Can an average nursing student make it in Grad School?

[rll28]

After graduating with a business degree and having to face the real world with no professional skill I found out pretty quick that there are not many opportunities out there right now for an average individual. So i decided to go back to school to become a nurse and after my first year i found myself making straight A's in A&P and Dosage Calculation. But in my nursing fundamentals i am struggling because of my lack of experience, critical thinking, and test taking skills. I have consistently stayed in the B and C range but feel like im behind the rest of the class. Even though it is early in my nursing school career I want to become a Nurse Practitioner and have the ambition and drive to do so. So I have a few questions for all the nurse practitioners out there. First of all do you think an average student can make it in grad school? Secondly, do you have any advice for an individual with a dream of becoming a Nurse Practitioner?

[JBudd, MSN]

Yes, you can.

My GPA dropped severely when I went to nursing classes, but slowly climbed back up by the end. The tests were totally different from the pre-req types I took.

Advice? work the floors and then a specialty (like ER or somewhere that requires a lot of assessments) before going on for your NP. I went back after over 20 years (no, not saying wait that long ). I'm in the Edu. track.

[JBudd, MSN]

rll28, answered your PM but then I got kicked offline. If it didn't go through, the answer is "sure".

[lovingpecola]

I know you were asking this question to people who are already NPs, but I thought I could offer you some encouragement! I am in a graduate nursing program and I have an unrelated degree. It is tough, but don't give up. You don't have to be at the top of the class, you just have to know what you're doing. You'll do better in some classes than others. For example right now I'm making honors in Pharm, but only average in Med Surg. For others, it could be the opposite. It takes a little (or a lot) of practice to get used to the kinds of questions you're being asked, and it's even harder when your first degree is in something non-scientific (at least for me as an English grad) but it is still possible to do well in grad school!

LP