If I hear "C Nurses make the best nurses" one more time I will scream!

[JennInColumbus]

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.

[Catma63]

What can I say? That's been my experience. I've seen C students go around asking people what their grade is, then proceed to make all of these excuses for their lower grade, including the "C means I'll be a better nurse" claim.

Well, naturally, the ones who claim a "C" grade means they'll be a better nurse or misinformed. The ones who accept their "C" grade after striving to do their best have it goin' on. Not everyone who makes the same grades feels the same way.

If some C students are really happy with their grade, I don't think they'd make a big deal out of who got what grades, or always try to find out who blew the curve.

And I agree! If you've given it all you've got and you get a "C", then pat yourself on the back. If you've attained an "A", Likewise! However, one "C" student is a totally different individual from another "C" student. Don't we owe it to everyone to see them as such and not judge them by the actions or comments of others?

As I mentioned in another post, I've experienced a lot of nasty remarks from C students. Does this happen with all C students? No. Of course not. But the students who tend to say and do these things also tend to have lower grades. Or, at least, that's been my experience.

See, that's what I mean. Fact is, is DOESN'T happen with all "C" students so they can hardly be categorized. There are just those people in life, no matter WHAT they're doing, who want to pass the blame onto others or are not willing to accept responsibility. There are mature "C" students and there are immature "C" students. There are mature "A" students and there are immature "A" students.....eh?

Quite frankly, I don't care about their grades, and I don't ask. I don't know why they care about mine. I can only assume that the reason they ask is out of competition and jealousy.

I've learned to be careful about assuming anything about anybody. Until I've been given the ability to look and read into the soul and mind of a person......Yeah, okay, I hardly think God's going to hand that one to me or anyone else.

And the reason I don't tell them anymore is because I don't want to hear or deal with the nasty remarks afterward.

And I don't blame you. If you've come across people who really ARE that immature, then you owe it to yourself to avoid them, stay positive, and continue just as you've been doing. No one needs petty nonsense.

[Sheri257]

However, one "C" student is a totally different individual from another "C" student. Don't we owe it to everyone to see them as such and not judge them by the actions or comments of others?

See, that's what I mean. Fact is, is DOESN'T happen with all "C" students so they can hardly be categorized. There are just those people in life, no matter WHAT they're doing, who want to pass the blame onto others or are not willing to accept responsibility.

I definitely was not trying to categorize all C students. Quite frankly, I don't know why you read it that way. My comment was addressed to the OP and the topic at hand. Just because some of the people who say these things happen to also be C students (or worse), doesn't mean I was trying to categorize all C students. I simply addressed the OP's particular situation and nothing more. I think you read too much into it.

[Catma63]

I definitely was not trying to categorize all C students. Quite frankly, I don't know why you read it that way. My comment was addressed to the OP and the topic at hand. Just because some of the people who say these things happen to also be C students (or worse), doesn't mean I was trying to categorize all C students. I simply addressed the OP's particular situation and nothing more. I think you read too much into it.

If it appears I was reading too much into it, my apologies. Truthfully, I have yet to read anything into it at all. What I've done is merely seeking to clarify what you meant by asking you. I made no conclusions. That, in itself (concluding), is hard to do without knowing exactly what the poster means, isn't it?

[tiredfeetED]

Think the saying goes "C's EARN degree's!!!"

What do you call the person with worst passing grade in Medical school? "DR." :chuckle

[LydiaGreen]

I am just about to graduate from nursing school in May. I was on a waiting list to start the program and got in at the end of the fourth week... just a day or two before the cut off. I had to work really, really hard to not only keep with the current material but catch up on the material and assignments that I had missed. My classmates told me that one of the instructors told them they were getting a new student the day before I started and that I would never catch up... blah, blah, blah. We heard from two of our instructors that C students make better nurses and that A students usually crack in clinicals because, although they have a lot of book knowledge, they usually don't have a lot of common sense in how to apply it. Yes, I am serious. This was in perhaps the second semester. It was also a consistent problem that when assignments were returned by one of the instructors, she would invariably have the comment "Well, you all did poorly again, except for one or two of you." Then, she would return the assignments to us, saying nothing to the majority of the class and then something like, "Great work" to the few who did well in her opinion. Sometimes she would actually say the names of the few people who did well, including mine.

There are students who nag you until they find out your grade, it DOES happen. I know of one student who managed to figure out everyone's student numbers by comparing the admissions assigned numbers with our names in alphabetical order. This list was further complicated because I was a late admission, my number sequence was different, as was that of the RPNs who joined during the second year. But, this student managed to figure it out and whenever grades were posted, she would know everyone else's grade before they did.

I won't lie... my grades and my GPA are important to me. Not because I intend to go further in my education (I just want to be a nurse). My grades are important to me because I try to do my best and I am capable of high grades because I write well, I am full of bologna (some professors love to read a lot of hooey and I will give it to the ones who want it - letting them read what they want to read), and I have an excellent memory. I honestly don't believe that my grades or those of the other students would have mattered to anyone if the instructors hadn't started that "Cs make a better nurse", "A students can't apply the knowledge", garbage. Sometimes, I think they are just repeating what they were told in nursing school, along with the "nurses eat their young" line (which I also have not witnessed). And sometimes, I think that this division among the class is done intentionally to see how well we deal with stress.

[NICUbabyRN]

Wow I can't believe how many responses this has gotten. Stop worrying:) . I know that school is stressful. Just do the best you can do! Do not worry about what others are getting. Smile!

[Sheri257]

Interesting post Lydia. Just FYI, the state of California did a study of 20 nursing schools. They found that generally, higher GPAs translate into more successful nursing students, both in academics and in clinicals. This study was the basis for many, although not all, state schools switching to GPA criteria for nursing school acceptance.

[Catma63]

Interesting post Lydia. Just FYI, the state of California did a study of 20 nursing schools. They found that generally, higher GPAs translate into more successful nursing students, both in academics and in clinicals. This study was the basis for many, although not all, state schools switching to GPA criteria for nursing school acceptance.

Way Kewl information, Lizz! Now may I ask....What's your point? Not being sarcastic or mean; just asking.

[Sheri257]

Way Kewl information, Lizz! Now may I ask....What's your point? Not being sarcastic or mean; just asking.

This was part of Lydia's post:

We heard from two of our instructors that C students make better nurses and that A students usually crack in clinicals because, although they have a lot of book knowledge, they usually don't have a lot of common sense in how to apply it.

The state of California apparently came to a different conclusion. I thought it was relevant to Lydia's post.

[Catma63]

This was part of Lydia's post:

The state of California apparently came to a different conclusion. I thought it was relevant to Lydia's post.

Ahhhhhhh, I see. Yeah,they came to a different conclusion but does a better nursing student mean the same thing as a better nurse? Just pondering out loud here.

I DO think it was wrong for those instructors to say that C students make better nurses. It also would have been wrong for them to say that A students make better nurses.

Looove your emoticon, btw.

[Sheri257]

Ahhhhhhh, I see. Yeah,they came to a different conclusion but does a better nursing student mean the same thing as a better nurse? Just pondering out loud here.

I honestly don't know. The administrators at my school frequently say that C students can make great nurses. However, they are also pushing to adopt the above mentioned GPA criteria. There was a nursing school meeting on this subject just last week, where they basically said grades matter, but C students can make good nurses too.

We also have an ADN and a BSN program in my area. Some hospitals prefer ADNs because there are more clinicals in that particular program. Other hospitals prefer BSNs. I mention this not to get into that debate, but just to point out that there are other factors besides grades that could be considered as well.

[CCU NRS]

Just went through the entire thread and after getting this started OP has not been seen! Look at the diversity of opinions here.

I have never had to supply my transcript at a job interview so no one knows if I am an A or C student IRL, I did better in some subjects than in others, I never set a curve in my life, I can understand how those of you who wish to continue to schools such as CRNA and NP would like to keep your GPA up and be more attractive to schools. To the OP if you are capable of making A's and are doing your best then it really should not matter what other students or Instructors say about C students make better nurse or C= RN etc. One thing I may tell you to keep in mind about instructors is the old saying those who can do and those who can't teach. I had an Instructor that informed me of this himself. He was very demanding and uptight and expected perfection but he admitted he could not do bedside nursing because most people found him to be rude and intolerant. He was right he was rude and intolerant but he was meticulous in teaching principles and theory.

To all of you going back and forth on the issue of what GPA means to nursing quality you will never truly know what GPA your fellow nurse made in the working world.