Could someone of average IQ become an ADN nurse?

Nursing Students ADN/BSN

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In your opinion, do I hold a chance at becoming a nurse with an IQ of 105, and a strong work ethic?

Specializes in Med/Surg,Cardiac.

"If you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree it will live it's whole life believing it is stupid." We all have different strengths and weaknesses and your passion and perseverance should play more of a role in determining your career path.. Not your IQ. Those tests are not the the most accurate measurement and have a variety of influencing factors.

~ No One Can Make You Feel Inferior Without Your Consent -Eleanor Roosevelt ~

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Well, no, intelligence isn't "relative". It's quantifiable according to an objective standard.

I suspect that the only people who insist that it's "relative" are those who are insecure about their own smarts.

That said, nursing is a field wherein I would expect the vast majority to score between 110 and 120 on a standard IQ exam, which would mean, if you're a nurse, lighten up; you're smart.

IQ tests measure whatever a certain culture deems valuable. The exams have nothing to do with knowledge or the ability to use the knowledge that one has in a meaningful way. The reason that I say it is relative is because IQ tests do not measure all aspects of intelligence, just what someone else decided is valuable. There are people in this world that may be a genius woodworker, mechanic, or business person that would score an average IQ score; yet, being gifted in certain things is not valued on IQ tests.

If the average nurse has an IQ of 110-120, that is average with a few being slightly above average. Yet, they do awesome things. People do not have to be insecure about their own smarts to question the scores. As a person that has tested into Mensa, I can say that those scores have nothing to do with real world smarts. Sometimes a number is just a number.

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Common sense is more important than IQ. If you've got a good head on your shoulders and a willingness to apply yourself, you'll be fine. Book smarts help, but if you can't think on your feet and apply it to real world situations, it doesn't matter how smart you are.

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I have a low iq, am incredibly lazy, short and fat, and still have managed to make it this far.

Seriously though, when I was in high school I put no effort in, ended up with a 2.7gpa. Went to community college, figured out i'm a total anatomy nerd, put in some effort and ended up with a b. GPA so far is like a 3.15, and yet I have had nursing classes with 4.0ers that fail out. Girls that are crying because they have a 4.0 and have never failed an exam...until now.

Moral of the story, IQ doesn't mean squat!, Nor does GPA.

When it comes to clinical knowledge, expertise, etc etc.

I tell my friends that their grade does not mean they will be a good or bad nurse.

Keep calm and nurse on baby!

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Specializes in geri,acute,subacute,correctional,pysch,.

Forget the IQ! It really doesn't matter what degree you have LPN, ASN, BSN, MSN, or even a DNP. Nursing demands a lot of common sense, hard work and dedication.

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Specializes in Trauma | Surgical ICU.

IQ is definitely needed to succeed in any field.

Was the IQ test standardized?

Is English your second language?

Those factors affect an IQ test. Don't just take an IQ test online and think of it as a word from God.

You need to make the grade in order to finish, you need to have brains to critically think, you need those to pass the nclex. Have you taken a Nursing entrance exam? If not, I suggest you take those practice questions and gage yourself. You can always study harder but working hard doesn't always produce quality results.

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Being as all this may, and everyone has brought up some great points about "scores" versus being a good nurse; however the fact remains in many areas of the country new grads with a GPA below a certain level aren't considered by the major systems.

NYP, NYU amoung others want to see at least 3.0 overall GPA (NYU is 3.5) often with no "C" grades in nursing or science courses.

This follows most NYC area nursing programs wanting minimum of 3.0 overall and or including sciences in pre-nursing in order to apply for admission onto the nursing program. Just having that 3.0 often isn't enough these days as applicant pools have swelled with large numbers of students with GPA's at or >3.5

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Well, despite the backlash, the Stanford-Benet is still a pretty reliable standard of measurement for raw intelligence scoring.

Stanford-Binet. Just sayin'.

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.
Stanford-Binet. Just sayin'.

Wish I could say it was just a typo...

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Specializes in FNP, ONP.

A better question would be "should..."

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Every reply was brilliant. We must all be at least 150 if not higher!!! Never heard from the original poster???? I still wonder if it was a gag?

I do believe the Stanford-Binet is a good, valid, picture of a person.....but I am still certain I never had one?

I just wish politicians had to have a Stanford-Binet along with some science classes before running for office!

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I have an IQ of 107 based on 3 hours of tests by a psychologist for ADHD. I graduated with honors from a 4 year state college with BSN in nursing so it kind of surprised me that my IQ was so low. However, I work hard and really care about my patients. We had one super smart but lazy RN who would use her intelligence to manipulate staff and patients to her advantage. So I realized IQ isn't always everything. Yes, haha, I found out I have ADHD!

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