Are A's a thing of the past?

jackson122 · Dec 13, 2007

Something my friend told me...b/c we're both used to getting all A's too!
C (or whatever it is at your school) = RN

I am in total agreement with you!! I have been an A student my entire life, and I start nursing school and seem to struggle to make C's. I've never studied this much in my entire life....how disappointing is that?

At least I came out of my 1st semester with B's. I can accept that, however hard it may be. And yes, you're right. At JCC, C=RN!!

Mexarican · Dec 13, 2007

Very impressive. How far along are you? Are there many others in your class with all As also? Keep up the great work. Jules

Not really. When i study hard...i get "A"s. That's just me. Some other people in our program study hard and put their all into it as well and don't get A's. Some people on here confuse effort with achievement. If a classmate studies extremely hard and they get C's and thats all that they can get and i study so so and i get a "B". Who do you think is the "better nurse"?? If i don't put my best foot foward then i am not being my best, i'm lacking. I could literally take it easy all four semesters and get C's but i won't be the best nurse for the job. It's based on your individual effort and what you can accomplish with max effort. Some posters here are expressing that if you "go into" the program saying a C=passing then your not putting your best effort. I agree...going into a program with a "just getting by attitude" will not make you a great nurse...maybe an average one but not great. If you are capable of getting A's and are not getting them then you have to be honest with yourself and realize that somewhere you are not putting your all. You would be less of a NS than the student who puts their all and is getting a C. If you don't put your all into being a nurse and still get high grades, then it don't mean a thing! I get "A"s because i know i can if i study hard. In my academic career, when i haven't gotten A's i can honestly say i didn't put my best effort. So my personal barometer for effort is A's. That may change someday if i'm challenged beyond my capabilities or a series of unfortunate events consipire to drag me down then at that point my best effort may only yield C's...but at this point i have not had that experience. As far as how many of us with A's...not many, probably out of our class of 55 there are probably 7 to 8 of us who consistently get A's, i may be overshooting that. In fact, i probably am...more like 5 to 6, I am going into the second semester of four semesters in our Bachelors program.

Mex

BoonersmomRN · Dec 13, 2007

When I started nursing school I had a 4.0. I held it all the way until I took Psych and then I missed an A by 0.4%. I was disappointed but I reminded myself that I did the VERY best I could do. After that I got a B in both Medical-Surgical 2 and Medical-Surgical 3. Again both i missed by less than a point. Neither of those bothered me. I started to take better care of myself and reminded myself daily that my health, well being, and sanity were worth a B.

There are people in my class who struggled every day to pass. They worked their tail ends off. They got C's in basically every class. Most of them either struggled with some type of learning disorder OR they worked far too many hours OR they had 6 kids at home OR they were going through a divorce OR they had a myriad of other things going on. But they worked their butts off to pass the program and now we are done...all of us are on our way to being nurses. I would let any of them take care of me in a heartbeat but...we do have 1 type A by the book " book smarter than ever" but " complete common sense lacking" straight A person in our class...I would probably never let her take care of me.

So, yes C students who worked their heinies off to pass are fine by me. C students who are C students who slacked off, slept in class, never studied, etc...those irk me to no end.

Atheos · Dec 13, 2007

What about A students that slacked off and slept in class?

jackson145 · Dec 13, 2007

What about A students that slacked off and slept in class?

sounds like my husband, talk about frustrating! :madface:

BoonersmomRN · Dec 13, 2007

LOL!

Well I guess I dont see how that is possible-haha. If they sleep through class and they never study ...that means they never crack a book( cant look at notes because they didnt take any since they were fast asleep)....then that person must be the BEST test taker in the whole world to walk into a test blind and remain an "A" student. I'd love to shake their hand and then I would never, ever let them be my nurse.

Seriously though every A student I have ever known has put time and energy into their studies...even if the material came easy to them.

jackson145 · Dec 13, 2007

LOL!
Well I guess I dont see how that is possible-haha. If they sleep through class and they never study ...that means they never crack a book( cant look at notes because they didnt take any since they were fast asleep)....then that person must be the BEST test taker in the whole world to walk into a test blind and remain an "A" student. I'd love to shake their hand and then I would never, ever let them be my nurse.
Seriously though every A student I have ever known has put time and energy into their studies...even if the material came easy to them.

My husband never studied and never even brought a book into the house. He had no previous nursing background at all. I don't know how he made the grades he did. I'd never want him taking care of me (but that has always been the case).

BoonersmomRN · Dec 13, 2007

Well like they say...in statistics there is always an outlier:)

futurecnm · Dec 13, 2007

What about A students that slacked off and slept in class?

i think this would be very rare. Every A student I have known (including myself!) studies a LOT and puts a lot of time and effort into their grades. Getting an A is a lot of work (for most!)

Mexarican · Dec 13, 2007

Yea no doubt, i consider the material to come easy to me. I don't have to chase it around to long in order to get it. But at the end of the day i still have to put it in front of me to get a grasp of it. I do have the benefit of being a really great test taker but that probably would only get me a passing "C" all by itself. But again like i said before...at the end of the day i wouldn't be the best nurse for the job because i wasn't putting my best. I would much rather have a "C" nurse who worked their a$% off and didn't leave anything to chance than a slacker with C's who has the ability to be making A's but chooses not to put in the work, just enough to "get by"! All C's are not created equal!!

Mex

lilyteen · Dec 13, 2007

C = RN
I think that this very statement is HORRID. I am sorry but I WON'T, REFUSE TO BE, and am appalled at nursing students who use this phrase. If your child or my child were in a serious situation would you want a nurse or a doctor working on them that had this for an attitude? NO WAY! I don't think that this particular phrase says anything to uplift the nursing profession. Nurses, at times and in certain circles, are not considered "intelligent." It is phrases like these, used by students that push that point of view. I am an A student, I will be an A nurse or I won't be one. I won't settle for myself or my patients to be someone who just does enough to get by. I think it is very very sad for the nursing community when phrases like these and others flow through students. There are students in my class who started out their pre reqs with this "fun little saying." Those are the very students who complain about tests being too hard, instructors being too hard, who are BARELY making the minimum grade required to pass each class. I think students need to take a deep look into what having this type of attitude brings. Trust me, if your child was in a NICU or PICU and you had to choose between a nurse who pushed him/herself and made the grades or one who just did enough to get by (C = RN), you would pick the one who pushed themselves.
VERY VERY sad, indeed.

Sorry for saying this...but I felt compelled to respond to this post. I will venture to say this...even though your bone of contention appears to be with the person who posted the quote, "C=RN", I feel compelled to add my two cents. I pose this question to you...what patient in this country is going to know whether you had As during college or the passing grade (albeit B or C)? What hiring institution will know that you have an A or the passing grade as set forth in your school's policy? Do new RN graduates bring their transcripts to their interviews? And if so, does the hiring official only select the person with the A? I know some students who can memorize the material so efficiently that they are able to secure the so-called coveted A in theory. However, I know many MORE students who fall within the less-than-perfect A category who are incredible people. People who are extremely caring, compassionate, loving, kind, competent...and yet only obtained perhaps Bs. To make a long story short, I am basically saying that I truly believe that the vast majority of the students who are in nursing as a profession do get less-than-perfect grades...but that has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that they are competent and caring people who perform outstanding services to their patients. What kind of world would the nursing profession be with only straight-A students being able to care for the public??? With the extremely high drop-out rate of nursing students as it as, not to mention the nation-wide nursing shortage that we are experiencing, it behooves me to think that we would insist on absolute 'book' perfection but not absolute perfection in interpersonal skills. The ability to memorize complex terminology does not equate necessarily to a stellar nurse.

Rexie68 · Dec 13, 2007

of course we should all strive to do our best, but we have a saying in school ......c's get degrees!! it's not meant to slack off, but, gosh, i'm going to get a c in my english class because i'm not a "scholarly writer." who cares?? i doubt that my patients will!! i'm going to school full time, working full time, single mom of four, had emergency surgery last week (ovaries are all gone, the one i had left twisted on itself and died....) and guess what...i might not get straight a's!! i'm getting an a in nursing so far, but even that might drop at some point. darnit, if i graduate with a c and pass nclex, i'm still going to be able to put rn after my name!!! :angryfire