Are A's a thing of the past?

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Before I got into nursing school I was an A student, not A-, but A. So far I have not gotten a single A. I got an A- in pathopharm and am going to have an A- in Peds/Ob with the rest of my classes being B,s and B+'s. I really wanted to get an A this semester because I want to go in OB so I though I should be able to pull it off at-least this time, but NO, I missed it by 3% ugh! Is any one else finding that getting A's seem to be a thing of the past once in nursing school?

Specializes in Transplant/Surgical ICU.

I have always been an A/B student. When I got to nursing I became a B/A student. Whether you get an A or C, what matters is your clinical knowledge and application skills. As some one stated earlier, we all know those A students that know everything in the book and can write perfect careplans, but when it comes to actually dealing with patients they have no clue where to begin! I don't advocate that people should just lazy around and be on the barely passing line, but I really dont think anyone in their right mind gets to that line intentionally.

A career coach once said "the really smart ones are not the A students that stay up all night studying, but the C students, because they figured out the minimum amount of work it takes to get a degree" LOL!

I'm a B student and certainly I wont lose sleep over not getting A.

Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ED.
As some one stated earlier, we all know those A students that know everything in the book and can write perfect careplans, but when it comes to actually dealing with patients they have no clue where to begin!

Okay, this is the anecdote that really chaps my behind! The "A student who has no people skills" anecdote. We all hear it. I've even heard an instructor tell this anecdote in lecture. Why do getting As and having compassion for human beings seem to be mutually exclusive in some people's minds?

I have personally known ONE person like this. Fantastic student, but as one clinical instructor said, she needed a visit from the "Compassion Fairy". However, the vast majority of A students, myself included, are both great students and wonderful, compassionate nurses.

What irritates me about the "A anecdote" is that it gets thrown out there so frequently, as if it is the rule and not the exception. I think its intent may be good, to illustrate that one need not be an exceptional student to be a great nurse. But in reality, what I think it does is make the A students look like a bunch of cold hearted bookworms with no real world knowledge or people skills. It is a stereotype that gets far too much air time.

I have literally been shunned by fellow students for my grades. I have been asked to tank exams so that I don't "throw off the curve" for the other students. One would think that rather than shunning the A student, this would be the student you'd WANT in your study group. It hurts because I have feelings, like any other human being, despite being an A student.

Since when did getting As become something to be ashamed of?

There are also a lot of C students without people skills. There are so many generalizations that you keep hearing from people - the anecdote about A students, the one about how BSN programs only teach you how to write papers and you don't get any clinical experience, the one about how all nurses eat their young, and the one about how "every" student drops a letter grade when they get into nursing school - my grades have gone up, I never had a 4.0 when I got my first degree. Just do your best! There are some intelligent people in my class who have a hard time with NCLEX questions, and it's tough for them to get As on any exams because of it. They might know the material as well as I do, but they overthink questions or get test anxiety. The only people I have a problem with are those who cheat (we had one guy already, but he wasn't caught in the act so he's still in the program) and those who brag about not studying, and then are surprised to see that they need a 94 on the final to pass the class.

Specializes in ED.

Yes, it really bothers me too when people assume an A student won't have any people skills. I have had many reviews with my clinical instructors and they have all said that I am a great communicator and do well with my patients. And, yes, some employers do ask for transcripts. And yes, if the job you are going for has many applicants, your grades could come into play. I know some nurse managers who have told me this. As a C student you probably won't have any problem getting a job, but it could prevent you from getting the job you really want.

Specializes in neuro/ortho med surge 4.
First of all as far saying nursing students need to be A students there are over 75 students in our program not one getting an A. I believe if you are passing Nursing school you are trying very hard you would have to be like a genious to slack off in Nursing school and still pass. Half of the people in our program failed out and I believe some of these students studied thier butts off. So I hate it how people say you have to get an A sometimes that is not possible. I put my life into this program and I was once an A+ student during my prereqs now I am getting high B's. Am I going to be a bad nurse because Im not getting A's? No! Like my teacher said "Some of the best nurses are C students."

I agree. I have a previous degree in Finance and graduated with a 3.7 GPA whilw working a full time job. When I took my sciences I received A's in A+P and Micro while working 60 hrs a week. Thus far I have received a B for Nursing 1, and a B- for nursing 2. This semester ids yet to be determined. I am hoping to get a B. Our school has an integrated curriculum where a test can have psych, med surge, and OB on it. The questions are submitted by 5 to 6 different teachers. It is a tough program. There may be 1 or 2 people who are getting A's. I know personally that my work ethic is extremely high and I still don't make A's. I think that most of the students in my program work really hard and some still only make C's. Usually the ones that make A's are the ones who don't work and don't have children. Just because someone does not make an A does not make them a slacker.

Specializes in ICU, Med-Surg, Post-op, Same-Day Surgery.

i just finished my first semester of nursing classes yesterday. we had to take 8 classes, 16 credits, and every week felt like an 80 hour work week. i have a previous degree, and i felt like this is the hardest semester of school i've ever done in my life! i worked my butt off, and managed to get a's in all eight courses. i do have people skills, i do manage to have a bit of homelife, and i am extremely proud of my work and what i have learned this semester. i think part of my success was based on the fact that i didn't allow myself to stress over a's and b's, and concentrated on the idea that this was material that i was going to need to know to help save people's lives. i was perfectly ok with getting a b, as long as i understand the material! also, aside from ya'll on allnurses, i haven't told anyone my grades...it's not their business!! (maybe my mom....) why do they need to know? nursing students are too competitive already, and grades are a sorespot for many people. exemplify your accomplishments through leadership and in clinical.

our program started with 140 students, and not all of them got a's. not all of them have good "people skills". not all of them are going to pass the first semester. but, there are a lot of them that are going to make great nurses. just because you are not perfect on every test, or perfect in clinical each day doesn't mean you are going to be a bad nurse! if you get a b, so what! that's great! i had a friend miss an a by 0.5%. she was so disappointed, but i pointed out to her that her patient's aren't going to ask if she got a's or b's, or even c's in her classes. their going to want to know if she can help them get better, and do so competently and with dignity. sure, it sucks right now, but she's going to make a great nurse.

if getting great grades is really important to you, it can be done. just make sure you don't sacrifice yourself or your family in the process. there are a few students in our class that get near perfect on every test (and i'm not one of them!). but i'll be honest, they can barely function in clinical. one guy barely saw his wife and kids the entire semester, because he was at the library for three months. another girl barely passed her clinical because she couldn't interact with patients. you have to really look deep and say, what is important to me: perfection on paper, or competency in real life. another guy barely passed his clinical because he couldn't interact with patients. i'd choose the latter any day!

best of luck to everyone!

her patient's aren't going to ask if she got a's or b's, or even c's in her classes. their going to want to know if she can help them get better, and do so competently and with dignity.

:balloons:

you rock!!!!!!:balloons:

Specializes in Transplant/Surgical ICU.

Nancynurse08, dont get so worked up... I was just trying to make an example. No one is asking you to stop getting A's or even to stop being proud of them. When I get an A, I dont hide it from anyone and it definetly does not stop me from being compassionate. So, if your class mates have a problem with you getting an A, its there problem! You should not let it get to you so much.

I mean, someone that would rather shun you for getting a good grade instead of talk to you and figure out how they can do better, certainly is not one of those C students I was referring to (the ones that try there hardest). So my example was ot to offend you or any other straight A student. More power to you and keep up the good work!

I had A's in all my pre req's. Bio, Chem, Micro, A&P I, A& P II, psych, developmental psych- all of them. Just took my 150 point final- it was worth a third of our grade. I got a 121 out of 150. I had a B going into the final and now I have a C. IT SUCKS. I have an 83%, a B is an 84%. But you know what, I work FT, have three kids- I'm my dd's girl scout leader, plus the kids have CCD and gymnastics, and I have to be on call for work so I work way more than 40 hours a week. Could I study more? Yea I could, but I am not willing to sacrifice two years of my life and my children's childhood to study nonstop- I'm just not- I need a life too. As it is I never see my husband- but I refuse to have my schooling negatively impact the kids- so I sit and do 6th grade math with my daughter for two hours in the evening because she needs help- should I be doing my own homework or helping her with hers? This weekend I have a third grade science project that needs done. I'll do the best I can with what time I have. & Do I like C's ?-hell no. I'm competitive- I'm used to A's- is the material incredibly hard- no- it's the huge amount of material that they cover in such a short time that does you in. I already have a BA- and no it was NOT like nursing school at all- and lets be honest some of those NCLEX questions- OMG are they stupid- what's the best position to sit in to take a dump, and in which direction should you wipe your ass? How about the question about the proper way to use a scale- should the person wear socks or stand barefoot on a piece of towel placed on the scale. WTF? That question was just ridicules.

As far as transcripts- I interview and look at resumes at work all the time- I do hiring- where I work- & it is a care provider type agency- transcripts are never asked for until after you have been offered the job- and then they are only held in HR to prove that you have the degree- I never even see my staff's transcripts- I just know if they have a degree or not.

Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
Okay, this is the anecdote that really chaps my behind! The "A student who has no people skills" anecdote.

Usually such statements are made by someone trying to make themselves feel better about their average grades by tearing someone else down.

Most of the A students I've come across were also good clinically, they were committed to nursing and blessed with good brains.

It's so hard to make a generalize statement about someone based on grades, or those few nurses with good book sense and little common sense hands on skills.

My approach to both my ADN (3.8 GPA) and ADN to BSN (3.97 GPA), is to do my very best, learn the best I can and let the grades be what they may.

But I also understand the op, I'm used to making A's, that's just me, so that when I don't, I take pause, and sometimes I'm frustrated with it, but I move on and don't loose sleep over it, and I'm more material and learning focused than grade focused. Some days are better than others.

We should never judge one another by our grades, because we're all different. Like someone said one person might be studying their tail off and making C's, it doesn't mean they will be a bad nurse. I think as long as someone is doing their best from day to day (and that varies) we should just relax about it all.

When I received my first grade in nursing school and it was a C, I flipped as I am used to As. A few months later, my philosophy is to do the best I can and accept the grade and move on. It is futile to compare person vs. person - we all have different responsibilities in our lives that take up time and some more than others, some have more support from our significant others, etc. We have had different school experiences previous to nursing that have prepared/not prepared us for certain classes and learning styles. It is futile to compare school vs. school - grading scales are different - if my school had a 10 point grading scale I would have many more As, classes are different, some schools harder than others, some teachers better than others. My grade dropped from A to B because I was tutoring another classmate who was failing and now she will pass, I didn't study as much as usual for my tests because I was helping her...was it worth it, yes I think so.If you honestly do the best you can to try to understand the material and be a good nurse, you will be one whether or not you get As or Cs. You do need to master the NCLEX type of questions if you want to be able to practice as a nurse - to pass the exam, so do get a review book if needed.

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