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."
I often feel that people use the excuse of having kids at home as a reason for not doing as well as they could. I applaud all the parents pursuing their dreams, but don't blame your children for your academic limitations.
First off, I don't have kids nor do I plan to.
Why would it matter if they used that excuse anyway? It's no one's business what grades they are getting. And I GUARANTEE you they are taking the same exams you are.
I don't really believe that anyone is "Doomed" to be an average nurse. The way I see it...the REAL learning doesn't begin until after you graduate anyway. Nothing can teach better than experience, trial and error, and the daily grind. Don't get me wrong...its great that some people accel academically in nursing - but to say that the C students are doomed to be average nurses is a little ignorant.
It takes 1 year to become "Competent" in the field you're working in, 3 years to become "efficient", and 5 years to become "expert". So only TIME can really tell if you'll be a good nurse or that dreadful nurse that the other people come on here to "vent" about. lol
A license to be a "Registered Nut" is a great thing. haha But just because you get an A in the course, doesn't mean anything anyway until you apply that knowledge to your daily work and prove yourself where it matters - at the bedside.
No one doubts that a significant part of nursing isn't learned until actually working, but working after graduation doesn't give you fundamentals. Anyone in any occupation can become efficient or even seemingly an expert through sheer repetition, but if the fundamentals aren't solid- say by slacking your way through the nursing program- the second that person runs into a new obstacle, they have nothing to fall back on to get around it.
I'd even go so far to say that 95% of what I know regarding disease and patient care I took into nursing school from my various past jobs in the field, but that 5% is what tied it altogether and allows me to organize knowledge gained from my experiences into meaningful and directed channels to care for patients.
Sorry, I can't tell who you are saying would not make it in your program and who gave you the idea that they know how the tests are written...did I miss that??
I hope you were not directing that at me b/c it is way, way off base if you were!!
I have enjoyed your posts in the past and agreed with you a lot, not sure where this one came from though!
No one doubts that a significant part of nursing isn't learned until actually working, but working after graduation doesn't give you fundamentals. Anyone in any occupation can become efficient or even seemingly an expert through sheer repetition, but if the fundamentals aren't solid- say by slacking your way through the nursing program- the second that person runs into a new obstacle, they have nothing to fall back on to get around it.
I'd even go so far to say that 95% of what I know regarding disease and patient care I took into nursing school from my various past jobs in the field, but that 5% is what tied it altogether and allows me to organize knowledge gained from my experiences into meaningful and directed channels to care for patients.
I just don't see how passing nursing classes with a C or a B is considered "slacking your way through". I mean if these students can still pass their NCLEX exams then its safe to assume that they have the fundamentals.
NCLEX by definition requires a candidate for licensure to pass an examination that measures the competencies needed to perform safely and effectively as a newly licensed, entry-level registered nurse.
Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
I graduated top of my LPN class, and still don't think that grades are important. We had horrible clinicals where professors would either arrive late, have us leave after two hours or called students to cancel. For that reason, I used that time to study, hence get great grades. Also, I had an additional advantage of being released from work full time with full pay, so I didn't face the same challenges as my classmates regarding having to still work fulltime jobs, single-handedly raise children and other legitimate distractions. Had I been confronted with the same, I would have probably been a C student as well. However, because of the set up with the lack of real clinical experience, I had a hard time correlating between the books and the real world.
There is much more to being a nurse than obtaining the almighty A. And, I was more proud of some of my classmates than I was for myself because they faced those challenges and are now practicing.
I just don't see how passing nursing classes with a C or a B is considered "slacking your way through". I mean if these students can still pass their NCLEX exams then its safe to assume that they have the fundamentals.
NCLEX by definition requires a candidate for licensure to pass an examination that measures the competencies needed to perform safely and effectively as a newly licensed, entry-level registered nurse.
You are so right...and I just thought of this too.
Everyone that takes the NCLEX, it automatically shuts off after you have answered the minimum number of correct questions at the correct level of difficulty.
I know, so many people say "C's get degrees", well I work hard for my GPA and As and Bs in nursing school because one has to have at least a 3.0 to even be considered for a masters program, and NO ONE knows what the future holds...wouldn't you feel like a fool if you had that "Cs get degrees" addituted and then decited that you wanted to become an FNP/CMN/Nurse Anathesiologist and were denied because you didn't have the grades....
My concern is not whether I have an "average" nurse caring for me, but the nurse that has the "Oh well" additude of "Cs get degrees" or "grades do not matter":no:
I get As and Bs and I am very compasionate, and do very well in clinicals...I have worked in the medical feild since 2001 and will be a well rounded nurse when I grauate...why do people assume that if you have straight A's you can't be compassionate and all the other things needed as a nurse. I do not care if you are compasionate as Mother Teresa, if you arn't good that the technical parts of being a nurse stay the heck away from me,we are dealing with live and death; not just bed side manor...
If you are going to just go for your LPN/ADN/BSN the grades don't matter, except to some employers and some students.
If you want further degrees the grades do matter because good programs are competitive.
As to why society hates slackers and labels overachievers as arrogant and generally accepts 'satisfactory' performance... And satisfactory DOES = mediocre and average.
“The highest order of mind is accused of folly, as well as the lowest. Nothing is thoroughly approved but mediocrity. The majority has established this, and it fixes its fangs on whatever gets beyond it either way.” - Blaise Pascal (French Mathematician, Philosopher, Physicist)
(and good post btw...in that it's getting bazillions of responses!)
I understand your points. I think the reason it got alot of negative reaction is that you seem 'irked' by others who are passing nursing school...and not getting grades as good as yours?? Thats at least what it sounds like...
which is kind-of a silly thing to be irked about.
(As an aside, your post is striking a chord primarily in students and/or new-grads...which is testimony that grades matter primarily to students and those still shell-shocked by the experience :) )
Again, luck to you and all the other students who bust their butts...
real-world is just around the corner!
I didn't take the OP as being angry with the C students...But, many of us who had good grades and did well in clinical caught grief and snarky comments from those who weren't doing as well. I never bragged about my grades. People would ask me what I got on tests , care plans, evaluations, and then roll their eyes at me when I told them. This wears on you after a while. And it continues in your professional life when people make fun of you if you want to pursue certification in your specialty or pursue a BSN, MSN etc. This is why this post struck a chord with me,I've been an RN for 2 years now.
They will always be people who find it easier to make excuses why they don't do well or who let jealousy get the best of them. IMO, it's a lot easier to do this than to take stock of your work ethic and life and figure out where you could improve.
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DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP
1,301 Posts
First off, I don't have kids nor do I plan to.
Why would it matter if they used that excuse anyway? It's no one's business what grades they are getting. And I GUARANTEE you they are taking the same exams you are.