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.........
Personally, as a 36 yr old, mother of 3 children with health issues, and a husband who is OTR driver, with no family nearby, I am thrilled with making a passing grade. Every qtr of NS I earned a high B, until my next to last qtr. Due to family issues (death, illness, etc), I didnt make high enough on my final exam to pass. Guess what.....I return in a few months to retake that qtr. I busted my butt that qtr, but it didnt matter. This attitude of "only the partiers are the ones that dont make A's" really chaps my hide. The reality is, sometimes, no matter how hard you work, you just dont make the grade. Everything happens for a reason, and as my NS director told me, " those that have to work the hardest to achieve their goals turn out to be the best at what they achieve."
My goal is to have earned my MSN and NP within 5 yrs, and I will do it. Best of luck to all the future nurses out there.
Congrats to you on achieving so much with so many challenges- stories like yours are the reason I took care to include the following in my original post:
"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."
All my best to you and your family as you continue to work towards your goals.
Personally, as a 36 yr old, mother of 3 children with health issues, and a husband who is OTR driver, with no family nearby, I am thrilled with making a passing grade. Every qtr of NS I earned a high B, until my next to last qtr. Due to family issues (death, illness, etc), I didnt make high enough on my final exam to pass. Guess what.....I return in a few months to retake that qtr. I busted my butt that qtr, but it didnt matter. This attitude of "only the partiers are the ones that dont make A's" really chaps my hide. The reality is, sometimes, no matter how hard you work, you just dont make the grade. Everything happens for a reason, and as my NS director told me, " those that have to work the hardest to achieve their goals turn out to be the best at what they achieve."
My goal is to have earned my MSN and NP within 5 yrs, and I will do it. Best of luck to all the future nurses out there.
NO ONE has said anything even remotely close to only partiers not making A's, and it chaps MY hide when people read into other's statements and then make extreme statements of their own. EVERYONE here is very aware that some people are legitimately trying to make top grades and just can't, for whatever reason, and several posters have made this clear. But honestly, your circumstances aren't that unique. Everyone has their own obstacles to deal with that make it difficult in one way or another to get good grades. Even so, you should be proud of your accomplishments because there are lots of people who would use life's problems as an excuse to not even try. So congratulations to you, if that's what you need to hear, for doing well, but you shouldn't get offended when a particular segment of the population is discussed if it doesn't apply to you.
Congrats to you on achieving so much with so many challenges- stories like yours are the reason I took care to include the following in my original post:
"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."
All my best to you and your family as you continue to work towards your goals.
exactly!!!! Thats what im saying too.. when you know you have tried your best and put forth a honest effort you should be proud of it, but not putting forth an effort then acting like things are so unfair, all I have to say to that is you got what you deserved.
I wouldn't want that doctor taking care of me. And I wouldn't want the "C" nurse either.
Unfortunately, we (when on the patient side of the fence) never know just where in their class a physician or nurse graduated. Hmmm...I wonder what my physician would do if I asked what his GPA was when he graduated from med school.
On another note, IF I have offended anyone with my previous comments, I apologize. It wasn't intended that way, I can assure you. (Sometimes it's difficult to convey certain emotions accurately without the use of body language and facial expressions.) I agree that having worked hard to earn your grade, whatever it may be, is far better than to just gripe and whine over the grade received when hard work and study aren't involved. As for making "extreme" comments, I didn't think I had, however, I apologize for my error. In response to the statement about getting offended by comments that apply to certain parts of the population, I think that comes from the fact that we are all our own harshest critics. We all want to do the best that we can in order to become the best nurses that we can possibly be. For me at least, I took offense because deep down, even though I know I busted my rear (and still didn't quite make it), there is a part of me that questions whether or not I could have done more.
That said, I am grateful every day that I can check these forums. Each time I do, I am reminded once again why I want to enter this profession, and I am thankful for all the wonderful nurses (and nurses in training) that share their wisdom, insight, and perspective on the challenges involved. Thanks to each of you for sharing yourselves. :redbeathe
Being an older nursing student (47), I have it in my head that I have something to prove, that I need to have some advantage to compensate for my age, so for me and my wife (a 46-year-old law student), 89% is a failing grade.
She's wrapping up her Bachelor's with a 4.0; I've completed my pre-reqs with the same.
Thank you for the OP and all the replies of this post. You guys have no ideas how reading this makes me feel so much better. I woke up in the middle of the night bc it upset me from the conversation I had with my friends couple hours ago. I was talking to 3 dudes about how I'm a little worried when my grades aren't really good anymore in nursing school and that I didn't think I study hard enough. (My grades were pretty high before) They who I consider my friends just automatically called me nerd and insulted/ridiculed/belittled me on multi-levels. I should have kept in mind they were not nursing major... Anyways, the Business major said to me that high GPA only hurts you bc that how it works for human resource of the employers, they don't like 4.0. My Civil Engineering major friend on the other hand thinks my major is a joke and his is much harder, n that is why he is getting D's. It's still "glory". I tried to explain to them how important GPA is in nursing school n why you should study the best as you could. Unfortunately I failed. You will be amazed how some Junior in college are still juvenile. I notice that a lot in younger students.
But remember this, high GPA only gets you far, never gonna hurts you in the long run. Isn't it also crucial to have good grades? Don't you have to be hella on top in your pre-regs in order to get in the nursing program? so why do you stop trying now if you think u might need to be in a Master someday?!
For out of the conversation with my friends, I learned the lesson that it is all about what you determined with your grades. Apparently, it has different meaning for different people. To me, if I try really hard, as much as I could, in my situation, whether I have a busy life style or a lot of free time to study. And in that case, I still got C's. I'm satisfied. But the attitude "Yeah, grades don't really matter anyways" just annoys the crap out of me. I do make me kinda question the person's education because typically people who said that are slackers. They don't really give a damn about their schoolwork. If they are not serious about their studying, would they be serious with their working? Probably not. N for nursing major, getting as much as you could while you are in school is important since whatever you learn in your clinical and lecture applies directly on your patients. If you think u r doing that and still get Cs, true grade doesn't matter. But if you don't study the best you can and you get Cs. You know grades are there for some reason and sometimes the grade you gets might be just fair for your learning!
(P.S: even I said this, I'm really tired guys. For many moments I do think C=RN bc nursing school is wearing me out so much. I have to get ready for clinical at 5:30 tomorrow. -.- Well, how about thinking like this: C is the new A. lol)
TurtleLittle, if I were you I would drop those friends out of my life. Real friends don't foster that kind of negativity, even in jest. You don't need it at this time in your life. They are not paying your tuition, you succeed as you see fit.
Grades do matter so far as education advancement. I just can't stand some of the attitudes toward A students and C students. A students are hated on and C students are looked down upon. No wonder why nurses are so divided and we can't work together. This bull starts in nursing school.
Threads like this really make me sick... " I wouldn't want a "C" nurse taking care of me" Are you freaking serious? So if you go to the ER and sick are you going to ask the nurses what there grades are and refuse care from a "C" nurse... I think NOt ! Guess What. I have taken boards and passed and you don't get an A, B, or C grade. You either pass or fail. I too strive for A's and there is nothing wrong with striving for the best especially for transferring to get a higher degree. Just please don't , please don't equate nursing care to grades. geesh. Grow up people !
Threads like this really make me sick... " I wouldn't want a "C" nurse taking care of me" Are you freaking serious? So if you go to the ER and sick are you going to ask the nurses what there grades are and refuse care from a "C" nurse... I think NOt ! Guess What. I have taken boards and passed and you don't get an A, B, or C grade. You either pass or fail. I too strive for A's and there is nothing wrong with striving for the best especially for transferring to get a higher degree. Just please don't , please don't equate nursing care to grades. geesh. Grow up people !
Sincerly,
Mrs. "B" Nurse.
I agree! I think everyone should strive for higher grades but to say you wouldn't want the "C" nurse taking care of you? That's ridiculous. Grades don't always equal how you will perform as a nurse on the job. That "C" nurse might have had 3 kids and been working while going through nursing school and C's are the best she could do. She could also be an EXCELLENT nurse on the floor. Just as there could be some nurses who got A's throughout nursing school who can recite anything out of a text book but not be as good clinically on the floor. There are bad "A" nurses and bad "C" nurses. Getting good grades is great, but don't assume because a nurse got mostly C's in nursing school makes her a bad nurse.
I agree! I think everyone should strive for higher grades but to say you wouldn't want the "C" nurse taking care of you? That's ridiculous. Grades don't always equal how you will perform as a nurse on the job. That "C" nurse might have had 3 kids and been working while going through nursing school and C's are the best she could do. She could also be an EXCELLENT nurse on the floor. Just as there could be some nurses who got A's throughout nursing school who can recite anything out of a text book but not be as good clinically on the floor. There are bad "A" nurses and bad "C" nurses. Getting good grades is great, but don't assume because a nurse got mostly C's in nursing school makes her a bad nurse.
Sure, but whether she didn't have the time to put to studying because of other responsibilities in her life, or because she was out partying....I'd still rather someone who understood the material more than a C.
Grades don't measure nursing ability completely (although in our program, clinicals are 55% of our grade....so there's no such thing as an A student who's a mess in clinicals)....but they can be a measure of understanding of the material. So, while an A or a C may not show anything about whether they have common sense, an A does show that they at least understood the material. Now the C student may have understood the material as well....but there's no metric that shows that.
I haven't read a lot of this thread but it appears to some measures really silly. I think nursing has become so competitive to get into everyone is becoming quite a bit extreme. Personally, I would rather understand the material and pass the class with a B then memorize facts short term to get that A. I say that because I can do that and did for a lot of my science classes, memorize and then forgot after the exam. Now I may not understand evey detail of it by the time of the exam to get that 95+ but by the end of the class I will have understood the concept completely. The fact is my Uncle has a been an instructor for over 30 years and just laughs at this because he said the real world and your patients could care less if you got an A, B, or oh nooo a C (accompanied by an eerie ghost sounds).. All they care about is your ability to perform and he has had wonderful nursing students that performed great but got lower grades in theory and A students that were terrible and yes I know if ou want to go to graduate school great then you have to worry more but otherwise I'ld rather not stress about grades and stress more about just learning and the skills and let that be my focus.
I mean really are you going to add on to not wanting to be cared for by a C student, then how about saying I don't want to be cared for by a diploma nurse, an adn nurse, only a BSN prepared nurse...The whole thing is so stupid it just makes me laugh as I think about it really..I understand its hard to get over, I'm probably going to have my first non straight A semester in a week and you know what I DON'T CARE!!!!!! So beware patients cause this sometimes I get a B nurse is coming! At least I'll be much more mentally intact because I didn't have to stress myself out so much during nursing school.
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dinah77, ADN
530 Posts
Congrats to you on achieving so much with so many challenges- stories like yours are the reason I took care to include the following in my original post:
"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."
All my best to you and your family as you continue to work towards your goals.