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

Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.
No..grades only show how well you did on the exams given to you in school...Nursing school Cs are way different than a C in any other college course. I am proud to say that I am a NURSE who worked her butt off and walked away with a C..I also scored high on a NCLEX predictor exam..I beat out classmates with a higher GPA for the same job.grades matter to school..in the real world..they do not.

This was my case as well....I have done fairly well in NS, but we have a very small handful of students that have much higher grades than me....most of them are experienced LPN's.

However, of the students that had the higher grades that were not LPN's, I did score much higher than they did on our NCLEX predictor.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.
During Nursing school we should learn as much as we can for the pt sake and our sakes,but I must sadly add that the knowledge they feed us in nursing school is simply not enough.
Agreed. And it cannot be enough, it is virtually impossbile to squeeze it all into 2 years.

I'm still really having trouble with this assumption that A students have no common sense. I said it about 10 pages ago.... the A students in my class (that just finished) HAD common sense. Our big thing is 'critical thinking'. What is the essence of critical thinking? It is COMMON SENSE!!

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Specializes in General adult inpatient psychiatry.

Forgive me if someone has already mentioned this, but don't we all take the same NCLEX? You know, the one that certifies "minimum competency"? You pass when you get 50% of the harder questions right. It's made that way. No one gets a A on the NCLEX...it's pass/fail.

I know people with all As that will hopefully make great nurses and people with Cs that will do the same. As for me, I'm a 3.25 GPA student, which means I got some Cs, Bs, and As and I feel I worked hard for them. I think everyone has their reasons for putting in as much or as little effort as they do, and that's why there are all different ranks of nurses (like in teaching hospitals with each rank gaining more responsibility and expectations in research and other commitments) as well as different specialties. Grades are simply a way to monitor knowledge gain and comprehension. I'm frankly much better at writing papers than re-calling information for a test, but I'm great at communication with patients, de-escalating and making sure my work is organized. I'm not looking to be an ICU nurse anytime soon...I think I'll stay with psych. :)

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Keep in mind that whatever they teach in Nursing school is 20% of what you need to know to be a safe,efficient nurse,more comes with job experience,further studing.

Thanks beachbutterfly, I mean I figured that... that's when the knowledge of the experienced nurses come in (like yourself). I hope they are willing to help where ever I go.

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Specializes in Cardiac.
i trully dont believe that nursing manager looks at your grade transcripts,seriously,they may prefer someone with higher degree (like bsn) but when there is a nursing shortage they will hire any warm body with rn license or otherwise how would you explain all the new graduates who landed a job or the ones who just walks on the hospital unit and the manager hired them on spot,or for the matter of fact being hired immediately at the job fair or being hired as a internal applicant or just knowing people.

well, i was going to shorten your post at one sentence but i think that it one sentence up there? so i left it all.

that being said, 3 years ago, when there was no bad economy, and nurses could get jobs before they graduated, i had to submit transcripts in order to be considered for employment. really. even if you don't believe it.

passing judgment on others (like i've read here) is a definant character flaw!
you mean how you passed judgement on others with your whole post? that kind of character flaw?

we are just as good as a students,and sometimes if not for the majority of the time we have what is called "street smarts" and run a circles around a students in clinicals,and then if we try hard enough we even get a+;)

sweetie, what do you think 'street smarts' means in nursing? do you think it has to do with how well you avoid a mugging, or how to interact with the mailman? in nursing, when we need someone with 'street smarts' (btw, key word here is "smarts") we seek the nurse who knows what to do and what's going on. and guess how they got that way?

also, i always get a kick when poor students say they could "nurse circles' around a students. i would have loved to see it. still haven't. whatever 'nurse circles' means. but what i know is how i practice nursing as a nurse, how i did it as a new grad, and how i did it in clinicals. even with my stellar clinical instructor comments, ease in skills, high clincal marks, oh, and 4.0.

exactly, i sense insecurity or immaturity,maybe a mix of both.

gotta agree.

i have every confidence i will be a tremendous nurse, because i love helping others! :yeah:

i love how everyone will just know what kind of nurse they will be when they grow up. and it's always: excellent, temendous, fantastic, wonderful, etc. never: mediocre, lazy, adequate, etc. yet, when i look at the nurses around me at work, they are not all tremendous! i wonder why that is?

i wonder if it has to do with the fact that we actually don't know (gasp) what kind of nurse we will be when we are students.

i wonder....

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Specializes in DOU.

I had to show my transcripts to get my job in January.

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Well, I was going to shorten your post at one sentence but I think that it one sentence up there? So I left it all.

That being said, 3 years ago, when there was no bad economy, and nurses could get jobs before they graduated, I had to submit transcripts in order to be considered for employment. Really. Even if you don't believe it.

You mean how you passed judgement on others with your whole post? That kind of character flaw?

Sweetie, what do you think 'street smarts' means in nursing? Do you think it has to do with how well you avoid a mugging, or how to interact with the mailman? In nursing, when we need someone with 'street smarts' (BTW, key word here is "smarts") we seek the nurse who knows what to do and what's going on. And guess how they got that way?

Also, I always get a kick when poor students say they could "nurse circles' around A students. I would have loved to see it. Still haven't. Whatever 'nurse circles' means. But what I know is how I practice nursing as a nurse, how I did it as a new grad, and how I did it in clinicals. Even with my stellar clinical instructor comments, ease in skills, high clincal marks, oh, and 4.0.

Gotta agree.

I love how everyone will just know what kind of nurse they will be when they grow up. And it's always: excellent, TEMENDOUS, fantastic, wonderful, etc. Never: mediocre, lazy, adequate, etc. Yet, when I look at the nurses around me at work, they are not all TREMENDOUS! I wonder why that is?

I wonder if it has to do with the fact that we actually don't know (gasp) what kind of nurse we will be when we are students.

I wonder....

We have enough people who dont think too much of themselves,why dont you let her enjoy confidence,isnt that what they teach us in nursing schools to be a confident nurse,so this is what she is doing by displaying confidence what is about people that when they see other person "happy" they must automatically put him down,but when someone shows low-self esteem they try to make one feel better.Believe it or not a confidence is important achieving success.

As for your statement "poor C' students I must disagree.What makes you think that they are poor students?Are you going to blame luck once they pass the NCLEX? This is really ridicolous.You seriously never seen an C students running circles around A students in clicals or you just dont want to admit it?

Feeling good about your hard work when it finally pays off is one thing,but mocking and looking down on people with different grades just shows lack od sensitivity.

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Specializes in Telemetry & Obs.

Thanks beachbutterfly, I mean I figured that... that's when the knowledge of the experienced nurses come in (like yourself). I hope they are willing to help where ever I go.

beachbutterfly isn't a nurse yet, let alone an experienced nurse. Just so you know :)

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Specializes in PCU, Stepdown ICU, Home Health Case Management, ED.
I reiterate!

Well, I was going to shorten your post at one sentence but I think that it one sentence up there? So I left it all.

That being said, 3 years ago, when there was no bad economy, and nurses could get jobs before they graduated, I had to submit transcripts in order to be considered for employment. Really. Even if you don't believe it.

You mean how you passed judgement on others with your whole post? That kind of character flaw?

Sweetie, what do you think 'street smarts' means in nursing? Do you think it has to do with how well you avoid a mugging, or how to interact with the mailman? In nursing, when we need someone with 'street smarts' (BTW, key word here is "smarts") we seek the nurse who knows what to do and what's going on. And guess how they got that way?

Also, I always get a kick when poor students say they could "nurse circles' around A students. I would have loved to see it. Still haven't. Whatever 'nurse circles' means. But what I know is how I practice nursing as a nurse, how I did it as a new grad, and how I did it in clinicals. Even with my stellar clinical instructor comments, ease in skills, high clincal marks, oh, and 4.0.

Gotta agree.

I love how everyone will just know what kind of nurse they will be when they grow up. And it's always: excellent, TEMENDOUS, fantastic, wonderful, etc. Never: mediocre, lazy, adequate, etc. Yet, when I look at the nurses around me at work, they are not all TREMENDOUS! I wonder why that is?

I wonder if it has to do with the fact that we actually don't know (gasp) what kind of nurse we will be when we are students.

I wonder....

Where exactly in my post was I the one being judgemental? Seriously, out of all the posts here, you chose mine as one of the ones being judgmental? What EXACTLY was your problem with my post?? Your arrogance is not impressive.

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Specializes in Telemetry & Obs.

Patchouli, you may want to edit your post which is insulting at best. Then I'd advise you to read the site's TOS.

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Specializes in PCU, Stepdown ICU, Home Health Case Management, ED.

This whole thread is insulting!

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Specializes in PCU, Stepdown ICU, Home Health Case Management, ED.
this has got to be the most nauseating thread i have ever read! although i agree that people should obviously strive to do their best while in school, i think it's insane to compare grades with one another. i assure you that in my school, with the way they do the grading system, my b is technically higher than some of your as. in other schools, the system may be higher than ours. i was a 4.0 student (prereqs) before starting actual nursing school. now, i'm a 3.something. not only was the content much harder, but the grading system changed. you have to make an 86% at my school to be considered a b student. that's the very lowest percent to make a b. no rounding up at my school, no bonuses. so, to compare one nursing program to another is absolute stupidity. there are lots of c students in my program, some graduated with an 85%, and they are still c students! you guys need to get a grip. i can tell you that i worked my butt off for my b. my school ( a community college) is well known for the wonderful nurses it produces. hospitals love to hire our nursing students. tons of clinical time, and tough curriculum. then of course, one needs to also look at the person as a whole. some people are raising families without outside help. some people have serious health problems. some are so broke that they eat ramen noodles every night. some have dealt with death of loved ones, divorce, loss of homes, etc. while in the program. some have dealt with multiples of these issues! at what point did you guys stop critically thinking? if you judge your patients like you judge others, i'd hate to be in their shoes! it's terrific to be proud of your accomplishments, but pride comes at a cost when you let it consume you. passing judgment on others (like i've read here) is a definant character flaw!

wow, look at me trying to tell others not to judge others based on grades, because they do not know circumstances, program, cause it's wrong, etc. makes me soooo judgemental. seems your finger is pointing the wrong way.

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