how intelligent do you need to be?

SmilingBluEyes · May 10, 2004

Critical analysis ability is a must in nursing....but over-analysis is NOT, and is a detriment. You need to learn the difference sooner rather than later. Best wishes.

prunepie · May 10, 2004

thank you i appreciate your honesty... now i need to figure out that fine line :) xoxo jenn

wonderbee, BSN, RN · May 10, 2004

You have to be intelligent enough to pass your nursing school entrance exams with a score high enough that will be competetive with others who have taken the same exam since these exams are based on percentages using a national average. The NLN for example, is one of them. Critical thinking is a skill that is the basis for the nursing school experience. If you can critically think things through and have a knowledge base high enough to do well on these entrance exams, you should be ok.

manna, BSN, RN · May 10, 2004

Intelligence is great, but ultimately I think tenacity is more important. Or like my Dad always used to say, "attitude is everything."

Speaking of which, one of the downfalls of some highly intelligent people is that their study skills are pathetic - things come so easily to them that they never developed the study skills of someone who is perhaps not as academically gifted, someone who might have to work harder.

Good luck! :)

hobbes · May 10, 2004

hello everyone..i posted something like this a few months ago..but my worry has started up again.. it pretty much pertains to how intelligent do you need to be to go to nursing school and succeed?? i am taking prereqs right now such as psych and sociology getting a's ..but i have yet to take the sciences..which freak me to no end.
i am very hard on myself which can be a blessing and a curse. i have never had an aptitude for math or sciences and i have read that many people have felt the same thing..but done well in school.
i want to go for my np degree..so just passing classes with a C isnt going to cut it and i would hate to begin my career in nursing, not being able to attain my goal of a master np degree.
i would really like to hear how you can figure out if you are literally smart enough to do well in school if you sometimes pull a "big duh..uh what?" when it comes to science and math.
thank you so much in advance xoxo jen

I really don't think it's so much a matter of intelligence as determination. None of the nursing sciences is so difficult that a motivated person can't do well. Since you are aware of your weaknesses that just means that you have ample time to prepare and make sure you are ready when it comes time to take those courses. Maybe you want to audit some classes to get a feel for what it will be like, or purchase a "basics" book to get a head start. The bottom line is that if a good grade is what you want in the sciences then it just going to be function of how much effort you put into it. It may not come easy, but if you keep your long range goals in mind it will make the effort for bearable. Remember also that attitude plays an important part in success as well. Instead of facing the coming sciences classes with dread, look at it as an opportunity to learn something that has previously baffled you.

Deb123j · May 12, 2004

I think that I am a fairly intelligent person, however I HATE Chemistry!!!!! :angryfire Will I need to know/remember everything from chemistry for nursing school/work??? :uhoh21:

Deb123j · May 12, 2004

P.S. I currently have a B average in Chemistry, but I feel like I'm just not "getting" it. Should I go back to the begininning and re-learn the stuff that I'm not completely clear on?

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · May 12, 2004

Do you have to be intelligent to be a nurse? Only if you want to be a good and effective nurse.

I have known a couple of nurses who are very sweet and caring, but not very smart. They are nice people, but they are not very good nurses.

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · May 12, 2004

P.S. I currently have a B average in Chemistry, but I feel like I'm just not "getting" it. Should I go back to the begininning and re-learn the stuff that I'm not completely clear on?

No. I loved chemistry. Having a great instructor had a lot to do with it.

I've been an RN for four years. I do use some chemistry every day in my work- but not the chemistry I learned in school. The stuff I need to know, I learned at work, on the job.

Although I loved my chem classes. I hardly remember the material at all, and have not needed it.

RedSox33RN · May 12, 2004

P.S. I currently have a B average in Chemistry, but I feel like I'm just not "getting" it. Should I go back to the begininning and re-learn the stuff that I'm not completely clear on?

Debbie, I just finished a Human Bio course, and feel the SAME way. I got a 98% overall for the course, but I felt like a cheater! (although I didn't). Yes, I got 100% on all my homework (which was easy because you can look up all the answers), did all the extra credit, wrote 2 great papers, and aced the essay portion of each test (because he told us what the essay questions would be, so I memorized the answer after I wrote one), but only did "average" on the multiple choice part of the 3 tests we had. Because of that, I felt like a failure. I really, really don't think I earned an A. To me, an A student knows the material backward, forward and upside down. I obviously didn't. But my prof didn't see it that way. To him, I earned enough points to get an A.

I am taking A&P 1 now, and hope to "redeem" myself with this. It's a short, 5-week, online course, which hasn't even started yet, but I'm already studying and making flashcards. I don't know what else to do, but dig in!

Kyriaka · May 12, 2004

I think so much of things are organizational skills and discipline in your studies.

There are differant types of smart.

I am a firm non believer in IQ's. My parents were told that I was mentally retarded when I was 8. I was put into classes for the handicapped. Guess what?? I needed glasses. I was not in the classes for long but I was in their long enough to doubt my ability and for the teachers to think of me as not capable.

Have confidence in yourself.

orrnlori, RN · May 13, 2004

Okay, I've been trying for nearly ten years to really understand what is meant by "critical thinking". I've yet to find a definition that clearly explains it or why everyone uses the term as though it only relates to nursing. All professions use critical thinking as I understand it. I don't think it's a mysterious concept that is relegated to nursing.

You've received good comments here. I think your age will help you. I think it's easier to be a student as a mature adult and education is more enjoyable as an adult than as an 18 year old person.

What I learned as a nursing student was to think like the instructor's wanted me to think, not necessarily what I actually believed was the correct answer. I think this is key to success along with all the other things that have been said such as perserverance and dedication.

The other thing I would say to you is this, please concentrate on the here and now and not on the position of NP that you are so clearly shooting for. If you relate everything now to how you believe it will apply 4-6-8 years from now you are going to drive yourself nuts. Be here, now, in this moment. If you do the here and now, the rest will take care of itself. And quit over analyzing things. This WILL get you in trouble on nursing exams. It was the hardest thing for me to unlearn but you need to unlearn it. Good luck, you'll do fine.