So I have heard time and time again from nursing professors and clinical adjuncts that "4.0 students often have a hard time transitioning to the floor, B or C students make better nurses". While I totally get that there are some people out there that are so cerebral that they don't do well on the floor, I think this blanket statement is a bunch of bunk.
I bring this up because I am a 4.0 student. I am also involved in clubs and student groups, volunteer outside of school, and often get complimented in clinicals. However, even with that I still hear the comment over and over that A students don't make as good of nurses as B and C nurses.
What do you nurses who are actually out there on the floor think?
Lol, I was very tempted to do just this the last time a professor brought it up in class. Some of the students didn't do well on an exam and I think she was trying to make them feel better. I decided against asking as I thought it would make the B and C students think that I thought I was better than them or something.
....Aaaaand that's where you need to stop yourself. Actually, a little bit before that point. Don't let those thoughts enter your mind. It's a weird rationalization for something that you already know has very little support aside from anecdotal evidence. It's also not so much that the instructor was trying to make the point that because they didn't happen to do well on the test that it means they automatically are going to be better on the floor but rather trying to assuage their fears that not doing well means they automatically have a dim future ahead of them as being bad nurses (or, in the nearer future that they might not pass all together). So, you can see, even the temptation of asking for EBP on this statement is kind of a not-so-great move all the way around.
This really resonates with me. It's not that I haven't had to overcome, but I have always been able to push hard enough to get what I wanted most of the time.
Any ideas on how I can better my chances of transitioning from good student to good floor nurses?
Yes, you will transition flawlessly if you apply the following:
1) Learn to follow until you get experience and become a leader. This is usually easier for those who are not A students because they are usually followers in nursing school too.
2) Learn to take direction with humility. A students usually have egos that are attached to their accomplishments and are more prideful than those who are not A students.
3) Always smile, joke, and stay calm, and NEVER say a bad word about anyone.....patient or nurse. (Even if they start it) Many women nurses will have problems with you because you are........ (smart, pretty, .......too many others to write down) You probably will not find near as many problems working with male nurses.
4) I have noticed in my career that A student men usually transition better than A student women. I'm not trying to be misogynistic or say men are better nurses than women. I'm only implying that one gender may excel in transitioning better than the other. FYI-I'm basing this on empirical evidence. But do your own observations and if you agree then learn from them and apply it.
4) I have noticed in my career that A student men usually transition better than A student women. I'm not trying to be misogynistic or say men are better nurses than women. I'm only implying that one gender may excel in transitioning better than the other. FYI-I'm basing this on empirical evidence. But do your own observations and if you agree then learn from them and apply it.
Your own observations are anecdotal, not empirical. Or do you have actual empirical evidence? I'd be curious to see it.
Frankly that is a generalized statement that has no scientific evidence to back it up. How irresponsible to make such statements. Furthermore, if nursing instructors/professors are making this statement, it really is a reflection on them, as they are the very individuals whose job it is to prepare students (4.0 or not) for that type of setting.
This really resonates with me. It's not that I haven't had to overcome, but I have always been able to push hard enough to get what I wanted most of the time.
Any ideas on how I can better my chances of transitioning from good student to good floor nurses?
First of all, why are you buying into that crap in the first place? Nobody can tell you how you will be as a floor nurse, that is your cross to bear. You will be the ultimate one to decide how you will be as a floor nurse.
I was an 'A' and 'B' nursing student, and I was also hardworking, motivated, and determined, and let me also include awesome. I also had a family and a job, so I don't dare let anyone tell me that I was less than because I didn't earn straight A's. Just as I don't dare let anyone dictate how I would be as a nurse.
Don't let anybody put preconceived ideas into your head based on generalizations that may or may not have any merit. Just go out there and put all of the concepts you learned to practice.
It bothers the h--- out of me. As one of those 4.0 students, it upsets me that this type of generalization is made. We are instructed in nursing school not to make assumptions, yet these instructors are doing just that. I have often been asked why I was a nurse instead of a doctor, as if nurses are second class. My response....we need smart nurses too! They are the ones who are with you the entire shift and are the ones evaluating your condition changes and deciding if they need to notify the physician or not. I am highly respected by both my peers and physicians BECAUSE I am a smart nurse! I want a smart nurse caring for me!
- a professor telling med school students that mediocre students make better doctors
- a law firm saying that they prefer "B" or "C" students, because they make better lawyers
- a recruiter saying the company wants to hire "B" or "C" students because they make better engineers
Being an "A" student doesn't guarantee that someone will transition well to a job, but it is a good indication that the person is capable of learning and knows how to work hard.
Your comment almost reads that B or C students don't work hard. That, too, is a generalization.
You also have to consider that grades can be arbitrary as well, depends on what is being graded and why. I've seen it happen.
An A does not automatically indicate that one is harder working than another,, just as a B doesn't mean that a person didn't work hard to earn it. Consider that sometimes things come extremely easy for a particular person and doesn't take hard work, but that A is just a reflection of their natural ability. In that case, hard work is not a factor.
Its a slippery slope when you start making generalizations about what grades mean. This entire thread is bordeline offensive to anyone who didn't earn "straight A's."
Let me start by saying I was an A and B nursing student. I worked hard sometimes, and not so hard at other times. I also have a husband, 3 kids, and a dog, plus a mortgage, bills, and a job.
I have ready most of these comments and the tone of many are the same, that if you did not earn straight A's in nursing school, you didn't work as hard or you struggled or whatever crap generalization you all have come up with.
I'm starting to think that the sweeping generalization that the OP asks about is not true in some regard based on the fact that folks with straight A's who have responded to this post seem to have an "I worked harder than you, therefore I must be better than you" attitude.
Perhaps its that type of attitude displayed by some floor nurses who have 4.0 GPAs coming out of nursing school that has created the generalization that they don't make good floor nurses.
Being a good nurse has less to do with the grades out of nursing school, and trust, you will see that all of that book smarts doesn't amount to a tremendous amount of much once you hit the floor, and more to do with your ability to be safe, compassionate, and teachable.
I have seen super-duper book smart folks get punked by the nclex and I've seen those who you think would never make it past nclex nail it. Straight A's is not a guarantee that you will do well outside of school. And why would floor nurses even know what type of grades one got in nursing school anyway? I have never had the conversation of what was your GPA in nursing school. Who does that and why would you do that. Likewise, floor nurses generally don't care how many attempts at nclex you had and how many questions you got. All of that is neither here nor there once you get to the floor.
When I went to Nursing school this is what quite a few of my instructors told the students as well. They said that many times their C students were better clinically than their A students. They said that the A students found it harder to think critically on the floor. I wasn't an A student but I was the only one in my entire class that passed the Hesi with more than a 900. I never worried about my grades I worried about whether or not I was grasping the information and able to apply it. I guess in the end I did pretty well, out of my entire graduating class there has only been 4 students total including myself that has passed the NCLEX. That was back in 2012, an expensive degree to have and never be able to use.
So I have heard time and time again from nursing professors and clinical adjuncts that "4.0 students often have a hard time transitioning to the floor, B or C students make better nurses". While I totally get that there are some people out there that are so cerebral that they don't do well on the floor, I think this blanket statement is a bunch of bunk.
I bring this up because I am a 4.0 student. I am also involved in clubs and student groups, volunteer outside of school, and often get complimented in clinicals. However, even with that I still hear the comment over and over that A students don't make as good of nurses as B and C nurses.
What do you nurses who are actually out there on the floor think?
I think it goes both ways. Ultimately, when it comes down to it, it is common sense, personality, the will, and drive to learn is what will make one excel in this field.
la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN
1,260 Posts
....Aaaaand that's where you need to stop yourself. Actually, a little bit before that point. Don't let those thoughts enter your mind. It's a weird rationalization for something that you already know has very little support aside from anecdotal evidence. It's also not so much that the instructor was trying to make the point that because they didn't happen to do well on the test that it means they automatically are going to be better on the floor but rather trying to assuage their fears that not doing well means they automatically have a dim future ahead of them as being bad nurses (or, in the nearer future that they might not pass all together). So, you can see, even the temptation of asking for EBP on this statement is kind of a not-so-great move all the way around.