It seems that some students are not a good fit for nursing.

windsurfer8, BSN, RN · Mar 2, 2016

Who are you to determine what makes a good nurse? Good luck trying to "know everything". At this point you know nothing. I have been a nurse 10 years and I learn every single day. Being Arrogant in nursing will lead down a road you don't want to go.

I have met straight A students who panic under pressure. I have seen straight A students have their rears sued off. You have no idea what makes a good nurse. There are also different times certain nurses are more effective.

And what do you mean "negatively or positively" in response. Who determines this? Maybe getting put in your place is actually positive. Having people tell you you are wonderful and perfect IMO is as "negative" and unhelpful as can be.

Banana nut, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Mar 2, 2016

Who are you to determine what makes a good nurse? Good luck trying to "know everything". At this point you know nothing. I have been a nurse 10 years and I learn every single day. Being Arrogant in nursing will lead down a road you don't want to go.
I have met straight A students who panic under pressure. I have seen straight A students have their rears sued off. You have no idea what makes a good nurse. There are also different times certain nurses are more effective.
And what do you mean "negatively or positively" in response. Who determines this? Maybe getting put in your place is actually positive. Having people tell you you are wonderful and perfect IMO is as "negative" and unhelpful as can be.

This is good stuff! thank you for taking the time to respond. I appreciate your perspective and agree with much of it.

Ioreth, ADN, RN · Mar 3, 2016

Many of my classmates are on their 2nd or 3rd time through the prerequisites. My school is very competitive, but they only consider 4 classes for the GPA to get into the nursing program. These 4 classes are well known for being weed-out classes, so they are intensely hard. I had previously gotten a BA, but I have never experienced this kind of drinking from a fire hydrant style of learning. Some people will take several times to get an A, but if they are dedicated and are willing to put in the hard work, then they will get it. I would not be surprised if there is a similar situation in your school. They may just seem like they are not putting much effort into the class, but this is the 2nd time they've seen this material, so they are not struggling as much as they did the first time.

AspiringNurseMW · Mar 3, 2016

This post is just a bit of a rant so please take it with a grain of salt: I am finding MOST "pre-nursing" students I come across are not cut out for the gauntlet that is nursing school. It may be a maturity issue or an ignorance issue, I do not know. What I am seeing is a total lack of competition in my prerequs. I may just be an over competitive young man wanting to provide for his family, but I don't see anyone in my classes who is on another level kind of smart. Has anyone had this experience? I have a desire in my heart to know EVERYTHING so I am kind of constantly studying everything that has to do with nursing all the time, and I don't see anyone, really, that is knowledgeable at an elite level. It makes me sad because smart people motivate me to be better and I'm not getting any of that in my experience. please feel free to comment negatively or positively to this thread. I would love some feedback.
Thank you

Sorry. I'm going against the grain and agreeing with you. I'll admit. I've always been top of class without much effort. I felt the same way during my prerequisites. I couldn't see the vast majority of my classmates as nursing students. And I didn't. Remember the people who you see in your classes are probably just a fraction of those applying to nursing school.

So when I actually got accepted into nursing school, I found that more of cohorts were more like me. Hardworking, interested, invested. Not all, but a much larger percentage than compared to my prerequisites classmates. And those that are not, are slowly dropping away, either they drop out or fail.

I will have to say. The more I learn in nursing school, the awareness of what I DON'T know, grows exponentially. We only skim the surface of the basics.

bluebirdflyx · Mar 3, 2016

Throughout my pre-reqs I was a straight A student. I was soooo pissed when I got an A- in microbiology. :madface: My first semester of nursing school was a real eye opener when I barely made it out of Nursing 101 with a C. There was so much going on with skills labs and clinicals and real human patients (OMG!) that I was overwhelmed. My grades improved with subsequent classes but nursing school really will weed people out and level the playing field.

The next eye opener comes once you (and everyone else) has passed NCLEX and you land your first job as an RN. Guess what happens then? Nobody gives two hoots about what you did in nursing school!! :no: You were the best and brightest snowflake who made extra flashcards or took the lead in the group project? Really, nobody cares. Your "elite knowledge" will only impress me if you use it to remember where the supplies are or the door codes so you don't ask me 500 times.

Keep your head down, mind your own studies, and fly under the radar. Hopefully you will find a group in nursing school who will be on the same wavelength and you can partner up and get through it together.

Banana nut, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Mar 3, 2016

Throughout my pre-reqs I was a straight A student. I was soooo pissed when I got an A- in microbiology. My first semester of nursing school was a real eye opener when I barely made it out of Nursing 101 with a C. There was so much going on with skills labs and clinicals and real human patients (OMG!) that I was overwhelmed. My grades improved with subsequent classes but nursing school really will weed people out and level the playing field.
The next eye opener comes once you (and everyone else) has passed NCLEX and you land your first job as an RN. Guess what happens then? Nobody gives two hoots about what you did in nursing school!! You were the best and brightest snowflake who made extra flashcards or took the lead in the group project? Really, nobody cares. Your "elite knowledge" will only impress me if you use it to remember where the supplies are or the door codes so you don't ask me 500 times.
Keep your head down, mind your own studies, and fly under the radar. Hopefully you will find a group in nursing school who will be on the same wavelength and you can partner up and get through it together.

This is great advice and I appreciate the humble approach you present. I will be keeping this in mind throughout my journey.

Thank you

Valerieap · Mar 3, 2016

In my experience it doesn't matter how book smart you are... It's all about common sense. That 4.0 doesn't mean squat if you don't have the common sense to know when and how to apply it. I work at a teaching hospital, and it's the students that think they are oh so smart that end up falling flat on their face and looking like a moron to everyone, RN, NA, and patient! If I were you I would adopt a bit more of a humble attitude. You do not know everything- reading something in a book and then applying it to a real life situation- which is going to be complicated by many other factors- is a totally different story.

emmjayy, BSN, RN · Mar 3, 2016

If a student isn't fit to be a nurse, they'll get weeded out. I don't really see how or why anyone else's qualifications to be a nursing student are any of your concern.

Banana nut, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Mar 3, 2016

If a student isn't fit to be a nurse, they'll get weeded out. I don't really see how or why anyone else's qualifications to be a nursing student are any of your concern.

I don't see why you would even bother to respond to this post....

Kiki1970 · Mar 3, 2016

If you don't want people to respond to your posts then don't ask for them to in the first place.

I'm wondering the same thing as emmjayy.

elkpark · Mar 3, 2016

I don't see why you would even bother to respond to this post....

Perhaps because you stated, "please feel free to comment negatively or positively to this thread. I would love some feedback" in your original post?

Banana nut, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Mar 3, 2016

Perhaps because you stated, "please feel free to comment negatively or positively to this thread. I would love some feedback" in your original post?

Oh that's right! I forgot.