Diminishing GPA? Do you care?

[Tony35NYC]

"C=RN". It seems that lately I'm hearing this equation more and more. Before I got accepted into nursing school I was a straight "A" honors student with a perfect 4.00 GPA. But, since I started nursing courses I've been doing "Bs" and even a couple "Cs". Of course, this means I'm no longer an honors student, but--oh well... There are some really bright guys and gals in my nursing class but these exams are extremely tough, and sometimes no matter how hard we study its very rare that anyone makes an "A". Most students say they no longer care about high GPAs, as long as they're making it through the program. Some are extremely happy to get that "C" at the end of the semester because they don't have to do the course over. Being a "C" student used to be a not-so-good thing, but lately, even my own attitude towards that has changed.

How about the rest of you?

[Chibi Baka]

Three months out of nursing school the student who had to have an A, 500-1000 index cards per test, killed a pt. She set a morphine pump that was supposed to be at one mg per hour basil at 9.9 mg per hour. The pt was an elderly post-op, not on tele and the nurse I mentioned was working a HS shift. It could happen to anyone and especially a new-grad. My former classmate's straight A's didn't mean a thing to the dead pt's family. I feel bad for this nurse even to this day, however, her mistake reminded me of what I decided after my first nursing-school test; study and do my best, but don't sweat not getting an A...an A won't make me a better nurse, person or lover. For what it's worth, Benton

she killed someone, oh my, that has to be horrible.

Im suprised the poor girl isnt on anti depressants from all the stress shes put herself through from college and now work.

[dansamy]

Check, check, and check again! It's just too dangerous not to triple check.

[Betty_SPN_KS, LPN]

I got all A's first semester. I know I didn't last semester, though I haven't yet seen my final grades. It's just harder than regular classes. It's just different.

I remember one instructor telling of a girl who was used to getting all A's. When she got a C she wanted to drop out. The instructor asked her why, and she said she didn't want to hurt her GPA. The instructor said that's not a good reason to want to be a nurse.

[Carolanne]

I got all A's first semester. I know I didn't last semester, though I haven't yet seen my final grades. It's just harder than regular classes. It's just different.

I remember one instructor telling of a girl who was used to getting all A's. When she got a C she wanted to drop out. The instructor asked her why, and she said she didn't want to hurt her GPA. The instructor said that's not a good reason to want to be a nurse.

Excellent point. Nursing courses are a different animal indeed. We're not just digesting what is given us in lecture and spitting it back at test time. We're developing critical thinking skills, prioritizing, etc. It's a whole different set of rules and way of thinking things out. Thanks for making this point.

[HyperRNRachel]

I have just added two B's to my once perfect 4.0. Do I care? No not now. I started out thinking I could keep my 4.0 and would be happy stuck in my books and ignoring the other students in my class. I have since realized that part of becoming a nurse is not all about book knowledge. It is about learning to lean on your friends, spreading yourself between school, family, and freinds and absorbing some of the traits of the profession that are not learned from reading a book. Traits such as forgetting what you know and doing what your heart tells you, laughing at yourself, and putting your own wants of having an A on hold in order to help someone whom may not make it because of their C average. I would love to be able to do all those things and keep an A, but I do not have that ability as of yet. Maybe one day I will. My new goal is to keep all A's and B's and keep developing those incredible relationships I have missed out on in the past. At my funeral nobody will comment on my grade point average, but I can be assured my friends will be able to talk about our good times while in nursing schooland what an incredible nurse I was for hours and hours......that is what it is all about. :)

[gij1]

Well, I was to be pinned on Wednesday but I failed cardiac nursing by one point and got a C- for the course. So I would have been pinned if I got that C, but it's okay. Things happen for a reason. I also was a B+ student until I hit the last semester of nursing. So I'm taking it over again in the fall (it's only a 7 week course) and for now I'm going to be an LPN at the hospital where I very much want to work. I look at it as more experience and seasoning in the meantime, and hopefully I'll be a better and more knowledgeable nurse in the end.

You have a great attitude! You will go far in your career.