Grades don't matter! Are you sure??????

[dinah77]

I'm posting this because I am alarmed to see this attitude so often in nursing school.

I don't think people realize that they are limiting their future options, often permanently.

I fully acknowledge that nursing school is VERY difficult, that the grading scale is jacked up and it is very difficult or sometimes impossible to get a high grade. I also realize that everyone has tough semesters ( nursing school is very taxing on all aspects of our lives) and sometimes just passing is the best anyone can do.

But this does not mean we shouldn't strive for higher grades.

Unless you are 100% that you never want to go on to be an NP or get a masters in nursing, Grades DO matter very much. Every MSN program I have ever looked in has GPA requirements of usually 3.0- one I looked at will not even consider you unless you have at least a B- in every nursing class.

Additionally, in very competitive job markets, such as here in Minneapolis/St Paul, employers are starting to ask about GPA- I have filled out two applications that have requested my GPA.

We all know a high GPA doesn't automatically equal a superior nurse, but frankly with such a glut of new nurses every year in many job markets this trend is not likely to go away but increase- and yes, you may believe there is a zero percent chance you ever want to got back to school for a higher degree, but can anyone really say 100% how they will feel about their career 10 or 20 years down the road?

SO please, I'm not trying to stress out those of you still in school, but I'm pleading that you try for the higher grades if you can. DO the extra reading and extra time in lab, stay on top of your assignments, never miss class/clinical, and so on.........

[Highschoolfuturenurs]

I have to wonder what % of A students are the ones saying that grades do not matter...I have a feeling it is more of the C students that say this.

Aside from going on for your masters, there are other reason's to get good grades...and yes having a job is one of them. I graduated with honors, am a member of Sigma Theta Tau, did two extra preceptorships through an additional nursing program, had extra certifications, and interviewed well...who do you think they would take for a job? Me or some one that also interviewed well but only had their nursing degree on their resume?

And yes, I did graduated right when the nursing jobs seemed to halt, and yes I did get a job offer before graduation.

if you dont mind me asking what extra certifications did you get? were they expensive?

[foreverLaur]

Grades matter for me. Grad school aside, work pays 100% of my tuition if I get a B or higher and maintain a 3.5 GPA in the program! Plus, how can you say grades don't matter when you have lives in your hand? That information you never learned could save someone's life.

To the person above -- how did you do extra clinical rotations through another nursing program??

[CeilingCat, ASN, RN]

Grades matter in the sense they're one yardstick with which to measure your mastery of the knowledge. In my school we get a letter grade for lecture, skills, and Clinicals.

No, maybe employers don't care about your GPA. But they DO care if you struggle with the difference between systolic and diastolic. I'm in class now with students struggling to maintain C's (lower than C is a fail), and IMHO my school isn't the hardest on the planet. If the c-minus student somehow squeaks through and memorizes enough answers to get through the Boards, I wouldn't want to be their patient when they can't spell jejunum much less know where it is.

And it may not apply to everyone, but I have friends now who finished their Bachelors with stinky GPAs... and they "really wish they could go to Grad school" but we both silently know not many grad schools want the grades-are-unimportant student.

Just my 2 cents worth. (And FWIW, I am no longer an A student since taking Nursing classes)

[Donald11]

"Unless you are 100% that you never want to go on to be an NP or get a masters in nursing, Grades DO matter very much."

I would estimate that the percentage of nurses who go on for MSN/ NP are VERY small and therefore grades don't matter for most people.

[Donald11]

"Plus, how can you say grades don't matter when you have lives in your hand? That information you never learned could save someone's life."

Just because someone knows how to cram for a test does not mean they will be good at their job. Do you know what they call the person who graduates dead last in their medical class? DOCTOR. And tomorrow, someone has an appointment to see that doctor.

[Donald11]

Don't think that grades will make life easier in getting a job. I have a 4.0 from an unrelated BS degree and never found a job (hence why I deciced to pursue nursing). I worked hard for my 4.0, but I could have taken it easy, gotten a 3.0, and it would not have made any differecne at all. Plus, once you have experience down the road, nobody will give a rat's butt about your GPA. And yes, you need a strong GPA for grad school, but most nurses will never step foot in an MSN program. Many people here seem to want to go the MSN route, but after working as an RN and making decent money, there is a good chance you will change your mind and not go for that MSN.

[Despareux]

Grades should matter for various reasons, but mostly for a personal accomplishment. Putting forth tremendous effort not only reflects in a letter grade, but in attitude towards life as well.

I would much rather have a nurse working on me who puts forth 100% effort over a nurse who puts in only as much as their job description requires.

[l8308]

My son who is going for mathematics has been telling me grades matter. I was surprised when I went to fill out an application they did ask for my GPA. I didn't make straight A's but I did put my heart in the matter. Also, nursing has a different percentage rate they follow but that doesn't excuse anyone from not putting their best foot forward.

[11Julie11]

I don't think the OP was being judgmental towards people who have C's. I think the point is that instructors and such tell people from the start that grades don't matter. They tell them they just need a C. In return, people strive for C's, not A's. If you strive for an A and get a C and you did your best, then a C is great. Not everyone can get A's and there is nothing wrong with that.

But I know plenty of people who just do what they can to get by because they keep hearing C=RN.

I have yet to hear an instructor tell the class to strive for C's.

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

And, those people who think C's are 'good enough' aren't the people I plan on studying with when I get into NS

Sadly, there are some PRE-NURSING students who I have bumped into who have this mentality. I stopped working with this one woman in labs because she had this "all I need/want is a C." She also stated that she wouldn't "kill herself" in a class. I studied with her and another woman, and they couldn't do basic algebra.

Now, I study by myself or people who are motivated to get high grades. She was a waste of my time and energy, and she dragged me down in the process.

So to all nursing and wannabe nursing students: don't work with unmotivated, lazy people because in the end, you will suffer as well as your grades.

[Anoetos, BSN, RN]

Of the nursing students I know (I know several from the current class. I am starting in August), the only person I know of who says that a C+ is good enough (the minimum for progress) is a guy who gets mostly A's with the occasional B and whose GPA is 3.8.

[Anoetos, BSN, RN]

For me, the way I think about it is that my school performance is going to effect my ability to get hired. It will also effect my ability to get scholarships and it will have a huge effect on any graduate schooling I may want to get.

Psychologically, the one thing in school that I have any control over is my grades, so I always do the best I can and try to get the best grade I can. I don't argue with professors, I give them what they want.

School is like work and professors are like managers, they all have a style that it is your job as the student to recognize and complement. I think this is almost as important as learning the material.