Importance of good grades!!!

Nursing Students Excelsior

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I just want to let everyone know my experience. I recently just finished my EC LPN-RN program. It took me forever, just because of life and laziness. I am proud of my accomplishment but really upset at myself for not taking the studying as seriously as I should have. I earned 3 A's, 10 B's, and 3 C's. At the time I thought, "Cool! I am pleased with my grades." Well, I just received my transcripts and ummmm, my GPA is 2.9!!! NOOOOOOO!!!!! :banghead:

Anyway, here I am...ready to move onto a RN-MSN program and yeah, I'll be taking an additional class or two to pull that GPA up. :bookworm: What a waste of time! Some of those B's were even high B's which a point or two higher could have been an additional A.

So, don't settle for a B! Strive for an A on EVERY TEST! It really matters in the end!

:bookworm::bookworm::bookworm::grumpy::bookworm::bookworm::bookworm:

I was on the deans list all thru college before I decided on nursing. I was on the deans list for all my pre-requisite classes. But I could not, I COULD NOT, get a grade higher than a low B in nursing school. I barely got the low B, mostly I got C's. In my school, C's were the norm. Some students got B's, but A's were very rare. I only know of one student who got A's - and the funny thing is, she struggled desperately through clinical. Almost failed clinical - proving that the smartest nurses do not make the best nurses.

I was able to study all the time, too, as I did not have to work. Our teachers personally made up the questions, and it seemed most of them were designed to trick us. It got to the point by the end of school that you could tell which teacher made up which question - and one of them, even if every student got her question wrong, would not back down. But I think one of the main issues at my school was the amount of tests we had, which was 2 and then a final - which means that there was an awful lot of material on each test. Not only was it a lot to remember....but I felt a little cheated, because the amount of info was so overwhelming that all you could do was just desperately try to cram it all in. Forget trying to actually LEARN any of it, or study it in a way that it would mean something to you. And the stress was unbelievable. If you did bad on one test, it meant you probably were not going to pass that semester. I forget the exact percentages, but the amount of students we started out with in the beginning of school had dropped down to about one fourth of that number by graduation. Nursing school is hard, as we all know. My school has a reputation for being the hardest in my area. A's. Ha. It wasn't happening.

I haven't applied to any schools yet for my BSN. Just getting my associates was so traumatic, the last thing I want to do right now is go back to school. And I am not really worried about employers wanting to see GPA's. I don't want the jobs all the other nurses are competing for. Not saying it isn't important to have a good GPA, but in my case, it just was not possible, and I am not going to beat myself up over it. I'm a good nurse. I have what it takes to become an even better nurse. Experience is really what counts, being able to think critically, being perceptive, compassionate, and of course, being able to manage your time well....how I did in school has very little to do with what I am doing now.

Well said Geslina!!!!! Great job!!!

Specializes in Emergency.
I only know of one student who got A's - and the funny thing is, she struggled desperately through clinical. Almost failed clinical - proving that the smartest nurses do not make the best nurses.

(Emphasis on "proving" is mine)

Not to shoot off-topic, and maybe I'm reading into this too much. But, while I do see some "textbook smart" students struggling with clinicals from time to time, I don't see it as an accurate gauge to whether they will be the worst nurse. And vise versa. It really depends on the student's learning style, dedication they are willing to commit to learning the skill, and how the preceptor/instructor handles their style of learning.

I have always been a visual learner... so much so that I simply "don't get it" if my only educational resource is a lecture or other auditory style of learning. I was horrible in my skills labs and patient care as an EMT-through-paramedic student; took me forever to finally get venipunctures figured out. I know I am not a kinestheic (tactile) learner, by any means. Luckily, I could basically zone-out during lectures as we had excellent textbooks to use, and I was also very fortunate to have clinical skills preceptors that knew when given enough time and practice, I was very capable of mastering skills. I doubled my paramedic rotation hours on the ambulance by my own choice in order to catch up on my skills... from 240 hours to nearly 600 hours (unpaid of course). I passed my skills exam for National Registry without any failures, and today I can competently perform skills at the level of any of my coworkers.

As an EMT-P to RN Excelsior student, I quickly recognized the benefit this program offers to the more-visual learner. I was in my comfort zone; no lectures, and I loved my many 1000+ pages of textbooks. However, learning the skills for the CPNE and other areas of nursing was a bear, and I know it took me a lot longer than many students. I feel really bad for the traditional brick n' mortar nursing students who are not given SimLab time as needed (if available), and then are expected to master a skill and pass their clinical with some preset number of attempts. The skills can be mastered; it takes effort and patience. I've precepted enough dedicated "textbook-smart" paramedic students to confirm that this is very possible.

I'm not trying to hijack the thread or start an argument; I'm just asking that as nurses and future preceptors yourselves, please don't discount the dedicated slower skills learner and assume that they will turn out to be a low-quality nurse because "they are only textbook-smart". The best nurse not only learns the skill, but also has the education and knowledge to know why he or she needs to use it. Physicians aren't perfect, and our education protects the patient from potential harm. Competency in skills protects the patient as well; the best nurse is competent with both.

Anyway, just my inflated few pennies' worth.

Getting good grades should be the norm. Period. "B's gets degrees" applies...but "A's = PAY-check"...at least where you WANT to work! I was told I was specifically put into the "interview" pile by my boss because my grades showed my "dedication". Take the classes to get your GPA up where you want it...

Ummmm, yeah, as I stated in my original post....I'm in grad school. I was not referring to RN's or even BSN RN's.

Of course, if you are not planning on going forward with your formal education, B's and C's and passing clinical's are enough. If you plan on earning your Master's or more, being an average or even above average student won't get you there.

My point is only that when trying to earn a graduate degree, every A is great, every B weakens your A's, and every C will injure you.

That's great for someone who has nothing but school in their life. I went back to school later in life and it was a struggle for me with 4 kids, one of which I had during nursing school. GPA is not the best way to weed out the bad nurses. I'm a great nurse and I have a 2.9 avg and I am just as good and just as smart as anyone else.

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