C=degree

Nursing Students General Students

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How do you feel about the statement in the title?I am a second term nursing student. Not the super star straight A student, usually B student. I have never been surrounded by so many type A, super competitive people in my life and tbh, it can be very off putting to be in that type of environment all the time.I have come to accept the fact that I will never be the A student and have become comfortable with less. What is your take on straight C or B students entering nursing? What is your take on students who try hard but don't make A's?Have employers made a big deal out of your gpa?

Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.
I have heard c=degree and c=continue quite a bit. I get that grades aren't everything, but I don't understand the people who only study enough to get that C. I'm shocked at the amount of people whose GOAL is to get a C. I must be a type A personality without knowing it, because I've always thought that you should try your best and try to learn it all or as much as possible and if you get a B or C, that is ok, because you put the effort in and you learned. However to study, just enough to pass and little more? I will never get it. *shrug*
I can't say I blame them. They seem to be happier and less stressed out than the A students and I am tempted to say, "screw it" and settle with a less than perfect grade.
Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Hospitals in my area are using new grads' GPA as part of consideration for internship & residency programs.

Specializes in orthopedic/trauma, Informatics, diabetes.

Here, too. As an ADN student, it is harder to get a job b/c I do think they are tougher on us (not saying BSN program is easier-just more spread out and maybe not as intense), we have to maintain a higher grade to stay in the program and the hospitals want the BSN students. I plan on getting mine, I just needed to get to work (a job) faster (missed the deadline for an ABSN program by a day). There are job opportunities here for ADN students, but we have some great hospitals that I think will not consider an ADN w/o a 4.0.

Employers have never shown any interest in my education or how I did gradepoint-wise, but they are quick to discuss my current job performance. As far as I'm concerned, getting by with a C average is fine if it gets the student what they want. Only problem is when they want to further their education and find that programs will not accept less than a 3.0 GPA. Then, the student might wish they had put forth more effort in their undergrad studies.

Maybe it's regional- both where I went to school, as well as where I work now ask for GPA on your application for new grad residencies, and for the most part, they do care. You can definitely have other things to bring attention to your application, but it's a part of them.

Also, at my school, C= failing. 80% was a B-, but it was also the lowest passing grade.

I don't understand why people always come out to mention that people that get good grades all suck at clinical and have no common sense, but coddle those who struggle in the classroom by saying they're probably amazing at clinical and that plus their caring, nurturing manner (that those with good grades obviously lack) are all that you need to be a good nurse. I'm sorry, but some people actually get good grades, do well in clinical and go on to be good nurses. I also know that there are some that struggle in the classroom but do have the ability to put it all together in a clinical setting, as well as those that struggle in the classroom and get totally overwhelmed in a clinical setting, when the concepts they cannot understand in a controlled setting are even more complex and not static.

Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.

I wish I could just forget about the whole issue, pass NCLEX and be happy! Unfortunately, it looks like prestigious (not online) clinical Master's programs may have internal cut-offs even higher than ones they post officially, and it's the truth not only about CRNA programs nowadays. One place I'm longing to join one day officially requires GPA of 3.5, but in private letter they say that their internal cut-off for "otherwise equally qualified candidates" is 3.75.

if it's any consolation once you graduate no one will ask you for your gpa, furthermore, a nurse is still a nurse even if they pass with a c or a , the same goes for doctors :cool:

"no one" will ask for grades? i don't think you can make such a sweeping statement. when i graduated, i applied for two very competitive new grad internships in critical care. not only did they ask for grades, but the gpa requirement was a 3.5 minimum, and most of the new grads hired had at least a 3.8.

after that first job, no, never been asked.

I don't understand why people always come out to mention that people that get good grades all suck at clinical and have no common sense, but coddle those who struggle in the classroom by saying they're probably amazing at clinical and that plus their caring, nurturing manner (that those with good grades obviously lack) are all that you need to be a good nurse.

Yes, it's that oft repeated myth that nurses with the 4.0 are simply book smart and lack any other positive attributes. It's simply not true. The lack of common sense many bemoan occurs in just as many C students as in A students. One's grades tells you nothing about their "common sense." At my school, we received grades for our clinical performance. Students could not receive an A in that class if they were total idiots, so the argument straight A students have no clinical competence falls completely short, at least at my school.

In my critical care internship, I was surrounded by some of the sharpest people I've ever met. All had good grades, and most were as clinically comptetent as one could be as a new grad. What they couldn't do right out of school, they learned quickly on the job (while being supervised by the most experienced and knowledgeable preceptors). In critical care, knowing the "book stuff" is equally as important as getting the "skills down," if not more. One has to anticipate complications and work to head them off before they become problems; without knowing your anatomy and physiology, understanding disease processes, comprehending very well the actions and interactions of drugs in the human body, implications of lab values, etc., this won't happen, and the nurse will simply be reacting to problems that could potentially have been prevented.

Specializes in Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgical.

I'd love As and Bs, but my real goal is passing. School and my schedule is brutal enough without heaping

more expectations on top of everything.

I'll worry about my MSN, honestly, when I've graduated, have my license,

and have been working a few years.

I will say it is sort of ridiculous to hear people who haven't even applied to school

yet, talk about getting their DNP. It's great to have ambition, but you really

can't "put the cart before the horse".

I will say it is sort of ridiculous to hear people who haven't even applied to school

yet, talk about getting their DNP. It's great to have ambition, but you really

can't "put the cart before the horse".

Yeah. Someday I would like to go to graduate school, but I think I need to see if I can be a good, competent nurse before I even fantasize about diagnosing people and ordering tests.

It sounds bad, but I laugh a little at those people who think they can just get through nursing school and then go be a nurse practitioner like it's nothing. They don't realize that in order to be a good clinician, your clinical skills must be strong first.

I am a nursing student and a B student.

I feel C students have a place in nursing, its not anything in critical care or anything that involves critical thinking. Maybe simpler jobs like blood bank. easy positions need to be filled. I feel like c students really don't know the content. I use to be a C student and I knew nothing.

IMO A students are even worst. they only have classroom knowledge and no practical knowledge. they can't explain things. Just memorize, but not able to apply that knowledge. Maybe with higher education they can develop this.

B students are the best. They work super hard and get things wrong. Then they go back to find out what they got wrong and why it was wrong. They will always push themselves for an A. I have heard hospitals want B students with a great attitude .

I realize attitude and culture make a huge impact with grades. also I am making a ton of generalizations and assumptions. I really really have to push myself to get an A. actually I have to read the book if I want an A...I am second year in a ADN program and I don't ever read the text books. tons of studying and videos and NCLEX practice questions. I really want a 3.0. I have a 2.9. to be honest there are alot of people in my program i would never want to take care of me, they may make good nurses for some departments. I value critical thinking and a high level of understanding.

IMO A students are even worst. they only have classroom knowledge and no practical knowledge. they can't explain things. Just memorize, but not able to apply that knowledge. Maybe with higher education they can develop this.

Thank you for that enlightenment, but I happen to be an A-student, and I also happen to be a rather competent CNA.

Not all A-students are idiots in clinicals, and not all average students are good in clinical.

EDIT: Oh, and by the way, it's "even worse," not "even worst." But no, don't mind me. I can't apply my knowledge to real situations, right?

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