Current students or grads - How's your progress in Nursing school?

anstudent · Mar 9, 2010

I am graduating in May and have so far made all B's but an A in Assessment. My B's are always in the 90's but I just don't usually get A's. I have been hard on myself about that because I want to be a great nurse and I'm friends with the A students. I also have to take in to account that most of the A students in my program don't work. My point,(1) I think you can keep your grade point average but if you don't get the grade you want look at your schedule. (2) Take it one step at a time it goes by so quickly and just do your best whatever grade you make be proud and just learn from your testing mistakes! My job through nursing school is a pt. care tech. In the end I am glad I am a B student with some experience applying for jobs. Wish me luck and good luck to you!!

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Mar 9, 2010

Hey guys,
Just wanted to get everyone's input -
Your response isn't strictly limited to the questions below:
How did you progress in nursing school? Did your grades fluctuate? Did you start from getting Cs and Bs to As (Or the opposite)? What changes did you make to get better grades? How did nursing school change your way of thinking?
Just wanted to hear everyone's experiences.
Thanks!

My grades would make for a great grafting chart. LOL First semester wasn't bad for me. (granted although I shoot for A's I am perfectly content with A's and B's so if I get a B I still consider that good, so my perception of good might differ from some). Anyway, I got Steady A's and B's in my Math class and Fundamentals. I did have a couple C exams for Fundamentals, a couple A's and B's. I got a B in the class. My pharm class I started off with about the same grade each exam, it would vary 1 point which was the difference between a B and C. (would get between a 24-26 each exam out of 30). Then I got a low D but pulled out 100% on my final. LOL

This semester is done differently and things at home changed a LOT. My grades really really took a dive. I don't get sleep anymore, totally lost my focus and so on. I started off with a C then got an F a really bad F. That totally through me off my game. I got more of an F on knowledge stuff on that exam. I spent no time studying and just read a series of books I got hooked on. So next exam I felt ok on and got another F. went in for test review and it was all stupid mistakes not even knowledge based ones. It really shook me and at that point I felt defeated. I managed to get a C and then a B on the next exams. Then the last one we had before our final I thought I did well and got another F. I pretty much figured I wasn't going to pass the class. I had a VERY NARROW margin for the final. On 2 of the tests I went in after pulling an all night. I just could not sleep. Those were both my F's this other F I got only 2 hours of sleep. Anyway, today I went in for the final. I went to bed at a decent time and took an ambien so I wasn't laying there for hours. Got about 7 hours of sleep. Anyway, had my final today and prepared myself to retake the class although my anxiety was still through the roof. They said grades wouldn't be up until tomorrow and the next class started today. So we still had to go until we knew if we passed or not. Got my grade, got a B and passed the class with not ONE point to spare.

SO what I will do differently, I will get my head back in the game. Study a little each night. Start recording lectures again and with the nice weather go on walks listening to them (I had testing done and it said this is how I will learn best) and most importantly, I will start getting sleep again. I would love to say it doesn't make a difference. But first semester I hardly did ANY studying, I only listened to lecture in class pretty much, always got a minimum of 8 hours of sleep and I did really well. So looking at then and now, it seems apparent what was working and what hasn't. I knew second semester was going to be harder, I went in worried about, my husband also works out of town in the winter, as in another state and I have my 4 kids with no help and clinicals a couple nights a week. So I knew it would be more of a challenge. BUT it wasn't the actual material I had trouble with. It was comprehension of the questions more so, mis reading a lot of them, not seeing the word EXCEPT or what would you tell the patient NOT to do. Mistakes that happen when you aren't alert.

Anyway, so that's my story. Will see how the rest of the semester goes with Peds and OB. We lost 4 students so far today

allnurses Guide · Mar 9, 2010

I am in my first semester of a four semester RN program. I am a low A student and continue to be so at this point. Its intense, but do-able so far.

LETRN · Mar 9, 2010

I graduate May 14th :yeah:with my BSN and began nursing school with a 4.0 from pre-reqs. We have the screwy 93-100 is an A (and so forth) grading scale, so it's pretty rare that I land an A anymore :lol2:

I should graduate with a 3.5 cumulative, and I'm pretty proud of that. We lost 15 people out of 50 due to failing, so I'm feeling pretty good! My recommendation would be to study any powerpoints/handouts, read the corresponding info from your text, and to do as many practice test questions as you can. Once I got the hang of knowing how to answer the questions I did fine.

melmarie23, MSN, RN · Mar 9, 2010

I've been consistent all throughout my program and have all As. I graduate in December, but after this semester, I only have 3 classes left (one this summer, two in the fall). However, I take NCLEX this summer so really, I am in the homestretch. I am getting really anxious.

Faeriewand, ASN, RN · Mar 9, 2010

I am a straight B student in nursing. I had all A's before I decided to go into nursing and had to take those science courses. I am glad to get B's because that is a grade I earn so it's okay with me. I am just grateful to pass! :lol2: I just got my first A on a final test but will probably get a B in the class once again because my papers are not up to par. Can't seem to figure out that APA style even though I have a book! LOL! :)