how important is GPA?

[sourapril]

I am a nursing student. When I asked a nurse manager from a non-teaching private hospital how important is an applicant's GPA, she told me not all that important. She said she would look at someone's experience, connection over academic. Is that the norm? Does it matter if you are applying to a teaching hospital or other facilities? Nurse managers and anyone who ever hired a new grad, feel free to answer.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

When I was in nursing school, if you wanted specialty placements such as OR, ICU, or emerg, your GPA had to be around 3.4 minimum to even be considered. No exceptions were made. They want students in these areas who are demonstrating the ability to learn and apply themselves. So GPA is important because you have more options.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

And summer externships for students....all the major hospitals in my city made GPA one of the main criteria for applicants. People with average GPAs were not eligible for these positions either. It isn't just grad school where GPA matters.

[AJPV]

"Books don't have anything to do with nursing"???

Oh, so I shouldn't worry about dysrhythmias when the pt's potassium is 2. And it's actually a healthy sign when the pt's heart sounds are muffled, the pulse pressure is narrowing, the heart rate is 130, and the BP is dropping.

[SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN]

op: gpa counts in order to land externships, land scholarships, and land a spot in a competitive graduate school. that is all!!

i can safely say from experience that the nurse manager who suggested that gpa does not matter in the hiring process is correct. on average no one will care about your gpa. you can land a specialty job, be promoted, transfer, change facilities, change direction in your career, be a manager, etc. without your gpa being a factor. the majority of your career will require a license, connections, and work experience. gl!

[mindlor]

I think the answer is highly variable. For myself, I do not work, nor do I have any other responsibility besides school, so for me, anything less than an A is inexusable.

Now cut to the working mom with three kids that just barely passed. Frankly, I as a manager would have more respect for her......

[VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN]

When I landed my first nursing job 15 years ago in a highly competitive nursing specialty unit, my GPA was a consideration. There was a glut of newly minted nurses back then, just like there is today.

GPA is also an indirect factor on certain standardized facility reference forms that graduating students ask me to fill out every semester. One specifically asks: "In comparison with the others in the class, how would you rank this student? Upper 10% ___ Upper 25% ___ Middle ___ Lower 25% ___ Lower 10% ___"

[deftonez188]

GPA only shows that you are able to put time into learning mostly useless material. Work experience, and clinical performance during school is more predictive of a good nurse.

While I agree with the second half of your statement, I completely disagree with the first. Learning mostly useless material? That's an unfortunate outlook on the reflection of GPA to a person's knowledge, especially by someone college educated such as yourself. Who disagrees that in any endeavor we undertake that we should settle for 'mediocre'? GPA reflects what you put in to your education, does your GPA reflect who you perceive yourself to be?

[BradRN]

I would agree with all the posts that GPA does not mean much unless you are preparing for a graduate program. My GPA was not that great, then again when I was in nursing school my daughter was born and our family experienced three back to back deaths. I still made it to graduate school and am now working on my second masters degree. I worked for a teaching hospital and they never asked me what my GPA was, I think its because even in a teaching hospital they don't expect you to break down the drugs into their chemical components for patients, they just want to make sure you can give them the essentials on them (side effects etc.). Hope this helps.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

GPA matters for graduate school, internships and externships, and many nurse residency/new grad programs. And given the very tight job market, GPAs may help with securing that coveted new grad job...or at least getting the interview. After you get that first job and have actual nursing experience, GPA doesn't matter as much if at all.

But a good GPA should not be looked at as a guarantee of a new job or that the person will automatically be good at it...nor should a bad GPA suggest that the person will fail or signify the person must have a hidden talent at hands-on skills. Lots of people with good GPAs suck at hands-on skills, and lots are fantastic. Lots of people with bad GPAs suck at hands-on skills, and lots are fantastic.

[Calabria, BSN, RN]

OP, I graduated cum laude for both my first and second degrees, and was invited to honor societies for both nursing and my first degree... my high GPA and academic achievements were commented on several times in my interviews. My sister, who is currently a nursing student, will be graduating either magna cum laude or summa cum laude this spring... her GPA was commented on at multiple externship interviews, and probably played a direct role in landing her the externship position that she eventually took.

Good grades are important to us because we've always been high achievers, especially in school, and expect nothing but the best from ourselves. We wanted to be well-prepared for work, so we worked our tails' off in the classroom. And we want to know that we have a solid academic foundation to fall back on in case we go on to graduate school.

None of our patients care about our GPA, however. Our co-workers don't so much, either (it's come up once or twice for me in my almost one-year tenure). Our patients just want us to care for them well, and to know what to do when they need it. And our co-workers want us to be reliable and informed, especially in the event of an emergency. Doing well in school helped with that.

[EmergencyNrse]

85% = RN

...never been paid because of my test-taking skills.

Never hired anyone because of GPA. Hope this helps.

[AJPV]

I'm a new grad just recently hired. My GPA was brought up in several of my interviews. I think you really want to get your feedback from current new grads, not seasoned nurses who got their first job years ago in a far different job market. For seasoned nurses, yes, their experience is now far more important than their GPA. If it is important to you that you get new-grad job offers from hospitals that value self-motivation, academic competency, and thorough training of new grads, then your GPA should be important to you. Your GPA is only one piece of the puzzle, but it is an important piece. You should strive to show self-motivation in every are possible, and your GPA shows your self-motivation to learn the theory which is the foundational starting point of competent clinical practice. The current job market is flooded with new grads - it's even flooded with new grads who have experience working as patient techs. You need tech experience in this market, but your GPA is what can set you apart from others, or it can make you blend in.