Reading alot of posts discussing "A" nursing students vs "C" nursing students

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I still want to voice my opinion. Lately, I've been reading alot of post discussing "A" nursing students verses "C" nursing students. It breaks my heart that there are students that are so hung up on grades that they rather want an "A" nurse taking care of them over a "C" nurse. Come on now ! When was the last time a patient asked you what your GPA was ? When was the last time as a patient yourself you asked your nurse what her GPA was ? Nursing school is stressful enough and while I strive everyday to make A's on exams I don't. I started out with A's and now I'm hanging around with high C's. Don't me wrong, I take NS and my grades very seriously... the only difference is that I don't let my grades whether A's or C's determine what kind of nurse I'll be. I graduate in a few weeks and I'm not sure if I'll still have my above 3.0 average, but I tell you one thing I'm still going to hold my head up high and take care of patients to the best of my ability . I'll still be a nurse and no less of a nurse then my classmates that got A's through nursing school. These are nursing exams, the real test starts when you start working and providing competent care to patients. So I'm saying enough is enough ! To you students who are A students I want to give you a big :clphnds: I know you deserve your A and worked hard for it. For you students who are " C " students I want to give you a big :clphnds: as well and you also worked hard for you grade as well. No one goes into nursing school wanting to make C's all the time, however it happens. I haven't met one student that said" I'm studying my butt off for that C. Students now days are so caught up in grades instead of the true meaning of nursing. :crying2:When my pt. comes in with cardiac arrest and is in alot of pain he won't care what grades I got, he cares about my compassionate and me providing good quality care. Come on A and C students can't we all get back to what nursing really is about.A nurse is a nurse . Once you pass that nclex you are a nurse:nurse:

Thanks for letting me get this off my chest. I'm done you all can yell at me now. :sofahider

See.. I knew that someone would find something negative in my post, even though I agreed with both sides LOL! This is what I mean. It's the attitude. I may make a C tomorrow, but it sure won't be that I did not study that material back and forth. If I make a C, I want to know why and what I did not understand. I don't need to know 75% of how to calculate medication. I need to know 100%, or I better know where to find out.

To the poster who said that a C is a C. You are correct, I'm withdrawing the statement that it is OK to be bogged down with life and not have time to LEARN the material. So let me say this again. Is family important, or murdering someone because you were sleepy in class that day when they were explaining about a safety precaution. I'll take no murder for $200.

I guess it all depends on how you look at things. My kids..totally understand that mommy is trying to learn to care for a dying person. They totally understand. Why don't we?

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C- students are more likely to struggle through and fail out of nursing school.

C-students are more likely to be those last minute studyers and poor test takers.

C-students are more likely to cram for exams.

C-students are more likely to have excuses for why they don't get higher grades.

C-students are less likely to retain information into their long term memory.

C-students are less likely to be able to connect the dots of how one thing in the body can influence another.

C-students are more likely to argue with the instructor over test questions.

C-students are less likely to want to understand the rationale behind the right answer on exams. hey, as long as you passed it right?

C-students are more likely to rely on other nurses knowledge and not know what to do if an emergency arises with their patients. response time to the patients needs will be delayed.

C-students don't have good critical thinking skills which is why they got c's in the first place.

C-students are more likely to repeat NCLEX. they will have doubts, doubts, and more doubts about their chances of passing the NCLEX exam.

There are plenty of "a" students who do thsi to proctect their GPA

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Sorry this was mean for the little party girl who doesn't like C nursing students!

There's a major reading comprehension issue here- the poster you're referring to was talking about *classmates* partying and coming to class/clinicals hung over. Not herself.

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Specializes in Renal/Cardiac.

"C-students are more likely to repeat NCLEX. they will have doubts, doubts, and more doubts about their chances of passing the NCLEX exam."

I have an issue with this one because a couple of my friends that have already taken the NCLEX once and failed and are waiting for their 2nd chance were both straight A students. And I know one of my other friends took it 3 times before passing and she too was a straight A student so I do not believe that only applies to a "C" student---before any one yelps I am a "B" student and proud of it :) just thought I would add that in there

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See.. I knew that someone would find something negative in my post, even though I agreed with both sides LOL! This is what I mean. It's the attitude. I may make a C tomorrow, but it sure won't be that I did not study that material back and forth. If I make a C, I want to know why and what I did not understand. I don't need to know 75% of how to calculate medication. I need to know 100%, or I better know where to find out.

To the poster who said that a C is a C. You are correct, I'm withdrawing the statement that it is OK to be bogged down with life and not have time to LEARN the material. So let me say this again. Is family important, or murdering someone because you were sleepy in class that day when they were explaining about a safety precaution. I'll take no murder for $200.

I guess it all depends on how you look at things. My kids..totally understand that mommy is trying to learn to care for a dying person. They totally understand. Why don't we?

Can I quote my own post? Ha! I guess I just did! :D

I know this thread is "nauseating" to alot of nurses and students that are struggling just the same. But this is soooo important! It is important to know that it is OK to make a C if you KNOW the material. Which is only basics as another poster stated. Most of it I hear is "real life" experience. But....

It is NOT OK to make C's because you wanted to go to Uncle Frank's BBQ instead of studying.

~I believe this is the only point some are trying to make here~

Plus, I just think that humans are so much more capable than what they think they are! I'm not haughty or arrogant and no one has ever called me the such. I believe that you can learn! You passed whatever test it took to get into nursing school, so you have shown that you have the ability to comprehend this material to it's fullest! So what's the problem.. find out the problem.

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This is exactly what I was asking! So if you got a C on any exam you would withdraw from the class that day and re-enter that class at the next possible opening. I don't know how things work at your school, but at mine, I have heard it can take up to 2 full semesters to re-enter any class. Personally, I would prefer to accept the passing grade, find out which areas on the test I did poorly on, and study up on those so I don't kill anyone. I wouldn't want to set myself back a year.

Also, which school are you at where 80% is a B and 70% is not failing?!?!?!

No, that's not what I wrote - go back and re-read my post again. I clearly was writing in my entire statement about my ongoing grade for the class as a whole. You are either not correctly comprehending what you read, or you are willfully and deliberately mis-representing what I wrote. I will be charitable and say you probably just didn't read it carefully and read into it what you wanted it to mean. No, I would not "drop the class if I got a C on any exam" - that's just plain foolish. Nobody would do that. Like the old Yogi Berra saying goes - "It ain't over till it's over". Your final grade is what counts in a class. You can bring yourself up from getting a C in your first exam, but like I originally said, I consider that to be a failing grade by my own personal standards. I would retake the class if I received a C as a final grade for the class. I think that I made that pretty clear. That's just the way I am. I set the bar for myself very high. I am probably harder on myself than any of my instructors have been. What I wrote was just to give some of you some insight into the mind and thought processes of a person who doesn't settle for "average". Like I said, that's just the way I am, and I don't apologize to anyone for it.

I'm not saying any of this to disparge someone who maybe works a full-time job, has a spouse and kids at home, and a million things to juggle and ends up with a C. My hat's off to anyone who can do this and make it through nursing school, period. In the end when you are all done with most of your schooling and you have actual nursing care experience under your belt, what grades you got won't matter as much. But they still are important if you plan to continue your education, as I plan to. And they do show a prospective employer a bit about yourself. So at the same time they do matter.

The grading system at my school is the traditional one = 100% to 90% is an A, 89 to 80 = B, 79 to 70 = C. No "plusses or minuses". An A is an A, a B is a B, and so forth. But like I mentioned before, when you are going for your MSN, any grade below a B will not count, so eventually at that point, a C really will be a failing grade, not just in your own mind or standards.

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Specializes in ER, PACU, Med-Surg, Hospice, LTC.
C- students are more likely to struggle through and fail out of nursing school.

C-students are more likely to be those last minute studyers and poor test takers.

C-students are more likely to cram for exams.

C-students are more likely to have excuses for why they don't get higher grades.

C-students are less likely to retain information into their long term memory.

C-students are less likely to be able to connect the dots of how one thing in the body can influence another.

C-students are more likely to argue with the instructor over test questions.

C-students are less likely to want to understand the rationale behind the right answer on exams. hey, as long as you passed it right?

C-students are more likely to rely on other nurses knowledge and not know what to do if an emergency arises with their patients. response time to the patients needs will be delayed.

C-students don't have good critical thinking skills which is why they got c's in the first place.

C-students are more likely to repeat NCLEX. they will have doubts, doubts, and more doubts about their chances of passing the NCLEX exam.

I never knew this! Could you please post the study/link where these points were taken from? I would love to show this to some of the Nursing instructors that bring their students through the Hospital for clinicals! Thanks!

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Specializes in Psychiatry.

:deadhorse:deadhorse:deadhorse

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Specializes in ER, PACU, Med-Surg, Hospice, LTC.
It is NOT OK to make C's because you wanted to go to Uncle Frank's BBQ instead of studying.
:vlin:

Well, that's your opinion.

Like I stated earlier, a 'C' is still a 'C'!

If a student was out all night partying with Uncle Frank and gets 79% on the exam the next day OR of if a student was up all night studying and they get 79% on the exam the next day...they have gathered and retained the same amount of material for that exam. Their tests scores are equal 79% and that "C" is good enough for both of them to pass Nursing school.

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There's nothing wrong with being an A student. Or a B student. C's across the board is a little questionable, especially if there's no effort involved. I wouldn't want somebody to be my nurse if they're not trying their best. Would you want an average Joe-schmo taking care of your sick or dying relative?

a C means you are able to understand over 70% of the covered material, that's over half of what you need to know. That's hardly being incompetent, that's a lot of information that yo have absorbed which is enough to do the job IMO. then if you work as a team with other nurses who may know more than you, than you can learn from them and perfect your skills even more.

Would you want an average Joe-schmo taking care of your sick or dying relative?

Sorry if I am being sensitive but these comments are very hurtful. Really. I guess we all forget that there are real people behind these computer screens. Of all the hard work and effort it takes to get through nursing school and to pass the NCLEx, it's really a put down to be referred to as a "joe schmo" like you're nothing but another number or that your grades define you and that's all you'll ever be is a C nurse. I think we are much more than just a grade. Seriously. There are a lot of ppl who really study hard to get a C. I feel like some of the overachievers are projecting their own insecurities onto other people. I get Cs and I don't feel "average" or like a "Joe schmoe" I am very important and significant. And when I get my RN, I don't want to be disrespected and labeled as a "C Nurse". My. This is very divisive. No wonder they say "nurses eat their young".

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See.. I knew that someone would find something negative in my post, even though I agreed with both sides LOL! This is what I mean. It's the attitude. I may make a C tomorrow, but it sure won't be that I did not study that material back and forth. If I make a C, I want to know why and what I did not understand. I don't need to know 75% of how to calculate medication. I need to know 100%, or I better know where to find out.

To the poster who said that a C is a C. You are correct, I'm withdrawing the statement that it is OK to be bogged down with life and not have time to LEARN the material. So let me say this again. Is family important, or murdering someone because you were sleepy in class that day when they were explaining about a safety precaution. I'll take no murder for $200.

I guess it all depends on how you look at things. My kids..totally understand that mommy is trying to learn to care for a dying person. They totally understand. Why don't we?

you're right. it's very critical to know what you are doing because you are dealing with human lives. and if i were a nurse, and didn't know what to do because that extra 30% of knowledge slipped me in nursing school, i would seek help from another nurse. i wouldn't be careless, i'd just find a higher authority to assist me.

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Unless there is a universal grading system for all nursing schools, grades should not be a major determining factor during the hiring process for new graduates. My GPA at the end of my last semester was 92.3%. Am I an "A" student or a "B" student? At most institutions I am an "A" student. At my institution I am a "B" student. Our grading scale is 94-100=A, 87-93=B, 80-86=C, 79=Failing. It is disheartening to think a new grad with a 90% average would be chosen over me just because his/her transcript shows an "A" and mine shows a "B".

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