Grades don't matter!

Nurses General Nursing

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That irks me to no end! I've read so many posts on here where people state that "your grades don't matter!" Are you kidding me?

I bust my butt to get A's. I think my grades reflect my work ethic and my willingness to learn. I am not content etching by as average. I do not want an average nurse caring for me. I do not want to be an average nurse caring for others. I want to be the best nurse that I can be, and I hope that others that currently don't think likewise drop the mantra that a C is good enough. Even if an employer may not look at your transcript, those grades should still "matter."

Specializes in Med/Surg, Homecare, UR, Case Mgt.

Get over it!! Some people are truly straight "A" students but can not transfer that into clinical practice. Yes grades are important. However, having a "C" average in school, does not make you an average nurse at the bedside. It is quite condescending for you to be so presumptive to say "I do not want an average nurse caring for me." As a patient, are you planning on asking for a copy of his/her transcript prior to allowing a nurse to care for you. Trust me if you are coding- you want the nurse with the assessment skills and experience to act quickly and save your life-this MAY NOT be the "A" student!

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Sorry misskitty...grades dont matter. Or...i should say that A-students DONT translate into great nurses. NUrsing-schools are rigorous enough so that anyone who passes them and passed boards has proven they're up to an educational challenge...even if they're not top 5%.

There're too many other variables/things/traits that make a 'great' nurse that A+'s kinda fall by the wayside...after you graduate of course.

-are you compassionate?

-do you work well with peers?

-can you work under extreme pressure/stress?

-can you handle patients in crisis?

-can you handle families in crisis?

-do you have common sense?

-can you translate medical jargon to lay-people?

-are you technically inclined?

-are you a good communicator?

-etc.

-i can add a ton of other things here...as can most other nurses...and these things dont get 'graded'.

Frankly, your post sounds like the spoutings of a smart student trying to impress or otherwise declare yourself a better 'nurse-to-be' than your co-students who are doomed to being 'average nurses'. (in your words)

Congrats on your excellent grades and work-habits...

But...whether you beleive me or not, in a few years you'll have a different opinion/appreciation of what makes a 'great nurse'.

:yeah::yeah:

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Get over it!! Some people are truly straight "A" students but can not transfer that into clinical practice. Yes grades are important. However, having a "C" average in school, does not make you an average nurse at the bedside. It is quite condescending for you to be so presumptive to say "I do not want an average nurse caring for me." As a patient, are you planning on asking for a copy of his/her transcript prior to allowing a nurse to care for you. Trust me if you are coding- you want the nurse with the assessment skills and experience to act quickly and save your life-this MAY NOT be the "A" student!

That probably won't be an 'average' nurse either. I wonder how well 'average' nurses do in Critical Care areas... Sure life happens and maybe someone tries hard but gets a C, do you really want someone caring for you in say a Trauma ICU were the learning is constant and intense and they try hard but just get by???

Honestly would you? I wouldn't. The quip about coding is irrelevant. If I was coding, I'd be happy for a grandma that knows CPR.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
That probably won't be an 'average' nurse either. I wonder how well 'average' nurses do in Critical Care areas... Sure life happens and maybe someone tries hard but gets a C, do you really want someone caring for you in say a Trauma ICU were the learning is constant and intense and they try hard but just get by???

Honestly would you? I wouldn't. The quip about coding is irrelevant. If I was coding, I'd be happy for a grandma that knows CPR.

Yah. That's assuming the person with the C is trying hard. I think that's the exception, not the rule. The ones I know don't bother reading the text that accompanies the powerpoint half the time.

How would you like being cared for by a nurse that didn't bother to read the literature regarding care for your ailment-- that is practicing solely based on the experience repetition breeds without any detailed understanding? That got their license by meeting the bare minimum requirements in school and presumably the NCLEX?

Thought so.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Homecare, UR, Case Mgt.

Stanley,

With all due respect, when you are actually practicing as an RN in the critical care area, then you can form an educated opinion whether an "A" nursing student translates into a good critical care RN. It seems that you are contradicting your previous post "A's don't symbolize intelligence".

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Specializes in Transgender Medicine.

I think you should take pride in your grades for sure, but maybe be a little more cautionary in how adamantly you are stating that you don't want an "average" nurse to take care of you. Some people can study and ace a test, but have no real knowledge when it comes to applying that material to the real world. Also, since getting out into the "real" world after graduation, I have come to see that my good grades have definitely not allowed for any easier of a passage through my journey as a new nurse. Most of the stuff they showed me in school flew out the window when I passed the NCLEX and started working with my preceptor. I never believed it when my instructors said this, but there REALLY ARE things they just can't teach you in school. However, that being said, I definitely don't want the nurse who didn't put in any effort for his/her degree. There's a big difference between answering a question wrongly because you didn't apply the knowledge correctly and answering a question wrongly because you didn't study the material in the first place.

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Specializes in ED, ICU, PACU.

Ya know, grades really don't matter. I got straight A's, inducted into honor society; so, I can tell you that what I learned in school had very little bearing on my ability to practice nursing.

You see, critical thinking & compassion cannot be taught or really tested; &, the grades that you get while in school will not determine your ability as a nurse.

Please do not get false reassurance from your A's, nor look down on those who only received Cs. I found those who struggled for grades wound up trying harder to prove their worth & became better nurses than many of those at the top of the class.

Taking an attitude of being better than another just because you may test well will not serve you well in the nursing field. Put the ego aside and realize that you are no better than any other person in your class (IMHO). Bust your butt trying to be the best that YOU can be; but, don't use your results to compare yourself to another.

I haven't read the responses to this post. Please forgive me if I am repeating something someone else may have said.

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Specializes in ER/OR.

Stanley, don't be surprised when you get beat up at the CRNA office for you're smug attitude. I keed...I keed. More power to ya!

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Stanley,

With all due respect, when you are actually practicing as an RN in the critical care area, then you can form an educated opinion whether an "A" nursing student translates into a good critical care RN. It seems that you are contradicting your previous post "A's don't symbolize intelligence".

They don't symbolize intelligence. They symbolize drive and desire and hard work though. You think anyone that excels at anything just does good enough to pass?

I understand some people do their best and get Cs. I am not talking about them. I am talking about the slackers. It's about time this country has motivation and stops settling for 'Satisfactory.'

It doesn't cut it. Someone that does just enough to pass on purpose is going to always do that with everything they learn.

Anyone can pass a pill sure. I am sure there are many things to learn in LTC. For me, I want Trauma ICU and maybe CRNA or ACNP. Mediocrity won't cut it there.

Don't blame me. I was raised that way, the military reinforced it, I accept it. There are a million mediocre people. I'd like to rise above that...

Can I be called overachieving? Sure. Workaholic? Yes A person that expects to much from myself? Probably Mediocre? Heck No.

No one will ever meet me and attach mediocre next to my name. That's just me. Like i said before. What others do is up to them.

;)

Stanley, don't be surprised when you get beat up at the CRNA office for you're smug attitude. I keed...I keed. More power to ya!
I've been told that since I was in elementary school. I might lose the fight. I'll still get the job.

The #1 quality of a successful person is persistence... I'll take any beating I need too.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTC/Geriatric.

As I am just finishing LPN school and grades are still very much in my mind, I have 2 differing views on grades.

MY grades mattered to me as I worked extremely hard to finish with a 94% average. Will that make me a better nurse than a classmate who finished with an 80% average? Probably not.

I finished either 2nd or 3rd in my class, (not sure as grades arn't posted, just talked about amongst classmates). A woman who finished either 2nd or 3rd was an academic genious, studied for hours upon hours and was disappointed in a 97% on a test because it wasn't 99%-100%--she was so close to failing 3rd practicum in acute care because of her lack of people skills, care and compassion.

I would take one of my classmates who finished with a 75%-90% average over this A+ student any day to take care of me.

On the other hand, there were 3 students who were *this close* to failing classroom and labwork. Not only did their grades suck, but so did their attitudes. So, in this case, their grades do matter because knowing how they were in class academically and attitude wise I wouldn't want these 70.5% nurses caring for me. Even if they do pass our national exam and hold the same license that I will.

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Specializes in ER/OR.
They don't symbolize intelligence. They symbolize drive and desire and hard work though. You think anyone that excels at anything just does good enough to pass?

I understand some people do their best and get Cs. I am not talking about them. I am talking about the slackers. It's about time this country has motivation and stops settling for 'Satisfactory.'

It doesn't cut it. Someone that does just enough to pass on purpose is going to always do that with everything they learn.

Anyone can pass a pill sure. I am sure there are many things to learn in LTC. For me, I want Trauma ICU and maybe CRNA or ACNP. Mediocrity won't cut it there.

Don't blame me. I was raised that way, the military reinforced it, I accept it. There are a million mediocre people. I'd like to rise above that...

Can I be called overachieving? Sure. Workaholic? Yes A person that expects to much from myself? Probably Mediocre? Heck No.

No one will ever meet me and attach mediocre next to my name. That's just me. Like i said before. What others do is up to them.

;)

I've been told that since I was in elementary school. I might lose the fight. I'll still get the job.

The #1 quality of a successful person is persistence... I'll take any beating I need too.

Well, go on with yourself, sister soldier.

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The whole grades don't matter thing will irk me depending on how it's being used.

Things don't always work out, exams are stressful and I hate exam week and trying to remember everything for every single class, they're also really heavily weighted. Sometimes you walk in and you've studied really hard and the questions are put in a tricky way. That's cool, you know your stuff and you passed, right?

But I do sometimes hear people talking about how they only need so many marks to pass the class so they only intend to do a half-hearted job at getting their material down. That's when it's not good enough.

Grades don't matter is just nice to use retrospectively when you know you tried and you know that you know your stuff. It's not an excuse not to put the effort in, these are things we need to know professionally. Grr.

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