Are you a competitive Nursing Student?

Nursing Students General Students

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Are you the type of nursing student that will do anything for an A?

Are you disappointed if you make less than a 95?

I'm curious, I heard nursing students are cut throat and aggressive....

Is this true?

I start my program in the Fall, so I just wanted to know what my classmates would be like.....

Specializes in Trauma & Emergency.

I will venture to say that for the most part nurses are type A personalities and tend to be perfectionists. I would never hang someone out to dry..of course I would help them in any way I can. But I also can't deny that I have met some students who won't help others with a difficult topic because then they are insuring a better grade than them on the next test--this is counterproductive. I think that we must remember that when we all graduate and are out in the "real" world, you never know who your coworkers/managers/charge nurses/DON/ADON will be. Like I've said in so many posts.. MAKE ALLIES NOT ENEMIES! There's no room for enemies here.

Specializes in NICU.

I agree, not helping someone before a test is counterproductive and ridiculous. I would think helping would be beneficial, because that would be another opportunity to go over the material, iron out some kinks, and possibly delve a little deeper into the material. I've always found that teaching the material actually helps the 'teacher' as well as the 'student'.

Specializes in PICU/Pedi.
I agree, not helping someone before a test is counterproductive and ridiculous. I would think helping would be beneficial, because that would be another opportunity to go over the material, iron out some kinks, and possibly delve a little deeper into the material. I've always found that teaching the material actually helps the 'teacher' as well as the 'student'.

I have found that when I "teach", either by explaining things to a family member, or helping another student, I retain the info much better.

I'm gonna venture out and say that I am one of the competitive ones. When I see a classmate ask me about an apical pulse.."Apical pulse? Isn't that in your arm? We didnt count the pulse there, we only listened to the heart...." Yea, I'm expecting to make a better grade than her. I don't enjoy seeing others fail, but I do secretly hope that certain people will not make it to be RNs. I do not have straight A's, but I am proud of the grades I have earned. I have never really been close to failing a class so far. I know several people that only passed Med/surg I because they had a copy of the old final...those people I believe deserve to fail.

Specializes in Vascular Surgery.

Personally, I enjoy competition -- against myself and my classmates. I bump between 1st and 2nd in the class. Currently a 3.8 GPA. It keeps us 'top performers' on track and gets us ready to compete for nonexistent jobs in the near future.

The thing that I have the most difficulty with is working with some classmates who's favorite phrase is 'C's get degrees'. For some reason they don't understand how I can literally laugh out loud when they finish a conversation about getting wasted the whole weekend and then ask me for help studying. :rolleyes:

Specializes in IMCU.

I like to know where I am in relation to other students. For example: I like to know the highest score and the average on quizzes and tests. Do I like it when I have the highest grade...yep. Do I work harder when I am not...yep.

For me this is probably because I come from an academic family/background (they are relentless).

I will say that this attitude has helped me because, as you know, "stuff happens". I have adult responsibilities including my aging parents. When some medical crisis has arisen I have a good bit of wiggle room in my grades. In fact when I broke my wrist two semesters ago I dropped a whole grade in two classes from time off (surgery etc.) -- still got a B for both of them.

Perhaps everyone doesn't have such an eventful life as me....

Personally, I enjoy competition -- against myself and my classmates. I bump between 1st and 2nd in the class. Currently a 3.8 GPA. It keeps us 'top performers' on track and gets us ready to compete for nonexistent jobs in the near future.

The thing that I have the most difficulty with is working with some classmates who's favorite phrase is 'C's get degrees'. For some reason they don't understand how I can literally laugh out loud when they finish a conversation about getting wasted the whole weekend and then ask me for help studying. :rolleyes:

Ha- I agree. Those who are getting wasted all weekend deserve what they get! I can't imagine trying to actually study w/ a hangover. Or worse, do clinicals.:yawn:

I will say this- to confine working your butt off and being competitive, w/ a 4.0. is a bit unfair. Not to sound like a big baby:cry:, but I can't tell you how my life will be when I start the program this fall. I have a 2.5 year old son, and a 4 year old daughter. I have a loving a supportive husband, but he is away from the home for work 70 hours a week. It's harder for someone like me, and I know there are others out there, to study as much as maybe the student next to me, who is still living w/ her parents and has no children. I'm not saying that a 4.0 in my position can't be done, but I can't, for myself, be sure that can be done. I will try w/ everthing I got to get the best grades possible, but I can't predict what is come. All I can say is I will be happy w/ the grade I get as long as I know that is what I deserved to get. They may not be the grades I would like to have, but as long as I get my pin at the end of my two years, and I worked as hard as I was able to, I will be proud!

I'm gonna venture out and say that I am one of the competitive ones. When I see a classmate ask me about an apical pulse.."Apical pulse? Isn't that in your arm? We didnt count the pulse there, we only listened to the heart...." Yea, I'm expecting to make a better grade than her. I don't enjoy seeing others fail, but I do secretly hope that certain people will not make it to be RNs. I do not have straight A's, but I am proud of the grades I have earned. I have never really been close to failing a class so far. I know several people that only passed Med/surg I because they had a copy of the old final...those people I believe deserve to fail.

I don't agree with the last sentence. I've had several professors make copies of old exams available. The main reason they do this is so students will know what to expect on the exams, as far as the types of questions they ask and the format of the exam. I noticed (along with one of my professors) that most students don't do as well on the first exam, but improve on subsequent exams because they are better prepared for what the professor expects. And if that resource is made available, it's wise to take advantage of it.

Specializes in Vascular Surgery.
Ha- I agree. Those who are getting wasted all weekend deserve what they get! I can't imagine trying to actually study w/ a hangover. Or worse, do clinicals.:yawn:

I will say this- to confine working your butt off and being competitive, w/ a 4.0. is a bit unfair. Not to sound like a big baby:cry:, but I can't tell you how my life will be when I start the program this fall. I have a 2.5 year old son, and a 4 year old daughter. I have a loving a supportive husband, but he is away from the home for work 70 hours a week. It's harder for someone like me, and I know there are others out there, to study as much as maybe the student next to me, who is still living w/ her parents and has no children. I'm not saying that a 4.0 in my position can't be done, but I can't, for myself, be sure that can be done. I will try w/ everthing I got to get the best grades possible, but I can't predict what is come. All I can say is I will be happy w/ the grade I get as long as I know that is what I deserved to get. They may not be the grades I would like to have, but as long as I get my pin at the end of my two years, and I worked as hard as I was able to, I will be proud!

What helped me was checking out the 'nursing tips' threads. Totally helped me prepare for class and clinicals. Being 'well rounded' often substitutes for a 4.0. Remember 10% of the job is completing tasks, and 90% is personal interaction. :nuke:

Specializes in Psych.

I like friendly competition and I hate seeing my fellow students do badly. It would be fun to compete more aggressively with someone, but I absolutely do not want to hurt anyone's feelings. I have been the lonely top student in many classes before nursing school. The last thing I want is to be in that position now. NS is stressful enough without your classmates wanting your head on a pike.

Specializes in none as of yet..

I, personally, hold myself to an A status. I work hard to achieve that goal, with many people being pushed to the wayside. While proud of my GPA, I am not proud of my lack of balance between school and everything else. As for the rest of my class it was across the board, from C's to A's. The school that I go to have significantly increased their bar as to what is acceptable to move forward. Don't be a Jill....do your best, but with balance in all areas of your life.

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