I'm in my first quarter of nursing school and I keep hearing "C Nurses make the best nurses". It makes me absolutely crazy. I'm the first to admit that being book smart does not mean that you have a lot of common sense, but I don't think that A nurses are destined to be bad nurses.
Our school has a tough grading scale, anything below 80 is failing, and I understand that makes it tougher to get really good grades. However, every time I hear that little manta, it feels like a put down, even though I don't discuss my grades.
I work extremely hard to get good grades-- I think it is important for obvious reasons and because I'd eventually like to attend CRNA school. I made the decision to be poor for two years and live on student loans so I could spend a lot of time studying. It is only the first quarter and I'm already tired of being made to feel like I won't be a great nurse because I dared to overachieve!
Does anyone else feel this way too? Thanks for letting me vent.
My husband is determined that I will fail as a nursing student because I don't have a lot of God given common sense, but I'm fairly book-smart. I think I may just have to work harder - we all have our own strengths and weaknesses to overcome - for some it's common sense, for others it's more intellectual/academic related issues.
Of course, I suppose it's better to be happy and proud of your C's, then to stress yourself out about making A's to the point of being physically ill.
Oh my Heavens! You broke out the big guns! A Bart t-shirt! Noooo! Nottt Bart!
Thing is, Hellllllo Nurse, I don't think that anyone's saying necessarily that good grades don't make a difference but rather....being a C student does not make a person a failure......or an underachiever.
If the grade I have at the end of my studies is a C and I'm that nurse by the bedside who manages to relax that patient for surgery or helps a patient breathe easier, will I be an underachiever then?
Any nursing student out there who is making As. Shoot, of course you should be proud of them! You worked hard for them! It's a wonderful accomplishment!
However, don't look down on the student who came out with a C or assume he/she didn't try as hard. Fact is, they should be proud too. There's no shame in a passing grade, no matter what it is.
We used to say "C=RN" meaning it's o.k. to make a C, without obessessing anal retentively over grades and crying for days over an A minus. I graduated with honors and worked my fool but off, but it was always nice to have that gentle reminder that life would go on, and I would still pass NCLEX if I made a C (which I never did. :))
To me the "C" phrases aren't really in praise of C students, but to remind us to keep things in perspective.
My husband is determined that I will fail as a nursing student because I don't have a lot of God given common sense, but I'm fairly book-smart. I think I may just have to work harder - we all have our own strengths and weaknesses to overcome - for some it's common sense, for others it's more intellectual/academic related issues.
Don't listen to this "common sense" versus "book smart" mantra. It's total nonsense and yet another lame justificiation. Of course you need some common sense, but this isn't some job at Wal-mart. There is nothing "common" about nursing or the medical profession, for that matter.
Has anyone read their textbooks? Has anyone noticed how complicated and detailed this stuff is? There's nothing "common" about it. If you don't have the knowledge base, "common sense" will get you absolutely nowhere except, perhaps, a malpractice situation.
I'm sure the inevitable "I knew a nurse who had no common sense" stories will follow. I don't buy it. Why do you think they want us to learn all of this material in nursing school? Just to waste our time?
I'll take a "book smart" nurse who really knows her stuff over a "common sense" nurse with less of a knowledge base any day of the week.
Oh boy...now we're wondering into common sense Vs book smart. That should be interesting.
I think it's interesting that ppl assume because some of us will back C=RN, means we are getting C's. That's not true at all. Ya know, it is possible to blow a test and end up with a C and still know the material. There was a guy in my A&P class who blew tests all the time..major test anxiety, but he knew more than anyone else, he studied his rear off and he passed but with a C+. I still bet this would be different if some of you are getting C's. Oh. and HelloNurse, whats wrong if someone is proud of their C's? Are you saying you are better for not backing someone with a C? That they shouldn't be proud? Should they be ashamed? With your last post you just added to the ignorance of this thread.
You ppl can flame me all you want...it seems every thread lately needs a whipping boy.
This is so crazy talk about competition. We are all here for the same thing (I hope) and that is to be a caring HOLISTIC nurse! Have some of you forgotten that? Its not who is "book smart" or who has the most "common sense" because a person with straight A's may not be caring at all. Isn't that what makes us wonderful nurses? obvisously if you passed the NCLEX then you know your stuff- to a point, but remember being a nurse is more than being a A or C student. Ever think about those who just cannot take tests and just maybe they too get ALL A's on their other papers. I sure would not want a nurse who did not care about me, or who did not know I was a human being, do you have to be an A student for that? I've read all these posts and no one cared to mention that theres more than books or more than common sense to actually be on the unit make it thru a night short handed, still be able to give to your patients, with out saying to your self what have I gotten my self into. It takes a hell of a lot to be that nurse to sit down with some one who is sad and scared and actually give that paitent a relieved peice of mind-because some one took the time to care, not look at that patient as just another nursing procedure. I hope all of you the best of luck no matter what kind of grades you get, but remember no one is really going to care about what you were like in school, they care about who you are, people can see right thru you no matter good or bad! You win shine at the end if your heart is into it!
I am quite surprised at the "tone" this whole thread has developed. It's quite embarrassing since I just recommended this site because of the "support" that is available here.
Nursing is a "team" effort..... I hope that should I land in an E.R., fighting for my life, that the nursing staff is more concerned about keeping me alive than about any competitiveness between themselves.
heres an example any one in A&P 1 or 2? Its hard to get straight A's , have any of you asked a nurse if they used every thing they learned in A&P on the floor? I have I work with nurses good ones and bad ones and both say NO! So do you think that a book smart person is going to be a better nurse because they know where the ventral root or white and gray matter are? Just because some one gets A's like in A&P does'nt mean s---! I bet if you ask a book smart nurse that question I'm sure she'll say "I never needed that so there for I forgot it". So tell me again why does A's B's or C's matter, if you pass you pass, you learn way more when your on your unit working as anurse not just as a student. So every one give your self a pat on the back because we are all working hard... nursing school is hard, don't make it any more harder!
sun_chica
105 Posts
At my school, our saying is "C IS PASSING!!!" If you do better, great, the rest of us just want to pass!!!