Everyone has a 4.0 GPA!!

Patchouli · Jun 17, 2009

people in glass houses..........

GOMER42 · Jun 17, 2009

Sometimes people nitpick others when they feel insecure about themselves. Perhaps you are picking people apart and labeling them as liars because it makes you feel better about yourself.

Hopefully the nurses you will be working with won't jump on here and tell everyone about the stupid answers you give or the things you don't know- because there will be times that you will look like an idiot or won't have an answer and will respond "I don't know." It is better to say that than to give an answer that you are unsure of.

Perhaps taking time to self reflect on your own shortcomings may be more productive than dwelling on those of others.

Good luck to you.

AllSmiles225 · Jun 17, 2009

I also just have to interject that "book nursing" and "clinical nursing" are two TOTALLY different things. I myself had very strong theory grades but clinical was tough for me. I was nervous in front of patients when I was in school and OF COURSE I questioned if I really knew my skills well enough to perform them on patients. Nerves are a huge part of clinical nursing especially for student nurses and new nurses that are on their own. A 4.0 in A&P and first year fundamentals doesn't make you a good nurse. What does make you a good nurse is learning that we are all in this together. When I have a problem who do I run to? Another nurse.. we bounce ideas off of each other, not compete against one another. There is always something that others know that I may not know or be misinformed of and maybe things I know that they don't. That's why were all in this together..we must make allies in this profession..not enemies.

DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP · Jun 17, 2009

Not to mention, anyone can say they've got a 4.0, whether or not its true.

Exactly! Besides, why does it matter to the OP?

nkara, CNA · Jun 17, 2009

Well either she lied or she test's better than she speaks? Some people have better book smarts than common sense. :jester: I'm also assuming that most of them with the 4.0 were telling you the truth but I find it hard to believe that EVERYONE in the program has that GPA. Don't let that get you down .... think positive! :roll

RN1982 · Jun 17, 2009

This cracked me up especially the itty bitty girl who took a Nurse Tech position in the NICU.
I had orientation with her the day before and I couldn't help but laugh at her ignorant questions and statements. It was so bad I shared with my fiance when he got home.
When discussing warning signs for bleeding she stated decreased HR increased BP.....
This is just one the ridiculous things she said... and if not saying something ridiculous she said "I don't know"
Once again, she claims to have a 4.0...
And she has completed the first semester of Nursing School.
What makes this worse is if my child goes to NICU after birth, I will insist she doesn't lay a hand on him!!

This response isn't going to be "popular" but this is how I felt after reading the OP.

In my opinion and from experience, it's always been a requirement of every intern program that I have ever read about that transcripts were required. You say she is in her first semester of nursing school and I think it's rather rude for you to say that everything she says is "ridiculous" or "ignorant". When she answers that she doesn't know something, it's because she's in her first semester of nursing school AND she doesn't know because it's completely obvious she hasn't had her pediatrics/OB rotations yet. I think Gomer is right that people nitpick others because they have their own insecurities because it sures seems that you are picking people apart to make yourself feel better.

rn2bnwi, BSN, RN · Jun 17, 2009

I'm in an accelerated program and most of us have close to 4.0's but the way the program works for us is you don't start clinicals until a third of the way through the program. While i think most would know the difference since all but a couple of my classmates have been cna's i wouldn't expect someone in their first semester of nursing school to know everything.

As for infant vitals i just took a test on them a week ago and i would still have to check a reference to tell you them. A CNA/tech is doing delegated work and your baby would be in no danger at what your saying. we all are learning in school. I would be MUCH more concerned at a student nurse that claimed to know it all than one who acknlowedges that she is still learning.

should you happen to get in the accelerated program you applied to may i offer a little advice? Its not a competition. accelerated programs are intense and stressful and your classmates are you allies.... not the enemy. work with them and root for them you are all in this together!! best of luck with the new baby!

NursingStudent5548 · Jun 17, 2009

It mattered to me because I am transfering from another state and was trying to get statistical information on those whom I will be competing with for a limited spot in a nursing program.

If everyone of those nurses truly has a 4.0 then, yes I have reason to be worried I am slightly beneath that.

I am and was so harsh about this things because this was an orientation for CNA's and Receptionist. It was also pretty common knowledge stuff. Like a picture of a patient was presented drinking some sort of tomato based drink (could be alcohol/or not) but a sign above their head on a BIG RED piece of paper said NPO. She was asked what was wrong here... I don't know his head is to high?

I know she is a student nurse but she was supposed to be the most KNOWLEDGEABLE and EDUCATED person in the orientation. NPO is taught in MED Term before even entering the nursing program.

I am insecure and do worry I won't be accepted into the program. I have not hidden this fact and have made it very clear.

I don't expect her to know everything... but I do expect her to know vitals for the patients she is caring for. I do expect her to notice excessive vomiting, decreased urine output, dehydration, jaundice, and any other problems.

She is the first line working with this children. She got a difficult slot to get, NICU is high demand and very competitive to get into.

In fact she stated "I only applied for NICU, and they only accept 3 Tech's a semester"

If you were the top pick I expect to see the best from you!!

I don't consider not being able to know things that CNA's and Receptionist know to be the best or even acceptable.

I worry if the RN rarely gets into a patients room, and you don't know basic things that signal a decline in the patient status what's going to happen to that patient?

I am behind her education wise, I haven't been shown sterile procedure for foley's but she has.

I didn't expect her to know anything I hadn't already learned in obtaining my prerequisites.

SO yes, I am concerned to see this and if she really does have a 4.0 and would be accepted into the nursing program and I am not. I am concerned and would feel very upset that someone who's GPA was above mine by less than .31 percentage got accepted and I didn't. From what I gather if honestly all those nurses had 4.0's and there is only 30 slots, I may not even stand a chance.

SO yes it does worry me...

Cause maybe if I wasn't taking 18-20 hours a semester while pregnant and working full time then I to would of had a 4.0!!

This is a city with 400,000 people and only 30 RN/BSN slots available a semester, thats scary!!

Patricia1101 · Jun 17, 2009

Wow, talk about eating your young.

Patchouli · Jun 17, 2009

there have got to be other nursing programs besides this one. i do hear ya on the gpa thing. there were only four (i believe) perfect 4.0 students at the end after we graduated. our program is known for it's difficulty. i would look for other options if you are this worried about this particular school.

DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP · Jun 17, 2009

I worry if the RN rarely gets into a patients room, and you don't know basic things that signal a decline in the patient status what's going to happen to that patient?
Huh? What makes you think the RNs rarely get into the rooms?? If I or any other RN conducted ourselves like that, we would soon be out of a job. That statement makes no sense to me. Sorry.
Even IF this is the case, it is NOT under the scope of practice for UNLICENSED personnel to assess patients. Techs/CNAs, etc are trained to perform basic nursing functions such as V/S, ADLs, etc. It is not in their scope of practice to INTERPRET them.
So I have no idea what YOU are worried about...

eriksoln, BSN, RN · Jun 17, 2009

Okay I was doing orientation at a major hospital today...while there I had time to talk to new grads and students at the program I am going to enroll in.
I am hoping to get into the accelerated program. The standards are higher to be accepted in this program and although I exceed them, I still worry about getting accepted.
So I (know maybe rude) asked a few people what their GPA was in school. EVERY single person told me 4.0!!
This cracked me up especially the itty bitty girl who took a Nurse Tech position in the NICU.
I had orientation with her the day before and I couldn't help but laugh at her ignorant questions and statements. It was so bad I shared with my fiance when he got home.
When discussing warning signs for bleeding she stated decreased HR increased BP.....
This is just one the ridiculous things she said... and if not saying something ridiculous she said "I don't know"

Once again, she claims to have a 4.0...
And she has completed the first semester of Nursing School.
What makes this worse is if my child goes to NICU after birth, I will insist she doesn't lay a hand on him!!
I am also concerned how or why would any hospital hire an nursing student who couldn't tell a foley from an IV!!
I mean didn't the ignorance I have seen displayed over the last 2 days come out during her interview??

Actually, this is not all that strange. Not saying its acceptable or anything or that she doesnt need some guidance perhaps, but its not uncommon.

Some of the students from my school who had "4.0":

1. I know of 3 people from my graduating class that failed boards first time. One of them had the magical "4.0".

2. My class, from beginning to end had a lot of people drop out because of clinicals, not because of theory. We often joked at the trend of people dropping out of the program and stating clinicals were the reason. It seemed they all had great theory grades. It got so bad, when someone got a "A" on a test............they'd announce to the class "I'm getting written up this week in clinicals for sure."

3. I did not like a lot of things at my school program. Disorganized, chaotic, unclear expectations. One thing I think that went well though was Skills Lab. Our lab instructors were superior. Never had a lab class that I didnt appreciate. We had only two students ever have to repeat a semester because they failed lab. Both of them had very good theory grades.

I think these trends were not coincidence nor were they unique to my class. It boils down to two things:

1. Clinicals and Lab are simply pass/fail. Doing well in them vs. barely getting by makes no difference what so ever. In theory, it does though. A system where all three are represented by a letter grade would help with this.

2. The theory behind "Knowledge Application" tests is solid, and a lot of effort is put into making the tests. In the end though, I dont think they do a very good job of giving a grade reflective of the person's understanding of the material. It is harder to B.S. your way through a test but something is still lacking. To be honest, I think often the wrong people do well with these tests. The purpose they were designed for was to raise a red flag on those who memorize instead of understand. But, somehow, it just ends doing something completely different.