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?
Specializes in ICU, Telemetry, Cardiac/Renal, Ortho,FNP.
Well, I'm not a 4.0 student and I've got more qualifications, degrees, and overall healthcare experience than any nurse in my hospital other than the CNO, in my opinion. I think I'm a good RN b/c my patients tell me, not because my co-workers or supervisors do. I really don't care much for what they say. In my view, they are only there to help me help "my" patients and validate my paycheck. Otherwise, I work for the patients only. So in general, if your patients say your doing a good job then you are. I wouldn't stop being the best you can be b/c a nonpracticing RN teacher says you should be dumber. That statement speaks for itself. Keep your 4.0 and take your chances on being a "bad" smart nurse.
I also had a 4.0 in another bachelor's degree. I changed careers and went into an ADN program because I didn't want to be in school for another 2 to 4 years. I have worked with a lot of really dumb BSN nurses and really dumb ADN nurses. So it doesn't matter if you have a 4.0, B & c grades, or even a higher degree. It depends on performance.
I think there is some truth to what was said. I too have had "a" students who did well and were social and some "a" students who belonged in the lab or other places where they excel. Often, those folks wound up in grad school right away and I won't go there. I looked mostly at work and life experience vs gpa. Profs KNOW right away who has worked in healthcare and who is people smart. I saw the gpa piece mostly in the paperwork turned in and obviously tests. Some students who were bright didn't want to bust their bottom for the a when a b or b+ Grade was acceptable when it came to work life balance. I respected that.
Many of those with know-it-all attitudes are the ones with the straight-A's. But I've seen B students also have this attitude, so who knows?
I honestly think that's a personality thing. Some people just always think they are right. In some cases, it's actually a personality disorder. Narcissists usually think they are the smartest person in the room and nothing can convince them otherwise.
When I graduated, I was "smart" enough to know I basically knew didley. I utilized my preceptors and never contradicted them. If something didn't make sense, I knew well enough to phrase it in such a way that I didn't come off as challenging them or their knowledge or experience.
The hardest thing about being a new grad is balancing the need to seek guidance from preceptors with the need to become confident and not overly fearful of making a mistake. That is the case regardless of one's prior GPA, and some people (based on their personalities, I believe) do that better than others.
Ultimately it boils down to this: willingness and persistence. There are some people in my class who are straight A students but I would never in a thousand years trust them to take care of me in a critical situation. Why? When I said there is a type of "know it all" attitude among straight A students, they tend to only go by book knowledge and miss one of the critical aspects of care: patient response to the treatment. It's why I fired my physician two years ago, I tried to explain there was an issue with medication, and I was being treated following "textbook" rules. I changed over to an NP for my primary care, we changed the medication, and never had an issue since.
Here is something else I have been "hearing" from some nurses in the clinical setting. I am a non-traditional student with a good amount of life experience. In a few clinicals, I have heard nurses around my age (in the 40s) say that the younger generation of nurses never really interact with patients - they just come in, give meds - ask evaluation questions about the meds given (ie, "How do you rate your pain now after I gave you dilaudid?). One RN said she went to see a close relative of hers in the ICU - she was there for 3 or 4 hours and during shift change. During that time, 5 nurses were in and out of the room, none of them said a word to her.
There is no way I can validate if these things are true - it is just hearsay. It is something I am hearing though from different nurses in different settings. Don't hate the messenger - either hate the message or maybe choose to manage patient care to develop bedside manners along with strong clinical practice.
Here is a perfect example from my precepting. When I found out I was going to do night shift, my first night I decided I was just going to do my thing and let the patient alone to rest and sleep. As I found out, though, some of the male patients had basketball on - so if I was ahead with my worklist, we would just sit there and have our own 15 minute mock "sports talk" show about the game that was on, the players, who they like in the playoffs...which then led to some clients talk about their kids playing ball currently in college etc etc...Another patient we just talked about her favorite vacation spots and her plans for the summer and so forth. Just those little things can make a client's stay so much more pleasant.
And remember...you will contribute to getting a higher HCAPS rating (although that should be a secondary goal)
Although I have seen, first hand, what you speak of it isn't true of everyone. What makes a good floor nurse is experience. The nurses that I have seen that did the best right out of school are the ones who worked in the healthcare field while they were going to school. I don't want to give credence to the excuses club, but maybe the B and C students were working while they were going to school. Something else is common sense and the ability to be taught. None of us graduated knowing everything. Listen, have an open mind, and you will not have to worry about being a good floor nurse.
30 plus years ago, I graduated with a 3.89 gpa. I cared for my charges full hardheartedly. I was able to complete my shifts on time with all things done and done right. No one was allowed to do any 'funny stuff' during my shift (meaning no one got worse that wasn't suppose to get worse, no one died unexpectedly, and was left feeling like someone really cared). I loved my job and am forever grateful that I had the privilege to serve the down trodden.
I think your professors meant was this: "Students who are too cerebral lose touch with the fact that a bedside nurse's job is to perform tasks. You can know all the information in the book, but ultimately, your job is to execute orders."
I think your professors meant was this: "Students who are too cerebral lose touch with the fact that a bedside nurse's job is to perform tasks. You can know all the information in the book, but ultimately, your job is to execute orders."
4.0 students certainly have the book smarts but sometimes have challenges with integrating "all of that" into efficient bedside nursing. Getting all of the tasks done is important for patient care, but so is the thought process of "how are we going to improve this patient's outcome?".
On another note-nurses work on specialty units, not floors (with all due respect to environmental service staff).
Every aspect of nursing is a specialty, don't sell yourselves short!!!
(although that should be a secondary goal)
chiromed0
216 Posts
Well, I'm not a 4.0 student and I've got more qualifications, degrees, and overall healthcare experience than any nurse in my hospital other than the CNO, in my opinion. I think I'm a good RN b/c my patients tell me, not because my co-workers or supervisors do. I really don't care much for what they say. In my view, they are only there to help me help "my" patients and validate my paycheck. Otherwise, I work for the patients only. So in general, if your patients say your doing a good job then you are. I wouldn't stop being the best you can be b/c a nonpracticing RN teacher says you should be dumber. That statement speaks for itself. Keep your 4.0 and take your chances on being a "bad" smart nurse.