Reading alot of posts discussing "A" nursing students vs "C" nursing students

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I still want to voice my opinion. Lately, I've been reading alot of post discussing "A" nursing students verses "C" nursing students. It breaks my heart that there are students that are so hung up on grades that they rather want an "A" nurse taking care of them over a "C" nurse. Come on now ! When was the last time a patient asked you what your GPA was ? When was the last time as a patient yourself you asked your nurse what her GPA was ? Nursing school is stressful enough and while I strive everyday to make A's on exams I don't. I started out with A's and now I'm hanging around with high C's. Don't me wrong, I take NS and my grades very seriously... the only difference is that I don't let my grades whether A's or C's determine what kind of nurse I'll be. I graduate in a few weeks and I'm not sure if I'll still have my above 3.0 average, but I tell you one thing I'm still going to hold my head up high and take care of patients to the best of my ability . I'll still be a nurse and no less of a nurse then my classmates that got A's through nursing school. These are nursing exams, the real test starts when you start working and providing competent care to patients. So I'm saying enough is enough ! To you students who are A students I want to give you a big :clphnds: I know you deserve your A and worked hard for it. For you students who are " C " students I want to give you a big :clphnds: as well and you also worked hard for you grade as well. No one goes into nursing school wanting to make C's all the time, however it happens. I haven't met one student that said" I'm studying my butt off for that C. Students now days are so caught up in grades instead of the true meaning of nursing. :crying2:When my pt. comes in with cardiac arrest and is in alot of pain he won't care what grades I got, he cares about my compassionate and me providing good quality care. Come on A and C students can't we all get back to what nursing really is about.A nurse is a nurse . Once you pass that nclex you are a nurse:nurse:

Thanks for letting me get this off my chest. I'm done you all can yell at me now. :sofahider

its really disgusting to hear that jobs are actually using grades in the hiring process. i think thats distasteful, and any place that doesnt want to hire me because of my gpa isnt a place im sure i would want to work!!! grades dont make the nurse!!!! i agree with both 2bnursejacksonrn and patchouli!! you people are should be ashamed of yourselves.

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its really disgusting to hear that jobs are actually using grades in the hiring process.

disgusting? seriously? what an odd thing to say.

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Specializes in Renal/Cardiac.
this has got to be the most nauseating thread i have ever read! although i agree that people should obviously strive to do their best while in school, i think it's insane to compare grades with one another. i assure you that in my school, with the way they do the grading system, my b is technically higher than some of your as. in other schools, the system may be higher than ours. i was a 4.0 student (prereqs) before starting actual nursing school. now, i'm a 3.something. not only was the content much harder, but the grading system changed. you have to make an 86% at my school to be considered a b student. that's the very lowest percent to make a b. no rounding up at my school, no bonuses. so, to compare one nursing program to another is absolute stupidity. there are lots of c students in my program, some graduated with an 85%, and they are still c students! you guys need to get a grip. i can tell you that i worked my butt off for my b. my school ( a community college) is well known for the wonderful nurses it produces. hospitals love to hire our nursing students. tons of clinical time, and tough curriculum. then of course, one needs to also look at the person as a whole. some people are raising families without outside help. some people have serious health problems. some are so broke that they eat ramen noodles every night. some have dealt with death of loved ones, divorce, loss of homes, etc. while in the program. some have dealt with multiples of these issues! at what point did you guys stop critically thinking? if you judge your patients like you judge others, i'd hate to be in their shoes! it's terrific to be proud of your accomplishments, but pride comes at a cost when you let it consume you. passing judgment on others (like i've read here) is a definant character flaw!

i totally 100% agree with you like i said previously i really don't feel the gpa makes a nurse ---i know i struggled and it was an extremely hard program to me but i am definitely better for going through it and i know i will be able to give my clients the best care in which they deserve---so thank you again for posting this for it is veryyyyyy true

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excuse me, discouraging was the word that was meant to be in that sentence. however, i am having another conversation at the same time and my hands typed what my brain was thinking at that moment opposed to what i intended to type. again, excuse that mistake.

oh and while i am at it, let me not forget to commend the a students as well. being one myself, i know how much time and effort we put into getting good grades and attaining as much of the information as possible. i also know what sacrifices we have to make (i.e., cutting hours at work, a deflated social life, lack of sleep, less time with family) in order to do this. so, a round of applause to you as well...... :yelclap:

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Specializes in critical care, PACU.
Some of this stuff is so ridiculous! Who do these "A" people think they are, looking down their noses at others?

It goes both ways. Who cares. This whole post is a waste of time...its just the same people asserting that B students are just as good as A students and those A students well, they are running around like chickens with their heads cut off killing patients right and left because their type A homicidal minds are so overworked and irrational that they cant think straight.

I love love love nursing. I really really care about people and who they are and Im a student so who knows if I will be a good nurse. None of us students are even nurses yet and when we graduate we sure as heck wont be great nurses off the bat.

My gpa is my personal goal and is totally irrelevant to nursing. I just want to know as much as I can so I can be competent and having a 4.00 came along with that in my case. And btw, I do just fine on ATI (although I think ATI operates in a state of upsidedown witchcraftery flim flam)

It seems that any time us students get cut loose on vacation, hard core debates erupt. Like MJ over spring break. We need to keep busy or we all go insane it seems.

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Ah, discouraging makes more sense. Fair enough. I found with my previous degree that when applying to places without experience, people were much more interested in my GPA (which was awful) than I had expected them to be. If that's the case this time around I have that much more reason to keep working hard!

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Specializes in critical care, PACU.

I think the whole asking for transcripts deal is due to the economy but Im sure as we all know, it doesn't determine who gets hired solely d/t grades

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i recently graduated (december 2008) from nursing school and carried a "C" average the whole time. ya know the funny part? i am a much better nurse the girls in my class that were "A" students. they may have been book smart, but when it comes to actually caring about patients and seeing to their needs they had no idea what to do, because the book didn't tell them how to deal with certain situations. it doesn't matter what grades you make in nursing school so long as you graduate and make it through boards.

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Disgusting? Seriously? What an odd thing to say.

In the hiring process there are many elements of the whole picture that will determine if you will land the job or not some are very obvious like eloquent resume,experiences,people you know or dont know,things you know or dont know,appearance,charisma,how you present and answer questions during interview,your motivation,,friendly caring personality (managers can definitely sense one),degrees (BSN,MSN).Grades play only small part in the hiring process,everything else has to fit in the picture just right and of course the LUCK!!!

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It goes both ways. Who cares. This whole post is a waste of time...its just the same people asserting that B students are just as good as A students and those A students well, they are running around like chickens with their heads cut off killing patients right and left because their type A homicidal minds are so overworked and irrational that they cant think straight.

I love love love nursing. I really really care about people and who they are and Im a student so who knows if I will be a good nurse. None of us students are even nurses yet and when we graduate we sure as heck wont be great nurses off the bat.

My gpa is my personal goal and is totally irrelevant to nursing. I just want to know as much as I can so I can be competent and having a 4.00 came along with that in my case. And btw, I do just fine on ATI (although I think ATI operates in a state of upsidedown witchcraftery flim flam)

It seems that any time us students get cut loose on vacation, hard core debates erupt. Like MJ over spring break. We need to keep busy or we all go insane it seems.

We are just as good as A students,and sometimes if not for the majority of the time we have what is called "street smarts" and run a circles around A students in clinicals,and then if we try hard enough we even get A+;)

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I couldn't have said it any better, I have always said this. I agree with you one hundred percent:yeah:

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Specializes in Obstetrics, M/S, Family medicine.

Unfortunately, there still remains the stigma of "C students don't understand like A students," and I have also noticed the reverse stigma that "A students are good at theory, but cannot translate to real world."

What is truly comes down to is that you should strive to get 100% in every class, and while you should not allow a C to wreak havoc on your confidence, you also should not allow an A to make you feel as though C students are "less worthy."

The fact of the matter is....there are amazing "C" nurses, bad "C" nurses & amazing "A" nurses, bad "A" nurses.

Control what you can. Remember that nursing is multi-faceted, and you need to remember that while most nurses can go about their day and get all of their "stuff" done, there is a much smaller number of nurses who can do it with compassion, skill, intuition and honesty.

Strive everyday to be the nurse that you want to be remembered as. C nurses affect patient's lives just as much as A nurses. Do ever doubt your ability JUST because of a grade.

Remember, there are many, many things that you do not and will not learn in school. Take these "lessons" to heart as your begin your career.

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