Does it sound like I am pushing it

Yalonda1 · Aug 16, 2001

No Tonya, it doesn't sound like you are pushing it. As a matter of fact, you have the right idea in mind by looking thru those NCLEX books because some of the instructors might pull questions from NCLEX books because they are suppose to test you in NCLEX-type style and these kinds of questions make you think. I used the NSNA NCLEX book to study from and I realized that my instructors had pulled questions from the book to use on our exams. Relax, you will do just fine. Take care

MQ Edna · Aug 16, 2001

I agree with Yolanda, I don't feel you are pushing it with the NCLEX books. Its good to review. I'm starting my last two semesters for my ADN and have used some time this summer to review some questions. As an LPN on a medsurg floor, I found I was out of practice in some areas, such as OB and peds. But what did concern me was that you want to get no less than A's. I hope you aren't setting your goal too high. I just feel that if you don't get an A, but a high B in a class, it won't put you over that stress level we all have. I have not set any limits on to what grades I get. Last year all my classes were A's or high B's. That way I wasn't let way down if I didn't get as well as I wanted to. In reality, when your out there working, it doesn't matter to anyone if you passed with A's or just skimmed through the nursing program. What matters are your skills and patient care. Atleast that is my opinion. But I wish you good luck in your schooling. Take care and don't worry about reading too many books.

crnasomeday · Aug 17, 2001

God love ya peaceful! I don't think there is such a thing as putting in too much effort for school. Those NCLEX books will help you a lot, believe me. It is definitely not too much to set your goals for A's. It's great to have high aspirations, and high expectations. Just avoid being hard on yourself if you're unable to acheive the goal you set. It is okay to not quite reach our goals sometimes too, you know? I know from another post that you aspire to graduate with honors, and I just want to say "You go Girl!" Don't let people put you off from that. You can do it, and I don't think it is asking too much of yourself.

Now, about what you said Rn2BinMaine, please allow me to say UGH....if it doesn't matter whether we have good grades or just get by, then why are some of us busting our butts to get good grades? I must admit that I am easily offended by remarks such as these, because I have busted my rear end for the past years to get the grades I've gotten, and it always seems to be people that haven't acheived some of their goals, or who didn't set goals, that want to tell those of us that are that our goals really don't matter. I guess that maybe you are right. I guess that I could just skate through college unfettered by concern over my level of achievement. I could spend the next year, my last year of the program, turning in mediocre work and just meeting the GPA requirements by the skin of my teeth. Then, in the spring of 2002, I could step up at commencement to receive my degree for my lackluster though tolerable performance - the same degree that I'd receive if I were an over-achiever. I guess I could do that. Even that would be an accomplishment, wouldn't it? I mean, here I am - a mother of three young children, a young woman struggling to put herself through college, a former high school drop-out who could very easily have wound up with nothing and could just as easily have been nothing. Wouldn't it be a success story whether I gave 100% or not? Wouldn't just the fact that I graduated be enough?

Okay. . . so maybe it wouldn't be the best thing. Maybe it would mean that I didn't care enough about my future patients to be as knowledgeable as I could be. Maybe it would mean that I'd never get admitted to graduate school, and my career might never reach the heights of my dreams. Maybe failing to make my university experience as fruitful as possible would mean that I squandered the great blessing God has given me. Maybe it would mean that my children would learn that there is an acceptable level of inferiority, and as long as they skate by everything will be fine.

Now please understand me. I am not saying that anything less than all A's is unsatisfactory. I am saying that you owe it to your future patients, as well as to yourself, to give nursing school your best effort, to give it an A in effort. If you can honestly look back and say that you deserve an A in effort, that is all I'm talking about.

BTW, college performance does matter in the real world too. This summer I had a few job interviews, and I was asked at each and every one what my GPA is. Many of the hospitals in this area also require you to submit your grade slip at the end of every semester if they are employing you while you are a student nurse. Additionally, you're undergraduate GPA becomes an important factor if you decide to apply for a graduate program. Getting accepted to some of these programs is an exceptionally competative endeavor, and having a high GPA will definitely help your chances.

MQ Edna · Aug 17, 2001

CRNAsomeday, possibly you have read too deep into my opinion. I felt that the patient lying on the stretcher being coded isn't going to care if your GPA is 4.0 or 3.41(mine, B+). What matters is that you know what drug it is your pushing, trained in ACLS, and know what skills, etc. are needed for that particular patient at that time. I also wanted to point out that placing your goals such as only getting all A's in classes could be emotionally detrimental in achieving your other goals. I too have seen hard times. Being a single mother at 16, graduating from college with an assoc. degree and then on to practical nursing, now with two semesters left for my ADN, I know what it is to struggle. Having had the goals I did, I have gotten to where I am today. You must have goals, but I feel that raising them too high can be a big letdown if their not obtained. Married now to a man who works out of state all week, with two additional kids, working 7p to 7a, and attending school full time, I put all the effort I can into my goals. But if I don't get all A's and get B's I don't consider myself any less of a nurse than ones who got straight A's. In the workplace, as I have seen as an LPN on a med/surg floor for 13 years, it is the skills that you have, whether technologically or hands on, that determines the type of nurse you are. I'm not saying that these nurses aren't knowledgeable, but what if they had test anxiety before exams and didn't do as well as they could have, does that mean that their skills aren't as well either. Not to me it doesn't. When your in the middle of a code, being confronted by a hostile patient, or comforting the terminally ill, it doesn't matter if you graduated with a GPA of 4.0 or 3.0. It is how you use your nursing skills that you have learned. Just because I graduate with a 3.41 doesn't make me less of a nurse than one with 4.0. I put all I could into my schooling, but I also have other demands due to my circumstances and time constraints. I will still feel as good about myself as the person who graduates with a 4.0. I don't want to argue my point with you, I hope I have made my opinion clearer. I wanted the original poster to know that my opinion was that sometimes setting our aspirations too high could eventually become an emotional barrier to reaching those goals.

essarge · Aug 17, 2001

Grades............what a subject!! I can see all sides.

1. Those that graduate, putting as little effort into it as possible.

2. Those that graduate, giving up almost everything in their lives to do the best they can do.

3. Those that graduate, pass, but really don't care how they got there.

While graduating from any nursing program is a feat in and of itself, it is a sad state of circumstances when a person does it just because "mom and dad made me go to college", or it was paid for by one of our great government institutions (making it free education), and put as little effort into it as possible.

I got really aggravated this last semester because, like allot of non-traditional students, it took every ounce of energy and time I could muster to get the grades I did. Giving up time with my family and friends.

We had a study group that started out one day per week ( for A&PII) and ended at 3 times per week. There were exactly 3 students that started and stuck with the study group. Then there were those students that decided in the last week that their grade was too low and had better get busy (they were too busy with their social life to care). They showed up the last two days and expected us to "teach" them all that they had blown off because they were too busy to study.

There were also those students that thought they could cheat their way through the classes, instead of doing the mature thing and joining the study group early or asking for tutoring help.

I guess what I am saying here is to have goals (both personal and professional) come with greater force as maturity and life experience come along. To say that GPA's don't mean anything when it comes to nursing in the field is wrong! I never really thought about it until I started school, but now I think back to when I had major surgery, and now I could probably pick out the nurses who worked very hard at their GPA while in school, and those that had mediocre grades and really didn't care anything about it. It is very apparent in the actions and abilities of these nurses. Patients CAN tell the difference, by actions of the professionals that are their caretakers when they are down and out. It DOES make a difference in the care you will deliver when you graduate and start working in the field, even if you are never asked again what your GPA was!!!! :eek:

MQ Edna · Aug 17, 2001

Alright, I guess I have learned my lesson about posting to these boards....I am just not making my point. It depends on the person, their skill levels and the way they are with patients and such. If I was taking care of you in a critical situation and only graduated with B's, but my skill level was excellent, would you be able to tell I didn't have the highest GPA in the class? Don't think so. I'm not going to defend my opinion any more. If people want to argue my point, so be it.

MQ Edna · Aug 17, 2001

libmi

Junior Member

Registered: Aug 2001

Location: San Diego

Posts: 2

It is possible to work full-time during your first year of ADN.

I' ve just completed my first year of ADN and I worked full-time

and then some during the entire year. I managed to maintain a 3.0 GPA from an excellent nursing program in San Diego. It's just a matter of really managing your time. It also helps to have an understanding spouse but it is most important to spend free time with your family and not with your drinking buddies. But be realistic if you decide to work full-time, it is going to be very difficult but not impossible to get that 4.0 or even a 3.0 GPA. Just remember that GPA does not completely reflect a students ability to execute the nursing process. It helps to have some medical experience but it only helps to a certain point. Buddy up with classmates who have different educational/healthcare experience so you can draw from each individual's strengths. Check out financial aid and scholarships available to you.The ideal situation is to not work at all but if you have to work full-time then you must just don't let it keep you from graduating. Good luck and

congratulations on getting into a program

I pasted this from another post to show another point of view that is similar to mine. I was beginning to think that I am the only one out there who feels this way. Working and having a family and putting your all into school and only getting B's is not discouraging. As mentioned, having a GPA of 4.0 doesn't mean that a person will execute the nursing process better than I with a 3.41 GPA.

Bonnie Blue · Aug 17, 2001

Rn2bin Maine, I think you are right on. I appreciate the fact that it takes work to succeed in nursing school but I refuse to make myself neurotic about my grades. I am a whole person not just a nursing student. I intend to keep up with my exercise, my singing and other activities to maintain my mental health. I am used to managing my time. I used to work 2 jobs. And Rn2b, you can take of me anytime!

ADN 2002 · Aug 17, 2001

Hi everyone,

I am kind of divided on the grade issue. Yes, it's important to do the very best you can do. But at the same time, an A may not be possible every semester, depending on what your circumstances are. I myself always attempt an A, and more often than not I get it (not meaning to sound self-inflated here), but am not about to go jump off a bridge if I don't get it (and believe me, there are some people in my class - people with families to take care of - that would). My GPA right now is a 3.60 and I'm proud of it b/c I know it's the absolute best I am able to give. I would not be proud if I had a 4.0 but had to give up everything in my life.

I have a friend in my class who this past summer session was moving, got caught in the horrible flooding in Houston in June and lost her car and ALL of her nursing books, was working at the same time, and is separated from her son (her parents are taking care of him for the two years she is in school - they live about 300 miles apart). She didn't get an A in the course we just finished (psych) and she's okay with it, and she's an excellent nurse - I would want her to take care of me if I happened to code.

It's all about what you are able to give, and leave the rest up to God.

To peaceful2100 - you aren't pushing too much; keep reading those NCLEX books...I've been meaning to get some myself.

Kristin

crnasomeday · Aug 17, 2001

You know, Rn2BinMaine, you keep saying you're not going to argue anymore, and then you pop up with another fiery post. No one ever said that a nurse who graduates with a 3.0 is less of a nurse than one who graduates with a 4.0. Where, please tell me, did you read this? You are far too defensive. If you reread my first post, you will see that I said nursing school deserves all your effort - an A in effort, and I have some news for you....those of us who have maintained high GPA's didn't necessarily forsake family and friends or any outside life to do so, and we don't all necessarily feel like the world will crumble if we get a B.

The only reason I've added this post now is to ask you this question: It is okay if some of us disagree with you isn't it? I mean, I don't have to think exactly like you to be a decent person, or is that not true in your world? There is no need to react so voraciously. No one was attacking you. It is fine for peaceful to have the goals she has for herself, and the fact that her goals or my goals or anybody else's goals aren't the same as yours doesn't invalidate them, and doesn't make them emotionally unhealthy.

May your life be richly blessed, Rn2BinMaine.

MQ Edna · Aug 17, 2001

I am posting my final reply only to answer your question. If you reread my initial post - in no way was I intending on getting into a fiery discussion with you or anyone else! Now read your initial post and tell me who is attacking who. Just because you don't believe or understand my thoughts and opinions you needn't attack me. In my world we all don't think alike, what an immature thought. I came and joined this forum to make a few friends, not enemies. I thought I'd send a few tips to the initial poster and in return got this! This whole scene has turned me off to this bulletin board, and I will no longer be using it. I'm not being childish, I just don't have time to waste defending my points of view to someone. Perhaps I will find another website with a good discussion group that doesn't jam everything you say back down your throat . So, good bye to the few friends that I have met on here, I enjoyed the short time I was a member here.