Can stupid people pass nursing school?

allnurses Guide · Feb 14, 2012

It worked for me.

Jfarmboy · Feb 14, 2012

You are only as "stupid" as you say you are.

By you saying the word stupid you what you are really meaning is not smart. Someone who is truly "stupid" is someone who can't do simple math problems such as 2x8,imo. You are smart enough, if you would admit it.

As a friend of mine says "you don't have to be a rocket scientist to pass nursing school, you just have to be dedicated and study hard". If you are wanting to become a nurse GO FOR IT and let NOTHING stop you.

We tend to put limitations on ourselves when we think we are not good enough or not smart enough or not cut out for it.

Keep in mind they are all lies that seem to pop into your mind whenever things are not going a+.

Completely normal for these thought to role around in your head, whether pre-pre-nursing school,pre-nursing school,nursing school, maybe even RN.

I know I haven't even started college yet and I am already battling these thoughts.

But once you know it is what you need to be doing, you love doing it, you would never do anything else, then keep at it and you WILL get there. Same goes for me, it helps to realize what lies we are telling ourselves and then correct it.

Sometimes we need friends or family to set us straight and say "you ARE smart enough and you WILL do this, I believe in you". Find some friends to support you if at all possible and the best of luck to you!

Jfarmboy · Feb 14, 2012

I would add that some of my friends I see to be very smart people.

A few times when they were busy with life or did not make good goals and study time they got B's and C's in some subjects.

They got straight A's in other subjects. One is going to become a doctor. It is a LOT of information to get in our head and hard to study a 1000 pages of it. He is very smart but it is sometimes hard to study with 3 little kids. He still gets passing grades though.

allnurses Guide · Feb 14, 2012

I often wondered if anyone could graduate and pass NCLEX... I mean, why not? I did. I don't think I'm in the running to be the next Einstein, here.

But... I'd rather believe I did it because I'm intelligent enough.

A stupid person doesn't try.

A stupid person blames everyone else.

A stupid person doesn't know when to seek help.

A stupid person doesn't take responsibility to learn and figure out things on their own.

A stupid person refuses to honestly look at their own thoughts and actions to figure out what they need to do to fix themselves.

A stupid person doesn't know how to sacrifice now for the reward that comes later.

If someone can't do these things, then they won't make it.

Seas · Feb 14, 2012

For your question, yes, stupid students get accepted to crappy nursing schools and finish them. But they get caught in NCLEX though.

glencovediva · Feb 14, 2012

I'm an B, C student I know I wont get it in right away, but will I EVER get in? and I feel like I'm way to dumb to pass. I know people who I thought would be AMAZING nurses. They are so talented, hard working, super smart, and have experience and they say they are really struggling.
so... can stupid people pass?

No. In my school, we needed a C+ to pass the class, and an 85% to pass the dosage calculations test. There is no curving of grades in nursing school. I graduated with a 3.3 average.

DedHedRN · Feb 14, 2012

I met a girl in nursing school who failed microbiology 2 times and anatomy once before she passed with C's. She failed twice in one program, then switched to another where she failed second semester. Last I talked to her she had finally passed second semester and was in third. I don't know if she ever passed that or not. If she ever ended up being my nurse, I would request someone else. Nice girl, but dumb as a goldfish.

mrr5745 · Feb 14, 2012

I have to disagree. I have seen some nurses who have left me slack-jawed they were that stupid. How did they get through school and pass NCLEX? I chalk it up to dumb luck.

LOL! I've met some nurses who astound me because they were actually able to figure out how to get out of bed in the morning. Grades and test scores are only a small measure of one's intelligence, but unfortunately play a very large roll in the nursing school admission process. Best of luck to you and study hard!

Al.ginger · Feb 14, 2012

it's more about attitude IMHO. YOu need to change yours

J*Mart · Feb 14, 2012

Stupid people don't pass hardworking people do. I got B's and C's in my pre-reqs because I was too stupid to work for it. I got denied, denied, denied from NS for years. So, I took over my pre-reqs, tried harder and got A's. I reapplied to nursing school and finally got in. Now I am almost halfway thru and I am a straight A nursing student in an accelerated graduate program. It's not because I'm smart, I struggle every single day. It's because I put in the work, the time, and the effort. Change your frame of mind, really evaluate what is important to you, and do everything that you can to get it. When it comes down to it it is not the "smart" people who succeed in life because there is no such thing. It is the people who are smart enough to know what they want and who are willing to put in the blood, sweat, and tears (oh so many stress induced tears) to get it.

Vespertinas · Feb 14, 2012

...I thought this was a joke

NCRNMDM, ASN, RN · Feb 14, 2012

No, stupid people don't even get accepted into a nursing program to start with. However, there is a difference between stupid, lazy, less academically gifted, etc. Some people, to be brutally honest, just aren't the sharpest tools in the shed. No matter how hard they study, no matter how hard they try, they just can't pass the classes they are taking. These are, "stupid" people. That isn't a good word for them, but since you used it in your original post we will go with that. Lazy people are people who don't apply themselves, and whose grades suffer because of their lack of application. If they worked harder their grades might improve, or they might be, as you said, "stupid" and unable to make any better. Less academically gifted people are those who work very hard, but can't seem to make above a C, or who struggle to pass. These people can succeed, it will just take much more work and perseverance.

Nursing school is hard, and getting accepted is almost as hard as making good grades and remaining in the program. At my program, the minimum GPA for prerequisites was a 3.25. If you had a lower GPA than that, you either retook the prerequisites that were lowering your GPA, or you made it no further in the application process. If you did make it past that hurdle, you were subjected to the PSB-RN. This test looks at a student's ability to answer questions in science, math, reading comprehension, problem solving and reasoning, and vocational adjustment. To me, this test wasn't hard, and I scored higher than 99% of the people who took it. To others, this test was the one thing that kept them from getting accepted into the nursing program.

If you managed to make it past these two hurdles, you were asked to write an essay addressing why you wanted to be a nurse, what type of nursing interested you and why, and what contributions you thought you would make to the nursing field after you graduated. These essays allowed admissions officials to look at the grammar, syntax, punctuation, and command of language that the applicants possessed. Finally, there was an information session to attend. At the end of the session we were expected to introduce ourselves to the program directors and other admissions officials. This was our one, short, chance to make an impression. I think I talked to all of the admissions officials for about five minutes.

As others have said, your attitude will have to change. You don't need to be a cocky know it all type person, but you have to have confidence in your ability and knowledge. When you call a physician in the middle of the night, or insist that your clinical instructor go evaluate a patient, you better have evidence to back up your findings. You need confidence in yourself, and you can't second guess yourself or be timid about your knowledge.

Also, you will have to dedicate yourself to nursing school. You can't be wishy-washy, and you can't treat nursing school like a part-time job. Nursing school is full time, 24/7, 365 days a year. You will spend the majority of your time studying, writing papers, or working on school related information. You will overload your brain, stress yourself out, and push your mind and body to the limit. You have to have the emotional strength to handle the stress and pressure, the physical strength to handle the demands of patient care, and the intellectual strength to learn the tons of information needed to pass nursing school. It's a lot, it's overwhelming, and it's extremely stressful.

At the end of the day, a lot of your success is up to you. You can choose to go out to that party with your friends, or you can stay home and study. That decision may make the difference between passing and failing a test, or even a class. Your motivation, drive to learn, and passion for nursing will take you very far. Sometimes those who are the most motivated to become nurses do better than those who are extremely intelligent because those who want to be an RN badly enough will do whatever they have to in order to pass and continue on with their education. Whatever you decide to do, and however things play out, good luck!