How smart are you?

erichRN · Oct 17, 2006

I say that if you are interested and enjoy the subject matter, go for it. If you have a background in caring (psych, maybe), you will do well. Sometimes there may be an instructor or two that will take it as their mission to try to weed you out of the program (which is often why it gets insanely difficult), but keep at it and communicate (get help). You will find a niche when you make it to the other side (post-boards). Good luck!

abbythetabby · Oct 19, 2006

The smartest student in our class also happens to be the worst at patient care. I'm usually in the top three. Am I smart? Supposedly, if you believe standardized testing. Does it really matter? No. I love studying nursing, so I do well and I was blessed with good genes. And I still have to put a lot of time into it. But I would rather be a C student who actually has the capacity to care about a patient than be that smart girl without a heart. And as a patient, who would you rather have care for you? The nurse who will advocate for you or the one who only cares about the paycheck? In nursing, a C student still has a heck of a lot of knowledge.

Annieisfun · Oct 19, 2006

I like the post by "abbythe tabby". The truth of the matter is that you will only get out of nursing school what you are willing to put into it. I just graduated this past May. Now I have a (not job,but) career that I love, which i pursued while divorced with 4 kids and 2 jobs. Attend class every day, take notes and find points which interest you. If you are smart enough to get into nursing school (a very competitive schooling choice), then you are smart enough to pass. Self knowledge, of both strenghts and weaknesses will get you to you goals. someone had menthioned knowing your learning style, I am a kenitic learner. Hands on all the way, so I will add don't miss clinicals either. also, dont stress. the "I can't do this", attitude is self fulfilling.

Dianne

nurse2bmlb · Oct 19, 2006

I am currently in nursing school and I have a 3.0 GPA....I didn't do well in high school and as a matter of fact I dropped out of high school. It is truly my passion to be a nurse that keeps me going. It is very time consuming and I feel like quitting everday, but when I walk away from clinicals that is when I remember why I am doing this. I love it! I love patient care! That is what it is about for me and that is what keeps me going. Good time management skills are a plus b/c it is a lot of work and I am tired and frustrated alot but it is what I love!

jkfraser · Oct 19, 2006

I'm a nursing student, making decent grades, with a family to keep me busy when school/clinicals is not. I would say that the process of nursing school has made me a better student. I also have a BA in Psychology and see that my aptitude is for the theory/analytical material, and I'm less technically minded, but I'm learning...It's hard, but doable if you apply some discipline, making time to study, and being prepared for lecture and clinical makes it a better experience.

I take issue with the person who said that nursing is one of those professionals of all grunt work... I whole heartedly disagree! Sure there is physical, sometimes unpleasant work to do, but the excellent nurse is one who is always thinking, using her critical thinking skills and analysis, and making sure that her priorities are providing the best care for each patient. I would not want to be cared for by someone who thinks her job is to perform grunt work... I would want to be cared for by someone who is genuinely interested in providing good quality care.

:nurse:

mom4sure · Oct 19, 2006

I have read so many threads here that go back and forth about how easy or hard nursing school is. I hope that you can tell me more...are the people that say that nursing school isn't so bad genuises? :wink2: Are the people that really struggle coming from less than average backgrounds in high school? I have a degree in psychology and secondary education from a good university but I worked hard for my B average... does that mean nursing school is out of my league... and please don't sugar-coat it by saying that if my dream really is to be a nurse then I will do fine, etc.... Please be honest: are all you successful nurses out there "super smart"? :)

You don't have to be super smart, just committed to being a nurse. The grade received in school will not determine how good a nurse you are. Only you can make that distinction.

BoomerRN · Oct 20, 2006

Yes, I was a "B" student. Nursing school was very hard for me because I had 3 very small children at home. My husband helped when he could. I stayed up very late at night completing assignments and went without sleep lotsa times. I found that I had to manage my time well and study hard. I probably could have made better grades if I would have had more time, but like I said I had a family and I didn't want to totally ignore them.

MedSurgeMess · Oct 21, 2006

I graduated with honors from an ASN program, then a BSN program-all As to boot! I thought it was easy, but knew others that I thought were pretty smart that struggled the whole time. BTW, I have 2 teenage sons who thought they didn't need mom, and I worked full time the whole way thru-on the night shift even! I think it just falls to study habits, because I didn't ignore my kids or DH. If you are having trouble, ask the instructor that you relate with the most and the instructor that you are having most trouble in their class for advice on how to study for their class. It lets them know that you want to succeed, plus gives you a couple of ways to study. Hope this helps :wink2:

smk1, LPN · Oct 21, 2006

I have read so many threads here that go back and forth about how easy or hard nursing school is. I hope that you can tell me more...are the people that say that nursing school isn't so bad genuises? :wink2: Are the people that really struggle coming from less than average backgrounds in high school? I have a degree in psychology and secondary education from a good university but I worked hard for my B average... does that mean nursing school is out of my league... and please don't sugar-coat it by saying that if my dream really is to be a nurse then I will do fine, etc.... Please be honest: are all you successful nurses out there "super smart"? :)

Hmmm, well I am by no means a genius, however I am a pretty smart lady. However I think that the key (so far) to nursing school for me is developing good memory skills, fast reading and retention skills and good time management. There are some difficult concepts and certain body systems etc... are harder than others, but the main issue is that nursing school is so very time consuming. There are days where you have every minute of your time mapped out to the second from the time you wake up in the morning. Get your ducks in a row before you start, and work on memory. Not that nursing tests are memory tests, but you need to be able to remember what you have read without the added benefit of constant "study". You really do have to read and then move on. No time for going back and rereading whole chapters etc... get really honest about your study habits, priorities and time, and get a schedule mapped out and most likely you will be fine.

smk1, LPN · Oct 21, 2006

The smartest student in our class also happens to be the worst at patient care. I'm usually in the top three. Am I smart? Supposedly, if you believe standardized testing. Does it really matter? No. I love studying nursing, so I do well and I was blessed with good genes. And I still have to put a lot of time into it. But I would rather be a C student who actually has the capacity to care about a patient than be that smart girl without a heart. And as a patient, who would you rather have care for you? The nurse who will advocate for you or the one who only cares about the paycheck? In nursing, a C student still has a heck of a lot of knowledge.

Can we please not turn this into an A student = bad clinical nurse, C student = great clinical nurse debate. Honestly if I were a patient I wouldn't know what my nurses grades were, but if I had a choice I would want the nurse who had BOTH qualities. Having said that, I guess I should give my stats like everyone else, In high school I was in all honors classes at a great school. I fooled around and graduated around 2.7. My college GPA upon acceptance into my nursing program was over 3.8, My first quarter of nursing was 4.0, and I currently am holding a 4.0 this term as well. Married with a small child. It is doable. So far it has been busy and moderately difficult, nothing exceedingly hard though. I had a great clinical eval last quarter and I think I am doing well this quarter as well. In the end as long as you pass and have enough knowledge to safely practice as a new grad, then you've done all that you needed too.

Roy Fokker, BSN, RN · Oct 21, 2006

I'm super smart....

You just won't know that from my test scores. :rolleyes:

All jokes aside - I think I'm average intelligence.

But I'm terrible at written testing - especially those testing theory.

Every teacher from 3rd grade on has complained that "he asks intelligent questions in class and answers any question he is asked. He is brilliant in lab. My opinion is that he doesn't apply himself when it comes to tests".

I'm ace at clinical and lab work. I do great in class. I help with study sessions and am fantastic with explaining contexts and other issues to my classmates....

BUT....

.... sit me in front of a question paper and bubble sheet and I revert to some kind of idiot! :rolleyes:

cheers,

Roy Fokker, BSN, RN · Oct 21, 2006

Yes, I was a "B" student. Nursing school was very hard for me because I had 3 very small children at home. My husband helped when he could. I stayed up very late at night completing assignments and went without sleep lotsa times. I found that I had to manage my time well and study hard. I probably could have made better grades if I would have had more time, but like I said I had a family and I didn't want to totally ignore them.

I worked two jobs and went through full time school. I thought I had it bad ...

.... untill I met a classmate who worked a fulltime job and was raising a 2 year old girl all by herself while attending full time school! :uhoh3:

:eek:

Any parent who still works and does school has my deepest respect. I doubt I could do it and retain my sanity!