Not doing well in nursing school?

readyforachangenow · Oct 30, 2013

I found a website/FB page called simplenursing.com they also have YouTube videos. You may have to subscribe but the reviews on the major improvements in test grades seemed promising. I would check it out.

monkeybug · Oct 30, 2013

I was flabbergasted when I (I! the honor grad and Star Student!) I got my first C in college. College is a whole different world. Don't chuck it all over one grade. I would look at the questions missed. Is it carelessness? Are you overthinking it? Are you totally missing key concepts? Do you "get it" but you don't express it in the way they wish? I discovered a couple of things about myself. I read entirely too quickly, causing me to miss essential points, and I second guess myself way, way too much. If I changed an answer, I usually got it wrong. I changed some things in the way I took tests, and things got better.

Thunda · Oct 31, 2013

it's normal, go through my pre-req's with a GPA of 3.9, the first semester of the nursing program dropped me to a 3.4, and I went from barely having to touch my books to reading chapters multiple times.

Nursing grading vs everywhere else is a contributing factor. Where I went and most programs in the area

A= 93%

B= 88-92%

C= 85-87

anything below that was an F.

The transition from rote memorization to theory is rough. Persevere and read your books over and over again because rarely will the crap they put on your power points cover or some times even be on your tests.

britmansf18 · Oct 31, 2013

Hang in there! I quit my chemistry class because I was so devastated that I miserably failed the first exam. Turns out it wasnt so bad the second time around. I just didnt have enough time with all of my credits to apply myself. Listen, use your nursing mentors to the max. They are wonderful for study tips and even keeping you on track for studying. I was in one of their offices at least once a week either venting or asking them to help me plan out what I was going to do for the next test. I even had them evaluate my study habits and see what I could do better. it helped tremendously! Your sophomore year will get even better..promise! I almost switched my major and I am so glad that I didnt. I realized too the important concept that grades do not transfer into how you will do as a nurse. Many people who excel in school do not do well as nurses. Tell yourself you can do it. Find something interesting to keep you motivated to study each subject and keep moving forward! You can do this!

SwansonRN · Oct 31, 2013

It's a big transition from high school to college level classes. Not to mention you chose arguably the hardest undergrad major! It's only your first year, you're still adjusting. For me, in high school, I never had to try to get straight As. College was a bit of a slap in the face. Not only did I have to learn how to study, I had to learn how to study hard!! I'm not saying it will get easier with time, but I think you will find a study routine that works for you. Good luck, my friend! Also as my classmates always chanted, "Cs get degrees!!!"

Hotfornursing, RN · Nov 3, 2013

We also had a saying, "C=Nurse". Hang in there, it will go by fast...I went from a A/B student to a B/C student in nursing school, it was very fraustrating!!!...There are times you will be grateful for that C, it means ur still in the game...Good Luck!!!

Anna Flaxis, BSN, RN · Nov 3, 2013

It is completely possible to get As in nursing school. I did it working full time and raising teenagers.

What it meant for me was that during my waking hours, I was doing one of three things; working, studying, or attending lecture. That's it. I cooked meals on the weekend, making enough casseroles and salad that we could eat from it for the week, and let myself get behind on stuff like laundry and house work.

School was the priority. And I made straight As.

If I did it, you can, too. It just depends on how much you are willing to sacrifice. If you're not willing to make the sacrifices it takes to get As, then you just have to find peace with the level of sacrifice you *are* willing to make, which is within YOU, not something we can tell you on an internet forum.

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Nov 3, 2013

First of all, it's tough making the transition from High School to College. That's always a challenge. While I did OK in HS, and I did OK my first time around in College, it wasn't until later that I'd really found how I learn best and made use of that. I re-did some of my prerequisites and ended up getting a 4.0 GPA for those courses. Now I'm in nursing school and I'm getting good, solid B grades. It's not uncommon for "A" students to become "B" students in nursing school. It really isn't. Part of that reason is that they're taking a lot of the memorization stuff you've learned in your prerequisites while presenting you with more information and having you apply nursing theory to that as well. It's really tough to do that! Basically you're being trained and tested on a whole different level of thinking than you've ever had to before.

You're still in your first year. You have a lot of growing to do before you're done, and when you're done and a nurse, you'll have even more growing to do. Just remember, for all the reading and memorizing, and stuff like that you have to do, ask yourself what will you actually do with the information and knowledge you have learned. That's application level stuff, which is above "simple" rote memorization and regurgitation that we do in other programs and courses.

SubSippi · Nov 4, 2013

You may not be getting the grades you want, but at least you're being challenged. Test grades aren't indicative of how much you've learned. There wasn't a single student that I graduated with that made straight A's, the program was too hard. The teachers didn't grade on a curve, so what we got was what we got.

When I was in school I made pretty much steady B's, with an occasional A here and there. You just have to remember that in nursing school, low grades don't mean you're unsuccessful, or that you're going to be a bad nurse! When I got hired, there were a ton of other new grads with me...I'm sure some made good grades and some didn't, but it's impossible to tell.

blondie1887 · Nov 8, 2013

That' nursing school:( I had a 3.5 when I started, now have a 3.38 and I am working very hard studying my ass off, mostly for B's and occasional B+ but our grading is

A: 96-100

A-: 95-93

B+: 92-89

B: 88-84

C+: 83- 79

C: 76

Philly_LPN_Girl, LPN · Nov 8, 2013

The prereqs is a total different ball game than hs because they go deeper into the subjects and Nursing School is a wholee different ball game from hs and the prereqs. There is a different way of thinking.

Dont give up, find out why youre not doing as good as you would like. For example, is it time for studyin? Is it how youre studying? Comprehension? Etc.