Grades when you were in Nursing School

kakamegamama · Feb 28, 2019

Yes. One semester I received a C (the lowest accepted to pass) in Med/Surg clinical. I celebrated because I had doubts that I would pass clinicals. It was rough.

If possible, make an appointment with your faculty and review what/how you miss/are missing important information to do better. Be proactive and persevere.

Davey Do · Feb 28, 2019

4 hours ago, poliwag48 said:
Has any of you been here and come out on the other side??

This is an edited drawing from one of my journals that I did in the fourth semester of the RN program in the spring of 1990:

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I flunked my A&P muscle practical after working four MN shifts as an LPN. Had I been able to identify that cat's gastrocnemius, I would have passed.

Like kakamegamama, I made C's in the fourth semester.

I was one crispy critter!

Good luck and hang in there, poliwag!

Trauma Columnist · Feb 28, 2019

Moved to general nursing student forum

MiladyMalarkey, ASN, BSN · Feb 28, 2019

In my final semester, my first two I earned A's (barely), third a B (barely) and now, sitting at a solid C. Normally that would bother me, I'm studying harder than ever, but at this point, I'm okay with that grade...as long as I pass, that is all I care about and passing is all you should work towards, A or C, passing is passing my friend! Keep at it, don't give up and best of luck.

FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP · Feb 28, 2019

Your grades do matter. Sorry, not to stress you out more, but as others suggested, talk to your academic advisor.

1. When you apply for your first RN job, employers will request your transcript. They generally like a 3.0 or better. However, if you do great on your interviews and you also had to work your way through school, that will be taken into consideration.

2. If you plan to go to graduate school in the future to earn an MSN/DNP, then your grades will definitely matter. Most decent grad schools require a minimum 3.0 undergrad GPA.

Good luck

Night__Owl, BSN, RN · Feb 28, 2019

I was scraping above passing almost every semester. Did not have to tell anyone my grades when applying for jobs, had an offer waiting when I graduated. My overall still looks decent because of how high it had to be to get into nursing school in the first place.

TAKOO01, BSN · Mar 1, 2019

Yes to all your questions, OP. I cried and stayed up late nights. I met with faculty and went to study groups. Cried some more. Graduated (shockingly) on the deans list, but mostly because of my grades in non nursing courses.

I have never had an employer ask for grades, but perhaps some do ask. But for sure they would count if you go on to grad school.

Its hard to see it now, but you can do this.

FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP · Mar 1, 2019

I must disagree with regard to employers and grades. I went to nursing school in Maryland, and RN employers there at the better hospitals did ask for grades for new grads. In addition, if a new grad wants a job in a competitive market, like San Diego, where there are more RNs than job openings, and they want to work for a hospital with a good onboarding process for new grads, they should expect to provide a transcript b/c getting a job is a competitive process. Granted, this may not be true of all employers and locations.

As a new grad NP, ALL prospective employers asked for a transcript.

I would also like to point out that if a student is just barely passing, that leaves them no cushion if they do poorly on one or two exams. For example, if a student has a about an 80% or higher in a class, and then just does poorly on one exam or assignment, they will probably still pass the course. If they have a 70% and then do poorly on an exam or assignment, they are in big trouble.

Something else to consider is that some people just are bad test-takers. They can really know the material and just freak out on tests. If that is the case, then there are ways to address test anxiety. On the other hand, if a student just doesn't know the material very well, that is more serious and the person really needs academic counseling on how to improve their studying and learning. Studying and learning are skills and can be improved.

Golden_RN, MSN · Mar 1, 2019

I'm in California, and I have never been asked to show my grades for nursing jobs. I have been on several interview panels and grades never factored into the hiring process.

Poliwag - In addition to the advice already given, you might benefit from getting a study group together. It's the only way I survived.

NJSassyCat, ADN, BSN · Mar 2, 2019

I totally understand, OP. I, too, had to have 80 or better in nursing school to be able to pass onto the next nursing course.

The first two semesters, I did pretty well. The last two -- Med-Surg II + Pediatrics and ICU courses were the roughest. I was barely making it above water and guess what? I passed and then I passed the NCLEX (while thinking that I totally fail. Yay pessimistic thoughts and anxiety). I was better and am still better in a hospital setting as I'm more confident and can think quickly on my feet.

Like others have suggested: Go talk to your faculty. Review the correct answer and the wrong answers, but mostly importantly is to have an understanding on WHY the answer was correct and yours was wrong. Take good notes as well. If your CI emphasis something during lectures, write it down, put a star, circle it, etc. If you have tutoring provided at your school then make an appointment.

You CAN do it.

Lipoma, BSN, RN · Mar 2, 2019

I doubted myself getting my nursing license up until the day I received the "you passed the NCLEX" email. I knew I would get it, but per human nature, everything seems impossible until it is achieved.

Don't stress about grades unless you want to go on to graduate school, and even then, just pass and do your best. Grades only mean so much. Between the 4.0 student and the 2.7 students, both are working now as RNs.