pass mark. Young ladies, go resit the exams and work towards a 100% mark.

  16. north side
    December 5, 2014

    It appears that the nurses in the photo were the ones that failed. But this is not so. This was just the pic that was available. All of Dem passed very high. Woop woop. Celebrate

  17. tell me
    December 5, 2014

    The nurses who failed are even fraud to come out. But congratulations to the ppl in the photo. They all passed with flying colors. Was. Congrats nurses. Aim for the best

  18. nurse
    December 5, 2014

    Congrats to the nurses who aimed for 100% and passed

  19. febrese
    December 5, 2014

    Its shameful that someone would protest a failure due to the fact that the pass-mark was raised. If you consider passing because of a low pass mark you have already failed yourself. Complacency is a disease that eats the mind and we as a people suffer from that alot.

    I hope you ladies take a serious look on life because you all are going to fail your relationships because you are going to think your men are not good, and fail your kids because you expect them to learn from society and fail yourself because you cant reach that standard that life has set for you.

  20. DA Citizen
    December 5, 2014

    It”s very unfortunate to what happened to these student nurses. They should have been informed prior to sitting their exams that the PASSING SCORES were raised, along with the date that the scores were raised. You should not have to be told that the scores were raised while receiving your test results. That should be challenged, and the person/persons responsible for notifying them he held accountable. This is 15th century operations.

  21. Serene
    December 5, 2014

    Unless the pass mark is now 90% I should not hear nurses in training complaining. Your profession is a technical one and as such you should “know this information at the top of your head. 60% and 70% are failing grades
    Get it together

    • DA Citizen
      December 5, 2014

      @ Serene, while I want to agree with you in reference to the 60-70 % grades. If this is what they are accustomed to during their years in school, this is what they should be graded on. Just so you should know I am a Health Care Worker for over 33 years, and not everyone who PASSES the different regulatory boards make good health care workers. There are some of us who can CRAM very well to pass these exams. All I am saying is they should have been in formed before being allowed to sit the exam and then being told you fail because your grade is at 60 % and the PASSING grade was just raised to 66 %, which to me is also kinda low.

      • I and I
        December 5, 2014

        Well it seems that even if they were informed before, they would have still failed, because they still didn’t reach the 66% pass mark.

  22. Anonymous
    December 5, 2014

    These nurses should be a SHAME to going and write an exam just to settle for just a pass mark, that shows that they are or don’t care about the lives or the service they are going to produce..
    when sitting or going to sit an exam one should always strive for a 100% not just a passing mark

    • jem
      December 5, 2014

      i am 1000000% agreement with you, although we are not perfect but we should still strive for excellence and nothing less since the profession that they are aiming to get into is one of critical importance which involves people’s lives…

  23. nurse
    December 5, 2014

    They cannot just do that t oo the nurses not because they were the first group. Cxc should never take over. Congrats to all the nurses in the photo. They all passed

  24. me
    December 5, 2014

    Hey I am very displeased about this
    Oh by the way all the persons in the picture have passed their exams

  25. I and I
    December 5, 2014

    A person sitting an exam should not just think of the pass mark. He should aim for 100%.

    Just thinking out loud:….”just imagine what a nursing staff there will be if they all aim for just the pass mark in their exams. Imagine what it will be like when they are working as nurses taking care of patients.”

    • TeteMorne I From
      December 6, 2014

      I don’t expect this comment to make it since these idiotic admin DELETE EVERY COMMENT I post on here. Anyway, here goes..

      I agree with your comment. A student should aim for 100 and not some mark—just passing. When one aims for just the pass mark, what happens when it suddenly changes. They should be relieved that they are not too bright and have thus failed.

  26. JOJOSEPH
    December 5, 2014

    If the blue print stated that the pass mark is 60% at the time you all signed the agreement. Therefore those who got marks between 60-65% have not failed by agreement and you all as nursing students should stand for this.

  27. Anonymous
    December 5, 2014

    I don’t understand why an examination of this significance carries a pass mark of 60%. Frankly, these students should not even be protesting.

    • anonymous
      December 5, 2014

      My thoughts exactly

  28. BRAIN DAMAGE
    December 5, 2014

    Ask to rewrite the exam agan free of charge, If not demand your reemburstment.
    Business is business . Theirs is a money making scheme, yours is trying to make a money.

  29. SN
    December 5, 2014

    If the pass mark 60% or 66%, this is still too low of a pass mark. For people who will have life and death issues to deal with, where a mistake could kill or cripple, we should require nurses to show a higher level of knowledge and its application to simulated problems given in exams. As for the comment they would have to pay to repeat the exam, this is the idea: when you have money invested, do your best to get it right on the first try. The results beg the question: Were these students adequately prepared for the exam?

    • ?
      December 5, 2014

      Well said

  30. malpardee
    December 4, 2014

    but what nonsense is that…

  31. mine
    December 4, 2014

    I find that the pass grade for a nurse is low.

  32. success
    December 4, 2014

    Just resit the exam because 66 is already low……..you are dealing with human being lives…..so getting 66 is barely a good mark

  33. Duncekyat
    December 4, 2014

    Potential nurses, if you’re going to be our medical professionals, you had better score more than 66% on your nursing exams. So stop complaining and go back to the books and your practicum so that you may score at least 90% on the next exam. Patients’ lives are worth much more than the $600 exam fee, so I am not going to offer you much sympathy. If money was a problem, you should have aspired to excel at the exam, rather than just trying to scrape a “pass”.

  34. Technology
    December 4, 2014

    Nurses, all due respect to you but it simply means you need to review the material again an resit the exams and work towards better grades. Patients will be placing their lives into your hands and I for sure would not like to know my nurse is not up to standard. You should be using 85% as your pass mark.

  35. seriously?
    December 4, 2014

    there are students who passed with an average of 90

    • Anonymous
      December 5, 2014

      How many?

  36. seriously?
    December 4, 2014

    I mean come on ladies……i would be ashamed to make a force out of this. First of all the pass mark was 60……then without you alls knowledge it was raised to 66………….does that mean you guys scored between 66 and below? says a lot.

    • December 6, 2014

      don’t b foolish. In case u have not noticed many exams for which u need a 80% pass mark or more are generally very easy. Ever had to do an exam for degree or otherwise and it was opened book? Right- not enough challenge. Whether 60% or 66% these students are really being challenged and I am sure they aimed for 100%. Those who achieved 90 and 95% or even 100% are not guaranteed to be better nurses on the battle field.
      In case u guys may not know, when students don’t do well on their grades, the bar is usually lowered to help them reach a good score. So don’t be disheartened my fellow nurses. A pass mark of 80 and 90 is usually not challenging enough. So with the challenge u got and was able to reach 60 and 66 u are on your way to becoming who u really want to be. And don’t be afraid. Lets see how those who hold a masters degree perform on that exam

  37. Education
    December 4, 2014

    Wow, just aiming for the pass mark. Woosh!!! Why not excel? I always warn us that our teaching and learning must be above Dominica level. We must strive for higher heights, not just settle for mediocrity. We need to be careful regarding the quality of the nurses we produce in Dominica, it is no wonder some prominent people go to the USA for health care. Thank God for the regional exams which put a stop to our mediocrity.

  38. anonymous
    December 4, 2014

    Honestly you all should not even maje a case with that. You pkanning to work in the heakth care system and the pass mark is 60 and you scoring the highest 63? It looks lije you were onky interested in passing. You all will be in charge of peopke’s lives. Make up your minds in your convocation

  39. VIP
    December 4, 2014

    While I believe you should know the passmark. Even if you knew it was 66, would you have still passed? I mean…no one goes to do an exam and Stop doing the exam when you think you hit the passmark. In your case you thought the passmark was 60 right? when you got (or think you did enough to get) 64. I dont think you closed your paper and left the exam. I think you still tried to get 100. so i dont uhum…think you would passed if you knew the passmark anyways.

    now in another topic to be a nurse…shouldnt that passmark be 90%?

  40. Pass
    December 4, 2014

    Me if the Pass Mark is 60 i studying for a 70 plus we boy. I not studying for 60 marks no boy. Boy all you redo the exam and reach the mark of 70. Okay

  41. Sprinter
    December 4, 2014

    I have been perplexed ever since this news was aired. I am yet to understand what the nurses are complaining about other than to think that the nurses wrote the exam to obtain the pass mark. Granted, the change of pass mark should have been communicated, but had the nurses aimed for the TOP MARK-100%, they would not be in the predicament that they are now in. I believe that it is to the population’s benefit that they have to rewrite the exam because maybe, just maybe they will exert more effort, gain more knowledge and become more competent in the area of study having been forced to revisit the information. It appears that this bunch seem content with mediocrity, to be even satisfied with having attained a mere pass mark. Nurses are not dealing with machines, they are dealing with humans -the issue is that of life and death in some cases and so though as humans we make mistakes, we should leave no windows open (such as lack of knowledge and competence) for such mistakes to become part of ones career. One is suppose to be competent and competence comes with knowledge and practice, so go read again and write the exam again and this time aim for 100%.

    • ?
      December 5, 2014

      well said..

  42. Anonymous
    December 4, 2014

    Who wants to be attended to by a nurse who attains a mark of 61% in their exam? I am surprised the passing mark is as low as it is.

    To me the pass mark should be 75%. That way you get the best nurses practicing the profession.

  43. No name
    December 4, 2014

    Aim high it seems to me that you guys settled for 60 percent although you said you did not.

  44. concern citizen
    December 4, 2014

    I think you all have a logical case, so my advised to you all is to sick legal council as group on the matter.
    This is deceitful and lack of transparency from the council.

  45. la poite my big toe
    December 4, 2014

    for u all to be striving to be the best in your field and getting as high a grade as possible instead u all aiming to just scrape threw with the lowest pass grade possible? they should have raised the pass mark to 80% instead cause if that’s the way u all going i do not want u all as nurses cause u all may cost someone there lives

  46. deceived
    December 4, 2014

    The GNC should have guided cxc instead they let people who have no nursing background mark an exam and change the pass mark that we were aware of from the day we entered the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Dominica State College. The GNC has still not seen it fit to meet with those whom they deceived. Why did they not meet today as they usually do every Thursday? Was it because they knew those whom they wronged were waiting to meet with them outside the office? We will not sit and accept failure when our grades show otherwise. GNC and CXC have to answer some questions. We will go as far as they are prepared to go to get justice.

  47. Anonymous
    December 4, 2014

    Why should the pass mark affect you? You should be aiming for the best. Stop making excuses! Shame!!!

  48. Hmmmm
    December 4, 2014

    I agree that they should have been informed of the change but it is with extreme caution under extenuating circumstances that I would allow a nurse to care for me (if I know) who can barely manage a six-point difference in a passing mark. That’s not to cry down anyone of them but if we want first class health care in Dominica, these student nurses need to step up their game!

  49. Concerned
    December 4, 2014

    The pass mark should have been 90 percent. >A bunch of lazies, what is it a bird course. Study to show thyself approved. The passmark even if you all knew would have made no difference. Tell me how does knowing what the passmark is affect the five who got 60-65 did they say, I am only going to answer 65 percent of the questions correctly?
    Go study your books ladies and do your best! Aim for the highest if you all miss you will still be amongst the best!
    Mediocrity should not be accepted! Believe me I really think the passmark should be higher than that!

  50. Brull Crap
    December 4, 2014

    So you guys were only aiming for just the pass mark? I mean from 60 to 66, only a 6 point increase.. Its not the school they should blame but themselves…

  51. Dominican in the VI
    December 4, 2014

    That’s no excuse. Imagine the passing grade for elementary schools In the Virgin Islands is 70%. You all should aim for 100 instead of a bare 60%. Put your all into studying. I believe that you all can do better. Good Luck.

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