"It shouldn't be that hard to be a nurse"

vamedic4, EMT-P · May 5, 2007

Earning a spot in nursing school can be tough, even in the midst of a nursing shortage.

Just ask Georgia State University student Rachel Edmundson, who has failed three times to win entry to GSU's program despite carrying a 3.29 GPA.

"I don't think it should be that hard" to become a nurse, the 21-year-old said over a chilled coffee drink near the GSU campus

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I think some of you may be missing the point of what this Rachel was saying. She's absolutely right when she says it shouldn't be so hard. Because it SHOULDN'T. Nobody's arguing that there shouldn't be standards to get in, of course there should. Nobody's arguing that some people aren't going to finish, of course they're not. I didn't. :bluecry1: But Rachel is caught up in the same boat as several thousand other "qualified" applicants. Those who have an admirable GPA, probably have a good academic background, but the lack of nursing instructors *(and other factors) means that only those with 3.77 and up even get considered. :trout: It's not the student's fault she didn't get in - rather it's the fault of the academic community and nursing as a whole. :trout: There's just not enough EMPHASIS on becoming a nurse, and extolling the values of those of you who ARE nurses. As a society ignorant to the true contribution of nurses, we are getting ready for a new crisis in health care. People truly think that the crap they see on ER and those other worthless shows (even some of the reality shows on the discovery channel paint nurses in a subserviant light) is a true representation of the work nurses do...and it's not.

What people don't realize is that without nurses, a doctor's job is difficult if not impossible to do. :nono:

I don't know what to say about dad's comment. He sounds a little out of touch....

vamedic4

I

reesern63, RN · May 5, 2007

We're not talking about medical school, we're talking about nursing school," her father, Chuck Edmundson, said
she'll never get in now.

LOL...good point.

Tweety, BSN, RN · May 5, 2007

Competition tough for nursing school
Nope, not liking Dad one bit...!

However, dad has a point.........Americans wanting to be nurses, yet importing foreigners. Do we check their GPA's prior to importing them? Probably not, as long as they pass NCLEX.

chickapin · May 5, 2007

I can't believe so many people think that high GPA=great nurse. If that were the case then why does a school that accepts 120 students with GPA's no lower than 3.9 only graduate 80??? Why is it that 40 of those "prime candidates" can't even cut it through school? Aside from the sciences, the majority of the pre-reqs required have nothing to do with nursing so why does that determine how well one will do in nursing school?! Seriously how hard is it to make an A in art?! I just got rejected from a nursing program with a 3.4 GPA. But I can assure you I did not get a 3.4 because I'm lazy or stupid. I have never gotten lower than a B in my college career but I have also worked full time the entire time as well as taking a full time load. I work a demanding job in marketing where I have yet to work less than 50 hours a week. Most weeks I was working between 60-70 hours and taking no fewer than 12 credits. So yes there are times I was forced to take a B in history to get those A's in A & P and microbiology. My last semester I worked my full time job, a part time job, took 17 credit hours including two science courses and ended up with 4 A's and 1 B and on Dean's list. I most certainly would have a 4.0 GPA if all I did was go to school. But I don't. I work my bum off so I can put myself through college. But most schools don't see anything but a number beside your name. They don't realize until its too late that the 4.0 they picked took 2 classes at a time and didn't have any other responsibilities now can't handle the demands of a full time schedule and the work of the real world. *rant over* But its okay. I knew full and well going into college that statistically the odds are against me. I have drug addicts for parents, grew up dirt poor and statistically I should repeat the cycle and never get out of the socioeconomical status I was born into. It's okay. In the meantime I will get my degree in psychology (always wanted to double major). Who knows, maybe I will just scrap my nursing plans all together since I'm obviously not "smart enough" with my 3.4 GPA!

Totally agree with you! When I spoke to the nursing advisors at the school I was attending for my undergrad, I asked them if they weight any courses by difficulty or put more emphasis on the science grades or anything like that. "Nope", they said. Cumulative GPA is the only basis for admission, and since my GPA included C's in calculus and physics, I would never get in, ever, and why don't I "look into speech pathology or radiology" instead? It was also suggested I look into programs at community colleges that don't have such competition, effectively throwing away 60+ credits from my university.

Since I wasn't willing to settle for other majors that I really had little interest in, I transferred to a new university, ended up w/ a BA in psych since it was quick and easy and fun, and then got into my ABSN program on my first shot. So I'm half done w/ my program, I'm working part time (even though they say it's impossible to work during this program) and have gotten all A's and 1 B (and the B was a 91% - our A's are 93-100%), and I've gotten 99.99% on all of my HESI's (including med/surg and pharm) except for 1 where I got a 92%. I've had multiple patients tell me that I'm going to be a wonderful nurse. I've gotten wonderful reviews from all of my preceptors. I had a 3.4 GPA going into my nursing program, but I'm half done, and now it's 3.5. This GPA thing bugs me so much. It's one thing when schools also require interviews or hospital experience or essays in addition to GPA. But just looking at the GPA number itself, w/ no regard for the classes that were taken to get that number...it just doesn't make sense to me. In nursing you're supposed to look at and care for the whole person, not just the sick or injured part of that person. So why don't nursing schools look at the whole person when making admissions decisions? Why are some schools so caught up in cumulative GPA when there are so many better, more holistic ways to find the best candidates for nursing?

kukukajoo, LPN · May 5, 2007

"I don't think it should be that hard" to become a nurse, the 21-year-old said over a chilled coffee drink near the GSU campus."
Maybe she thought she was going to school to model those sexy nurses outfits for halloween.

The chilled coffee drink was drank while on break from her waitress job as a "nurse" at the Heart Attack Grill!!!!!!!!!!!!

ROFLMAO

Sorry, I think it's hilarous- must be end of year finals psychosis!!!

PeachyERNurse, BSN, RN · May 6, 2007

Totally agree with you! When I spoke to the nursing advisors at the school I was attending for my undergrad, I asked them if they weight any courses by difficulty or put more emphasis on the science grades or anything like that. "Nope", they said. Cumulative GPA is the only basis for admission, and since my GPA included C's in calculus and physics, I would never get in, ever, and why don't I "look into speech pathology or radiology" instead? It was also suggested I look into programs at community colleges that don't have such competition, effectively throwing away 60+ credits from my university.
Since I wasn't willing to settle for other majors that I really had little interest in, I transferred to a new university, ended up w/ a BA in psych since it was quick and easy and fun, and then got into my ABSN program on my first shot. So I'm half done w/ my program, I'm working part time (even though they say it's impossible to work during this program) and have gotten all A's and 1 B (and the B was a 91% - our A's are 93-100%), and I've gotten 99.99% on all of my HESI's (including med/surg and pharm) except for 1 where I got a 92%. I've had multiple patients tell me that I'm going to be a wonderful nurse. I've gotten wonderful reviews from all of my preceptors. I had a 3.4 GPA going into my nursing program, but I'm half done, and now it's 3.5. This GPA thing bugs me so much. It's one thing when schools also require interviews or hospital experience or essays in addition to GPA. But just looking at the GPA number itself, w/ no regard for the classes that were taken to get that number...it just doesn't make sense to me. In nursing you're supposed to look at and care for the whole person, not just the sick or injured part of that person. So why don't nursing schools look at the whole person when making admissions decisions? Why are some schools so caught up in cumulative GPA when there are so many better, more holistic ways to find the best candidates for nursing?

LOL!!! That's EXACTLY what happened to me! My advisor told me I'd never get into the nursing program with my GPA and that I should "consider another major." I too graduated in a BA (in Sociology though) and am now in an ABSN program. Guess that jerk was wrong. My school is one that looks solely at GPA for admission to nursing school. I think schools should look at GPA, but also difficulty of the courses you were taking, and whether or not you were working while taking these crazy hard courses.

reesern63, RN · May 6, 2007

Maybe she doesn't mean it, but it's the entitled attitude that bothers me. As if she's owed a spot solely based on her GPA. There is a lot more to nursing than a GPA. It's not printed on your name badge when you get a job, and I've yet to have a pt ask me what mine was. There are a lot of excellent nurses out there whose GPAs were less than stellar.

No one is owed a spot in a nursing program. And I think it should be hard to get in...nursing is a hard job. It's not a cakewalk, and it should never be perceived as one. Perhaps there's a good reason why this girl isn't getting accepted, a reason beyond her grades.

chickapin · May 6, 2007

LOL!!! That's EXACTLY what happened to me! My advisor told me I'd never get into the nursing program with my GPA and that I should "consider another major." I too graduated in a BA (in Sociology though) and am now in an ABSN program. Guess that jerk was wrong. My school is one that looks solely at GPA for admission to nursing school. I think schools should look at GPA, but also difficulty of the courses you were taking, and whether or not you were working while taking these crazy hard courses.

Hey, what school are you at?

Actually I did a little looking around and now my guess is that you're one of the accelerated USF Pinellas county students? I just finished semester 2/3 on the main campus. How's it going for you?

chickapin · May 6, 2007

Deleted post!

PeachPie · May 6, 2007

She's going to be weeded out real quick, especially if she thinks that she can breeze through it.

chickapin · May 6, 2007

:angryfire I really don't feel like many people have actually read the whole article. So many people are just making these quick judgments on this girl over one comment she made. Where does it say she expects to "breeze through it"? The article isn't about the content difficulty of nursing school. It's not about how hard nursing school supposedly is. It's about the nursing shortage and how schools have to turn down many QUALIFIED applicants. She is still a qualified applicant, regardless of how much you might dislike her comment, although I think a lot of people here are misinterpreting it. Some schools don't even require a 3.0 GPA so why are people giving this girl such a hard time over a 3.29? Some schools don't rank, they just have waiting lists and let people in when their turn is up. Why is everyone making all these negative assumptions about one girl who obviously wants to be a nurse enough to apply several times in a row? Not to mention, in the article it says, "Outside of school Edmundson recently organized a walkathon to raise money for cancer research. At home she has been a help mate to an autistic younger brother". Those sound like positive qualities to me.

When we walk into the hospital, we have access to tons of confidential patient information. We get the whole picture. We can find out how many sexual partners our patients have had, if they've had abortions, or if they have histories of drug use or incarceration. And yet, WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO JUDGE*. We should treat all of our patients the same. So why is it, out of the hospital, when there is so little factual information available, people are so quick to judge and make assumptions? In the end, no one here has the right to assume they know more about this girl's situation than is presented in the article. You don't know what classes she's taking or if she works full time to help pay for school, or if she spends a lot of time taking care of her younger brother with autism so maybe she can't study as much as other students. No one has the right to judge her for whatever reason or assume she's not fit to be a nurse just because she thinks there should be more seats available in her school's nursing program. Such negative attitudes don't help anyone and they certainly don't do anything for the reputation of the nursing profession.

Talk about nurses eating their young. Some people here are ripping this girl apart before she's even a nursing student. If this is how everyone acts, one day there really won't be any nurses left.

*Wonderful information imparted to me by my mom, a critical care nurse of 37 years, upon my entry into nursing school, and something that every nurse should remember before every patient encounter.

kukukajoo, LPN · May 6, 2007

Chickapin- Relax a little, please