Grades- do instructors round up?

Columnist · May 16, 2009

staff reminder........

please stay on topic and refrain from personal attacks.

Adams_Mommy_07 · May 16, 2009

Well I guess it's time for my :twocents:

What I don't understand is WHY any aspiring nurse would want to just barely get by... I haven't started nursing school yet, but I personally would not WANT to just get by in a course if I hadn't mastered the material---peoples' lives will be in my hands and I absolutely need to know what I am doing so I would consider needing to retake a course a GOOD thing, getting finished or graduating with your class is no where near as important as knowing your stuff. Just like I have heard people complain about dosage tests---and my thoughts were "are you serious?" Imagine working with babies or children and giving them too much because you can't calculate dosages 100% of the time...sorry but if I can't do that I don't want to be a Nurse---I could never live with myself if a mistake I made led to something serious or disasterous for my patients.

As far as rounding goes, I have always learned throughout school (from 1st grade onward) that a 95.96% is 96% so, I don't have any problems with rounding up in this regard because I have never seen someone consider 95.96% as 95%....but if your school clearly lays out that a 95.96% will not be rounded well than you don't have a leg to stand on.

MoLee228 · May 16, 2009

Oh Please ! If my nurse got 75 % all through NS... Who cares ?! If 75 % means that she's " mastered" the course then so be it. As long as she's competent and caring, who cares about whether she scored A's in B's in nursing school. C nurses ARE nurses too.
If I'm sick in the hospital I don't want a snobby A/B nurse taking care of me.
FYI- I'm 3.0 student and proud of it baby.

When I said that the person who scored 75% should consider retaking the course to master the material, I meant so they could get a 95%...which is what I consider mastering the material. Are you proud of your 3.0 because you truly feel like you have mastered everything they have taught you? I highly doubt it. IMO, 3.0 is nothing to be proud of. To me, saying you're proud of your 3.0 is like saying "I'm only going to work as hard as I absolutely have to just to get by and no harder, and I don't really care how well I know the material."

C nurses are nurses, too, but who's to say they are as good as the A nurses? You go ahead and take the nurse who barely passed since he/she won't be "snobby," because I want the smart snobby ones for myself and my family!

MoLee228 · May 16, 2009

I think something you need to learn (and quicky) is that it takes alot more than making an A on a test to be a nurse. It takes compassion (which you seem to be lacking in), it takes putting yourself in other's shoes. So what if some people can read a textbook and make an A on a test. While others study just as hard and still make a C. People are different, and have different life situations. You shouldn't be so judgmental, and call people "mediocre" when you really don't know anything about them or their life. Some people have learning disorders, or terrible test anxiety. Are you saying these people will not make as good a nurse as you will? Shame on you if you really think that. I hope that is not what you think,and I have just read/understood your statments wrongly. I don't understand why some people are like this. We are all going through the same thing. You think we would all look out for each other. Who knows?

The definition of mediocre on dictionary.com is: "of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; barely adequate." A "C" student is mediocre, they are barely adequate because they are barely passing, and yet they are not failing so they are not bad. It is not a judgmental statement to say that a "C" student is mediocre, it is just the truth.

And I whole-heartedly agree with you that being a good nurse takes much more than just getting A's. However, getting A's is a very good start...if you really know the material backwards and forwards, it will probably come much more naturally to you in the clinical setting. And I also agree that compassion is an extremely important quality in a nurse, but from my experiences, some of the "C" students in my class are some of the biggest jerks (talking negatively about their patients...I even overheard one saying that the patient deserved to be dying of liver failure because he was an alcoholic!!!!!). What is to say a "C" student is more compassionate than an "A" student? Absolutely nothing.

Bicster · May 16, 2009

i also like teachers who curve, not rounding up but normal gives an artificial inflation in a really tough/lot of people failing class so it doesn't matter.

oh yeah, what i like even more are teachers who just give us the answers for exams. really takes the guess work out of things.

Music in My Heart · May 16, 2009

I think something you need to learn (and quicky) is that it takes alot more than making an A on a test to be a nurse. It takes compassion (which you seem to be lacking in), it takes putting yourself in other's shoes. So what if some people can read a textbook and make an A on a test. While others study just as hard and still make a C. People are different, and have different life situations. You shouldn't be so judgmental, and call people "mediocre" when you really don't know anything about them or their life. Some people have learning disorders, or terrible test anxiety. Are you saying these people will not make as good a nurse as you will? Shame on you if you really think that. I hope that is not what you think,and I have just read/understood your statments wrongly. I don't understand why some people are like this. We are all going through the same thing. You think we would all look out for each other. Who knows?

And are you really saying that someone who just scrapes by and barely passes the NCLEX is probably going to be a good nurse just because they're compassionate? I suppose in some fields, perhaps, but if my kid is in the PICU and "trying to die," I'll take a cold-hearted bastard who happens to be smarter than heck, aced their PALS and CCRN exams and has mastered their craft any day over a dear, sweet, compassionate person who may or may not be at the top of their game.

I'll grant you that it takes much more than making an A to be a good nurse but I'd bet you that many more excellent nurses happen to have done very well in nursing school than just slipped by.

Bicster · May 16, 2009

I just cannot believe I am part of a thread where more than 1 person agrees with me. Feels kind of wierd.

jollydogg_RN, ADN, BSN · May 16, 2009

When I said that the person who scored 75% should consider retaking the course to master the material, I meant so they could get a 95%...which is what I consider mastering the material. Are you proud of your 3.0 because you truly feel like you have mastered everything they have taught you? I highly doubt it. IMO, 3.0 is nothing to be proud of. To me, saying you're proud of your 3.0 is like saying "I'm only going to work as hard as I absolutely have to just to get by and no harder, and I don't really care how well I know the material."
C nurses are nurses, too, but who's to say they are as good as the A nurses? You go ahead and take the nurse who barely passed since he/she won't be "snobby," because I want the smart snobby ones for myself and my family!

this makes me so sad..... to know there are people with this attitude.

you can "master" everything that is taught to you in school, but you will still need to learn more. you never "master" nursing. things are always changing, and there is always continual education and procedures.

this is why the NCLEX determines MINIMUM clinical safety. yes, MINIMAL. if you can achieve the MINIMAL safety standard, you can be liscensed to practice. there is only pass/fail. there is no special cord or pin you wear for 4.0'ing the NCLEX. this is why it does not matter if you are a "C" student, a "B" student, or if you sat in the corner and knocked out those "A"s.

are you honestly telling me you'd like a snobby nurse dealing with your family in time of need? maybe you would, i don't know. i dont know you, but you also don't know me, the "C" student. i wouldnt make presumptions about your work ethic and how good of a nurse you're going to be, you'll probably be a wonderful nurse. so on the other side of the token, you should keep your presumptions about us "mediocre" C students to yourself as well. maybe we didn't grasp the material quite as well, or study enough to get that A. however, we did pass, so yes, i guess unfortunately for you, we get to advance.

someone once told me: "hire character. you can always train skill"

if we passed nursing school, and passed the nclex, we already have the base foundation for nursing success. we can always be guided in our units during preceptorship to cover any potential weak areas before we're let out on the unit on our own.

i just cant believe how snide and generalizing some of you are being just because someone doesn't make a 4.0. I'm just glad me and my friends aren't like that.

Grats to you all on the grades though. But just remember: You can never "master" nursing. Especially in a time when we are making advances in health technology. You'll always find out you'll be changing the way you do things.

~FutureNurse~ · May 16, 2009

When someone you love is dying in the hospital..I want you to make sure and ask your nurse(before she provides care of course) what grades she made, what her GPA is, and how she did on NCLEX. I mean God forbid a "C" nurse save your mother's life or anything. I'm pretty sure you'd just rather let someone you love die, than have a medicore nurse care for them, right?

Bicster · May 16, 2009

When someone you love is dying in the hospital..I want you to make sure and ask your nurse(before she provides care of course) what grades she made, what her GPA is, and how she did on NCLEX. I mean God forbid a "C" nurse save your mother's life or anything. I'm pretty sure you'd just rather let someone you love die, than have a medicore nurse care for them, right?

having a mediocre nurse care for them, might very well lead to an untimely demise.

i do think its great that average people have an advocate in you. shoot for the stars!

jaysmom · May 16, 2009

It seems that our instructors do whatever it takes to make students pass sometimes. They don't round up if you have, say, an 89.4.... but if you're consistently failing they will offer tons of extra things to boost grades (making those of us with type A personalities crazy). There's also been a lot of hostility in my class with issues over "make up" tests for those who have failed miserably. Not fair but I've heard it has something to do with the administration. Our school is integrated in with a high school and for some reason we fall under the no child left behind act. Not fair and pretty scary as far as the nurses that could be potentially let out onto poor defenseless patients next year. Hopefully the NCLEX will weed out these slackers. I get resentful when I have that fore mentioned 89.4 but it makes me work harder to get that extra .10 of a point to prove to myself and my teachers that I am going to meet the challenge and be a good competent nurse someday. I think we have great teachers and a great dept. head, but the administration policies kind of suck (for a complete lack of a better word). At least if they don't round up you know that everyone is on an equal playing field and everyone is truly earning their marks.

vashtee, RN · May 16, 2009

I sure get sick of C students implying the A and B students are lacking in compassion and good bedside care. In my experience, these qualities are not related at all, and C students are at no advantage in these areas.

In my school, there was no rounding. They told us in advance, and I was okay with that. If you are relying on rounding up to get yourself through nursing school, you probably should consider another field.