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?
I think you will tell the difference between 'average' samples nurses of each group. The C nurse will likely do the minimum, miss small details, and will be more concerned with themselves than the patient. The A nurse will likely do everything they can including all the small details each and every time, leaving the patient feeling like they are the center of the earth and could be in no better hands. Good RN's are a treat to be around, and a lot of my favorite people known to date.
To me, it would be the same as getting into a group project with the 2 different groups, and I think we all know how that plays out. Why would a project, school, or work be significantly different? Someone maxed out with other responsibilities like family, working, or both would be another story: first things first. They may have to eventually catch up, that's all.
As an instructor, I have seen many sides of this coin. I have seen students who initially fail a course for a variety of reasons (often personal) and come back to pass with flying colors and mature into amazing nurses. I have seen students with such severe test anxiety that they could explain any aspect of patient care "on the spot" and correctly intervene when needed, yet perform very poorly on an exam covering the same information. I have seen students that excelled both in clinicals and in didactic. I have seen some with excellent grades that could not translate the knowledge into application. I have seen students with weaknesses in a given area, and I love to try to help them build their skills and then watch them succeed.
In both my BSN and MSN coursework, I easily made straight As and thought of myself as quite smart (haha!) in my youthful arrogance. I have since learned a few things:
1. There will always be someone who performs better and someone who performs worse than you in any given area. You can learn from both of them.
2. If you start to feel you know quite a lot, investigate a new area of interest. You will find that you've barely scratched the surface of what there is to know.
3. Don't try to judge someone else by what you see on the surface. We all have struggles, private battles, and triumphs. Celebrate with each other vs. trying to tear each other down, and don't make assumptions about someone else based on grades alone. You know what they say about assumptions :)
4. Keep a sense of humor. It seems whenever I start to feel a bit proud of myself, I manage to humiliate myself thoroughly. It's funny, when I was a teenager, I was pretty sure I knew it all. Now I realize how little I know and how short a time I have to discover and learn all life has to offer.
5. Life is really short; too short to worry about assigning labels to someone else. When I still work the floor, I put my focus on caring for the patients with every skill I've learned, and trying to be as compassionate and giving as possible. I think in school, your focus is so tightly narrowed to success that we tend to measure it only in terms of grades. I promise you that grades are not the only measure of success.
6. As someone who has also spent a lot of time as a patient, I can tell you that it is often someone's skill that saves your life, but the compassion and caring of others that makes being alive worth it.
Specializes in pediatrics, geriatrics, med-surg, ccu,.
When starting in nursing school, I think everyone questions their ability to become a nurse. For some, the studying comes easier, or the clinicals come easier, depending on how you process information. I happen to be one of those nurses who struggled during school. I questioned my own ability so many times it wasn't funny! The funny thing is, I can't tell you all the things that have passed since those years. The one thing that I always knew and that was that "I wanted to be a nurse." My grades were a C average during my years in school. I also had a full time job, 3 children to raise and a host of other obligations during that time. I stayed up most nights studying until 3 am just to keep up with it. Can I say whether it made a difference in getting a nursing job? Or passing state boards? Does it show in my patient care? The answer is a resounding NO.
The most important part of any of it is that it is what you want to do for your life's work. I can honestly say that after 20 years I still love my job, still enjoy giving patient's the best care that I can, and make a difference in their lives. Give yourself a honest pat on the back that you are striving to be a nurse, and do the best that you can, if this is what you want to do.
Nursing is a hard job and without the compassion, the joy of helping others, the ability to think on your feet (and this comes with experience and putting forth a honest effort to do your best) you can be a great nurse regardless of whether you make A's or C's. Everyone's situation is different but then if we weren't unique in each of our own ways, we wouldn't be individuals. Just concentrate on being "you" and do the best you can at what you want "be" and "do" for your life's calling. Good luck to you.
I think a point that is being missed here is NCLEX. The whole reason for going to school is to get permission from the state to take the NCLEX exam.
A C average may be an indication of not having a solid grasp of theory and a potential difficulty with NCLEX. While not always true, there are a greater percentage of C students that don't do well on the NCLEX as A students. NCLEX don't care about your clinical skills. We may be potentially some of the best nurses around with our C average, but if we don't pass that NCLEX we will never get the chance to show it.
Therefore that C grade should be a warning to us that we may have to prepare even harder. It does us no good to denigrate tests as a measurement of nursing skills. It's what's in front of us and we have to deal with it.
Well I am neither an A or C student, Im stuck in the middle. I can certainly say though without a doubt that the B students in my class are much better nurses than the A students. What we have learned is that the A students only want to have the book smarts and cant translate how to do anything in clinical or in lab. It is really sad to watch them actually. Struggling to start an IV or hang meds. I had one of them ask me how to hang meds and calculate doses on the last check off day! They are almost "too smart" for their own good. All that matters to them though is the good grade. I would rather go through school and get lousy grades and be a great nurse for it, then graduate with high marks. Grades are NOT everything.
I have to say that i don't think that grades do not have a strong corrilation with weather or not a student will end up being a good nurse or not. I just made it through my first quarter of nursing school (barely) and there are some students in my class, with one in particular that didnt make it, that really knew there stuff in clinicals but just couldn't "jump through the hoops" that our teachers had set out for us to do. i mean this person i am talking about had been a CNA for 8 years and really knew her stuff and she couldnt even pull a 2.0 (at our school it is a 80% though after our teachers modified the scale). atleast at my school grades just represent how well you can conform to our teachers odd line of questions on test. being 1 of the 20 out of 30 people that made it through our first quarter, and knowing there were people that failed that would be great nurses (probably better then i will be) definitly selidifed that line of thought that grades are to get through it and to make sure that your working your butt off thorough school, but the learning on how to be a great nurse will start in practice and not in a classroom. i was first introduced to this line of thought by one of my favorite teachers 2 years back. she is married to one of the top engineers in our town/city of about 35,000 and he barly passed a number of classes when he was in school!
Thankk you so much.I often feel the same way after studying for 3 to 5 hours sometimes a day. Leaving my young family and working more thank 40 hrs a wk just to stay about the water only to pass my first summester with a c after all the hard and neglecting my family. This can be very disappointing and makes you feel not capable. I have been a cna for 10 years and I am excellent in my work.I always answer questions in my classes but still end with a c. Than you so much for what you post its given me a push to the next summester.
...but the learning on how to be a great nurse will start in practice and not in a classroom...
What? We can be the most caring people in the world, but if we don't have an understanding of what we are doing and why we are doing it, we will be the most caring and dangerous people on the floor.
I feel sympathy for those of us who do not test well or whose circumstances do not allow them to study as well as they should but everything does start in the classroom.
Also if we don't pass that NCLEX, we will never get the chance to find out.
The NCLEX is a minimum requirement and the only way a C student can be an RN. But they may never go any further in scholastic credentials, unless its with an online program with nontransferable credits and degrees not accepted in a growing number of states. Nothing wrong with that though. It depends on what they do with it.
I agree with Daytonite....and would like to add that nursing school is only SIMILAR to actually being a nurse. Incorporating one's teamwork abilities would also be important. There is really no way to distinguish "good nurses" from "bad nurses" by the measure of nursing school. The real test comes with independence. How will you handle your nursing independence?
Wow, I honestly feel for you. I'm in the same boat too. One of my classmates always said, "C = RN." I took that from her and I always stuck with it. Does it make me feel as if I will be less of nurse when I graduate? Yes, sometimes that is how the school makes us feel. I think it sucks how I spend so much time studying and truly devoting myself to learning the information and in the end, I end up with the same grade! It's so frustrating. I go through phases where I just don't care "as long as I pass." Then once we had our psych rotation the people who were always getting A's were failing and I ended up getting my first "A." A lot of the people who get A's are OCD about the way they study. They read everything and study every day and focus on the small details. I don't do that. Don't get me wrong, I study, but not nearly as half as much they do. However, I will be less of a nurse when I grade because I got C's? NO WAY!
Also, I hate it when the A students sit there and complain about getting a 90! I have a more easy going attitude. I get a C and I'm happy. Plus our personal lives interferes with school. Personally, I know that there are times when I get extremely stressed out where getting an A is not my priority. Don't give up. I actually thought that because I was a "C" student I wouldn't have qualified for a scholarship that required a "B" average. After I wrote a heart felt letter about my desire to become a nurse, I actually won the scholarship. I am convinced that I can do ANYTHING I WANT TO DO despite getting a "C." I actually want to become an anesthetist. I know I'll get into one of the programs. Everything is not all about grades.
You know how some people just don't do well on tests, but if you actually sat down and discuss the material on the exam with them, you realize that they know more about the material than their grades say. Anyway, don't get caught up into grades. Grades are important, but it's not everything. I don't even pay attention to the people who excel in clinicals. I know myself and I know that I have to learn and it's a process. Even if I graduate with a "C" I'll still be proud of myself. Don't let a "C" overshadow your accomplishment. I don't study for myself, I'm studying for the future and all of my future patients. Plus, do you know who many people would kill to be an RN with a "C"? I know a couple of friends who dropped out of the program would take that "C" in a heartbeat.
I was a B/C student and just graduated from nursing school, however, I am very good on clinicals. I am a hands on learner. A couple of my instructors have said, you can be an A student in class and get A's on all the test however, can you pass the boards? That is what really count and can you take good care of the patients? Some students have the ability to be good test takers. So don't feel stupid. One thing that used to help me before I went to clinical, I have a basic skills CD and I would review this cd before clinical. It demonstrates how to put in ng tubes, foleys etc. So everything the nurse could possibly encounter is on this cd. Good luck
baldee
343 Posts
I think you will tell the difference between 'average' samples nurses of each group. The C nurse will likely do the minimum, miss small details, and will be more concerned with themselves than the patient. The A nurse will likely do everything they can including all the small details each and every time, leaving the patient feeling like they are the center of the earth and could be in no better hands. Good RN's are a treat to be around, and a lot of my favorite people known to date.
To me, it would be the same as getting into a group project with the 2 different groups, and I think we all know how that plays out. Why would a project, school, or work be significantly different? Someone maxed out with other responsibilities like family, working, or both would be another story: first things first. They may have to eventually catch up, that's all.