Why are my classmates so competitive?????

Nursing Students General Students

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have anyone, or does anyone have to deal with the competitiveness, cattyness and unbearable melting pot of personalities of fellow nursing classmates?

at times my teacher broadcasts the grades of those who scored the highest on exams and quizzes,and i wonder if this adds to the atmosphere of competition and inadequacy. though i get decent grades i know that at times when i've "fallen short" i have questioned my brainpower.

we have enough stressors this competition thing really disgusts me.:angryfire

Like it or not, we are competiting with one another.

Actually, when you think about it, that's not the case. It's not like there's a limited number of A's or limited number of B's, etc. that people have to fight for.

People score what they're going to score. It's not like they have to beat another classmate's score to get a better grade ... unless there's a curve that higher scoring students blow, but that's not always the case since not all teachers curve.

I guess people are naturally competitive, and like to compare their grades to others. Seems to be the only explanation.

:smokin:

i like the secret password with posted grades system. My psych professors and speech professors have done that and it works out well, you can go when noone is around so no ones is going to harp on you to find out your grade.

Some of your classmates want to make others believe that getting the highest marks in the class makes them the better nurse. Yes, grades are important, but just because someone gets an "A" in a nursing class doesn't necessarily mean that they'll be a fantastic RN.

I'm lucky; in my program almost everyone is really supportive with no competition. There is just one woman in my course that is an "A" student and needs to let everyone know how well she is doing and how much she knows. I need to add that no one likes her (even the other "A" students) 'cause she's so annoying and competitive. She'll ask students that she knows aren't doing well how they are doing and what they got on their last test. Those poor students are stressed as it is. We don't socialize with her outside of class. She wonders why people aren't hanging out in study groups after class or getting together for lunch. Well, we are getting together all the time, but she's never invited. Sometimes people just have a way of screwing themselves.

Exactly! Very well said! This one guy in my class made 90% and above on all of the theory tests. However, one of the instructors ended up failing him for clinical. One of the things that I remember him telling a patient was that he was recieving I.V. fluids so that his veins wouldn't collapse. He also violated the HIPPA regulations in an elevator which was the last straw. None of us understands how in the world he got such good grades.

I received a letter 2 days ago that informed me that i'm graduating first in the whole nursing class. Yes, i'm thrilled, but no one in class knows who's actually graduating first.

Congratulations! What a wonderful accomplishment,

Specializes in critical care; community health; psych.

If you want to get in a program, you have to be competitive. It's not something that can be turned on and off like a sprinkler. The spirit of competition has its own momentum even after you get in when there's no need to compete. The way I see it, it's just our nature.

I get excellent grades. I only compete with myself to get these grades. Nobody askes what i get on tests, and i don't volunteer the info either. I received a letter 2 days ago that informed me that i'm graduating first in the whole nursing class. Yes, i'm thrilled, but no one in class knows who's actually graduating first. The people who received the letters that are graduating in the top have already told each other and everyone else where they are in the line, and are wondering who's graduating in the top 4 spots. To me, yes it's a big deal that i made it, but then again, if i would say that i'm one of those 4, would i be perceived as boastful?

This is a wonderful attitude to have. You don't feel a need to be reinforced for your accomplishments by others. So many students feel the need to wave their good grades in the air to boost their own ego and perhaps in some unconscious way make someone feel bad so they can feel good. Congratulations on your accomplishments, you will be successful in your career.

Specializes in L&D.

No, luckily we don't have that problem at my school not that I've seen anyway. As far as announcing peoples' grades...they NEVER do that at my school. Privacy is very important in my program, actually in my school as a whole.

Specializes in L&D.
Many of your classmates probably have their eyes on graduate school or a very competitive specialtiy. Grades matter in that case. Like it or not, we are competiting with one another. Of course, this doesn't excuse rude or "catty" behavior if that is what you are experiencing. The fact is, we are all in nursing school to pursue our own carreer goals. We are not there to create a supportive environment for our classmates.

I don't see why students feel as though they need to "compete with eachother". So what if they are going to graduate school? What does everyone elses grade have to do with their own? I feel my fellow classmates are very supportive of eachother.

So how do you think it works? Everyone can get an 'A' if we all work together? That's not the world I live in. If everyone is getting 'A's then the bar will be raised. Students will be ranked. And plum opportunities will go to those who have shown they can be the best. Competition doesn't mean tearing one another down. It means doing the best you can and then digging down inside and finding a little more to separate you from all the rest. Personally I like it. It feels good to be tested.

we have a few competitors in our class. we have one female who is in my study group who was bragging before break that she and another girl were tied for first placement in class standings. well, she had volunteered her first semester gpa and what she thought would be her second semester gpa. she stated that her and the other girl had the 2 highest gpa's first semester and probably would second semester. well, i have news for her (although i kept my mouth shut...my 3.75 first semester, beat out her 3.5). i am sure that her second semester gpa was higher than mine (i got a "c" in med-surg), and that may well put her overall above mine. i don't care!!! i am only competing with myself. when i apply for the bsn program, they are not going to ask me how i placed in comparison to this girl. her grades do not affect mine!! i have vowed to study harder this summer to try to pull my grades back up and get back on the honor's list this last semester.

oh, another thing. when asked what i make on an exam...i strictly give the letter grade. i do not give a number grade. our exam results are posted on a bulletin board by our last 4 ssn. if you tell someone your grade, and you are the only one with that grade, they can then go and look to see what you have made on other exams. it's none of their business!!! we have others that are competitive in their group, but they don't affect me. oh, and one more thing...the issue of this mainly being females...that's wrong. we had a guy the other day...we were going over the answers to a final exam and when we were finished going over it, he announced to the entire room that he only missed 3 questions and making a big scene. well, later when the actual grades were posted, he missed several more than what he said to begin with. but oh, how he boasted until grades were posted.

enough of this ranting...this pet peave of mine!! :rolleyes:

Specializes in Cardiac/telemetry.

I don't see this kind of cattiness/competition in my classes. There are a few of "my kids" (as I call them) whom I ask, "how did you do." They know I am not looking for a grade, I am asking about THEM. One will say, I feel great, I think I did good, I might have gotten a B, or I passed! I congratulate them. Another will say, I am stressed, it was so hard, I am not sure I got an A. I reassure them, yeah it was hard, you always know your stuff, etc. Again, they feel better. I usually tell them how I did, but it is never in competition, it is all about being supportive of each other. BTW: Our teachers NEVER announce others grades - they are either posted by a code, or they tell us individually.

So how do you think it works? Everyone can get an 'A' if we all work together? That's not the world I live in. If everyone is getting 'A's then the bar will be raised. Students will be ranked. And plum opportunities will go to those who have shown they can be the best. Competition doesn't mean tearing one another down. It means doing the best you can and then digging down inside and finding a little more to separate you from all the rest. Personally I like it. It feels good to be tested.

Hard to imagine that happening ... everybody getting A's, that is. There are also lots of people who don't study as much as they could.

It's interesting: Everybody is talking about A students being competitive, but I've actually seen more of that with C students, who tend to compare and complain about others getting better grades than they do.

:eek:

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