I have heard many people say this, particularly instructors. It all has to do with the balancing act... Studying enough to do well, but not destroying ourselves in the process to get A's. I understand that Nursing students with C's are still nurses, and that the student who recieved the A wont necessarily be a "better nurse"... But doesnt it seem like they would be?
I am mainly asking this because at clinical, I sometimes feel stupid! And I know its mostly nerves... and inexperience, of course. I know I can (and will.... !) be a good nurse, but I am thinking of one girl inparticular who just seems to have it all together at clinical all the time.. Who gets the best grades in our class... Always knows the answers. Does this mean she will be a better nurse than I will? Sometimes, I feel inadequate. Not all the time. I know I am capable of being a nurse, but.... :imbar
So, I know that "nursing students with C's are still nurses"---But does that mean they will be mediocre compared to the A students?
It just seems that a person that can't learn well in school won't learn well at work.
I don't think this is an accurate assumption at all. For me, I have made some mistakes on tests and in skills lab. It's all a learning process.
For example, in nurse aide training the instructor surprised us by doing a pop skills quiz and she picked me first. I forgot a few steps that day but you know what? I've never, ever forgotten the steps of that skill since.
A test measures what you know at that moment in time. Just because I got a C on the cardiac test in patho this semester doesn't mean I don't know squat about the heart and would be a bad cardiac nurse. I've continued learning heart stuff and I'll bet I would make an A on that exam if I took it today.
Hope that made sense. I just know that, for me, a test grade is not the end of my learning process.
Stanley-RN2B, no offense, but you can have your A nurse. :wink2: I hope I get a nurse just like me when I'm sick.
I freely admit that my view of what is a good nurse is probably way off.
The need to imagine they are the valedictorian is most likely my brain wanting a good nurse. Most situations I have been in were overcome merely by smarts.
The idea of a situation where pure brains don't help and wisdom/experience does is awkward because it'll be a long time until I have that experience and wisdom was never very easy for me to come by.
In fact I truly believe that wisdom and intelligence are inversely proportional and that the most successful people have a balance while those at the extremes don't do so well.
If you are as good as you say you are, I hope someone like you would be my nurse to. Just don't be offended at my neuroses. I had a doctor that had to look something up one time and I freaked out. Of course, no one knows EVERYTHING. Call it irrational. LOL
Maybe time will change my mind. The NCLEX creeps closer and closer...
I make no judgment about who the good nurse is because well, I'm not a nurse yet. It's just a feeling and perception.
I freely admit that my view of what is a good nurse is probably way off.
The need to imagine they are the valedictorian is most likely my brain wanting a good nurse. Most situations I have been in were overcome merely by smarts.
The idea of a situation where pure brains don't help and wisdom/experience does because it'll be a long time until I have that experience and wisdom was never very easy for me to come by.
In fact I truly believe that wisdom and intelligence are inversely proportional and that the most successful people have a balance while those at the extremes don't do so well.
If you are as good as you say you are, I hope someone like you would be my nurse to. Just don't be offended at my neuroses. I had a doctor that had to look something up one time and I freaked out. Of course, no one knows EVERYTHING. Call it irrational. LOL
Maybe time will change my mind. The NCLEX creeps closer and closer...
No offense here. :) I know that once you hit the floor as a newly graduated RN you will totally understand where we are coming from. You will realize how much you don't know and that you are just beginning to learn. We probably all felt the same way as you before we became nurses...we just can't remember that far back. :chuckle
I forgot to add that you do have some great points about knowing where to look something up and having critial thinking skills.
I'm an LPN too and ended my semester in ADN with a B-. I can honestly tell you that it was the most difficult theory class I've ever had. Our school has the LPN and ADN program combined so you can stop at LPN or continue on. I chose to take the pn boards and continue on at the same time. That theory class after the LPN was so much different simply because you are using more critical thinking skills.
Sometimes LPN's will be much more comfortable performing many of the nursing duties such as dressing changes, tube feedings, assessments, etc. Many LPN's also work in hospitals.
You wouldn't scare me at all. Just stating that your a good nurse says alot to me. It tells me your confident and comfortable in your skills. I'll take you as my nurse any day! I could care less what your grade was in med surg. Hey, you passed!
I think that nursing school is more about test taking skills and critical thinking than details. I am the least detail person in the world and only study the night before but end up with all "A"s-- so I don't think its a detail thing. I do think that clinical and real nursing practice is a completely different matter and you also have to take learning style into account. If you are a hands on learner then you won't really feel that great about your performance until you get a job and get real experience--then you will do awesome!
There are so many factors to take into consideration, but to answer the original poster's question (which not many have done, mind you): yes, it is completely possible that she will be a better nurse than you. Does that mean you won't be a good nurse? No! So don't worry about it.
To be honest, I have not found that the "C student is great in clinicals" thing is true at my school at all. I'm in an Accelerated BSN program and the C/B- students so far have been HORRENDOUS in clinicals and we've heard so many horror stories, while myself (a B+/A- student) and other students in my clinical (same) all did very well. What I am trying to say is that grades have no correlation to clinical ability so please, STOP SAYING C STUDENTS ARE BETTER IN CLINICAL WHEN IT IS ONLY ANECDOTAL! The end.
And PS: I am only 23 and many students in my program say I only get good grades because I have no responsibilities, even though I was one of 2 students in the whole program working AND I live with my grandfather to take care of him. But of course because I don't have kids or a spouse I must not have aaaaaaaany responsibilities and my life must be oh so easy!
And another thing...I plan to go on for my doctorate in nursing when I graduate, so no, Cs do NOT get degrees in my circumstance.
I swear I just had this discussion with one of my instructors because I was whining about a grade. Her contention was that a RN does not wear her grades on her uniform. The best nurse you've ever seen may have been a C student in didactic. Knowing the information is one thing, being able to use that information to think critically and make good decisions is another matter entirely.
There are so many factors to take into consideration, but to answer the original poster's question (which not many have done, mind you): yes, it is completely possible that she will be a better nurse than you. Does that mean you won't be a good nurse? No! So don't worry about it.
The multiple factors is why many could not or did not answer the question.
I am an "A" student, but I don't think it is going to make me a better nurse. I think maybe it is because I have spent so many years in college and just know how to study and what to study. I am blessed to be one of those students to not have to study as much to earn my A's. But, to be honestly I am not as good at skills. We have not started our clinical s yet, but as far as skills so many of the "C" students kick my butt. A lot of it has to do with their experience but also some to do with the fact that I over think things and second guess myself. I am not as confident because it is not always straight forward. But, I believe I will make a good nurse because my heart is in it. And I will do my 100% best to make sure my patient is well taken care of. So I say don't worry( excessively) about your book grade, just keep your heart in the game, use your knowledge and you will be the best nurse you want to be.
Some students kind of suck both in the theory part and clinical part, too. Neither are entirely representative of what kind of nurse they will make, because neither is representative of the type of assignments nurses receive in their day-to-day jobs. However, some of those A students are people who just exude that "I was born to be a nurse" air about them, and that's pretty cool. You can't learn that--it's just there.
I was one of those nursing students with a 4.0 GPA. I can't answer for other people with a 4.0 GPA, but for me it was because I had something to prove... to nobody but myself. I was a "mature student", having gone back to school in my 30s, with a husband and children and a home to look after in addition to my nursing studies and clinical placements.
It was hard work, no doubt about it and though I have no regrets, I'm not sure I could do it again.
One of the perks of academic achievement was the ability to have a choice in clinical placements. I was able to do my consolidation where I wanted, which was ultimately where I wanted to work, and where I still work today, more than 10 years later.
Your patients will likely never know the difference between a nurse with a 4.0 GPA and one with a 3.0 or 2.0 GPA. Everyone writes the same board exams and the results (at least in my jurisdiction) are either PASS or FAIL.
More important than book smarts is knowing what you don't know and knowing where you can go and to whom you can go as a resource. Never, ever, be afraid to say to a patient "I'll just need to research that question and get back to you on it - thanks for the learning opportunity."
Your patients will judge your nursing care by your compassion, empathy and the dignity you accord them, not your ability to recite definitions from Mosby's Dictionary.
:wink2: I hope I get a nurse just like me when I'm sick.
.thumb.jpg.421493329dd1f136a4222fe8e9399213.jpg){kind=small}
Sarah Bellum
264 Posts
I don't think this is an accurate assumption at all. For me, I have made some mistakes on tests and in skills lab. It's all a learning process.
For example, in nurse aide training the instructor surprised us by doing a pop skills quiz and she picked me first. I forgot a few steps that day but you know what? I've never, ever forgotten the steps of that skill since.
A test measures what you know at that moment in time. Just because I got a C on the cardiac test in patho this semester doesn't mean I don't know squat about the heart and would be a bad cardiac nurse. I've continued learning heart stuff and I'll bet I would make an A on that exam if I took it today.
Hope that made sense. I just know that, for me, a test grade is not the end of my learning process.