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

AZ_LPN_8_26_13 · May 23, 2009

:yeahthat: Is why I strive to be an A student. You never know when or where your grades in school could come back to haunt you. I have this thought also. What if I want to become more than a "plain jane" RN? Such as going into a specialty or getting a Masters Degree. I would hope that the grades that I earned would show that I am competent enough to advance in my career.

Exactly. This is why I also strive to get an "A" in every class I take. No, I don't have a perfect 4.0 (3.667 - I ended up getting a few B's so far) but I still try to work for an A. My own personal policy is that I consider a C to be a failing grade. And actually if you are going for an MSN, which I hope to do someday, a C actually will be considered failing, and will not count. That's the way all Master's Degree programs are, not just in nursing. Yes, your grades in nursing do matter - if you are planning on continuing your education, and possibly becoming something like a Nurse Practicioner (another goal of mine).

flightnurse2b, LPN · May 23, 2009

let's put it this way.

there are crappy nurses who get A's, B's, C's and D's in nursing school. there are also wonderful nurses who get A's, B's, C's and D's in nursing school.

just because someone gets straight A's doesn't mean they are going to be a great nurse but don't discredit someone who gets straight A's as someone who will be a "non-clinical" or "non-therapeutic" nurse or whatever else was said on here. that's not fair.

and just because someone else doesn't get straight A's doesn't mean they're stupid or lazy, or that they will make more compassionate nurses.

i used to take my test in school and flip it over when i got my grade. when people asked how i did, i said "fine." i could give two craps about how everyone else did. i was there to be allison's cheerleader... i was going to be a nurse and that's what i cared about.

i've never been an A student UNTIL nursing school. actually, i was a high school drop out and struggled everyday in paramedic school because i was working too much to study effectively.. i am the only person in my graduating LPN class to actually have a job outside of a nursing home/home health/doctor's office, and was accepted to a "new grad" program in a hospital. and yes, they did want my transcripts. i graduated with a 4.0, whether or not it helped my case, i don't know. i also came armed with previous medical experience, ACLS, a pile of letters of recommendation, a positive attitude, and passed all the hospital's required competency tests on the 1st try.

i know nursing school is hard and being able to pass and get out alive is a miracle.... the last day of school was one of the happiest of my life. always strive for the best, and if your personal best is a C, that's all you can ask for.

nursing is stressful enough without beating yourself up over grades. we're all here for the same reason. once you pass the NCLEX.. you prove minimal competence for practice. what you do with that license is up to you.

there are some nurses i work with that i hate following and/or giving report to, because i know that they've left me a mess. i don't know what their grades were, i just know they don't care enough... and that, to me, is when it matters... when peoples lives are in your care.

APRN., DNP, RN, APRN, NP · May 23, 2009

It has been my experience that grades are highly subjective.

Is an "A" in Microbiology at Harvard higher than an "A" in Microbiology at your local Community College?

Is an "A" in clinicals with instructor "X" higher than an "A" in clinicals with instructor "Y"?

Does a "C" in Microbiology at Harvard = an "A" in Microbiology at your local Community College?

Things to ponder when you're trying to differentiate an A student from a C student.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · May 23, 2009

:yeahthat:
And why is it that people always say, "I rather have a caring C nurse than an A nurse that is not very therapeutic"....as if you can only have one or the other, that smart people can't be therapeutic...why not, "I want an A nurse that is therapeutic". I am A/B nurse and I got nothing but glowing remarks from my clinical instructors.

Probably the same reason it is so quickly assumed that a C student isn't competent. The stereotype I have noticed works both ways on these forums.

I have no idea what kind of GPA student I will be in nursing school, I have trouble testing and great in everything else, I plan on getting help for that this summer before I start nursing school in August.

At my school a "C" student would really be a B student in any classes outside of the Nursing Program. Our grading scale is different for nursing students. At my school as well, a lot of "A" students will end up becoming B students for the same reason.

I think there is more to nursing than STRICTLY grades.

Although you have to have a "C" or higher to pass nursing school at my school you have to have 100% on the Dosage and Calculations. Everything else you must have a C which again, would really come out to a B for the most part on the regular grade scale at my school.

From what I was told by the HR lady at the Hospital I plan on working for, they do not ask for your transcripts, she said you must posses your RN lic. but they don't need school records and they do not go off your GPA. I was trying to find out what things I need to do to give me the best possible chance at getting hired on at that hospital.

This hospital is a Magnet Hospital and voted one of the 100 best places to work for in the United States, so they are a good hospital. Not some craphole place that will hire anyone. In fact, it's hard to get hired on with them and again, they don't look at GPA.

I have been a PT. MANY times, and I have had MANY nurses. They always fell into 3 categories, (meaning my overall care from them I could put them into 3 types) I can tell you the type of nurse I did not care for out of all 3 of them and I would be willing to bet out of those specific nurses I could guess the GPA of most of them. No way to prove it so I won't bother posting my assumption, but if I could peek at the transcript I have no doubt I would be right. Doesn't mean the other groups might not have the same grade, but they had it all and that is what kind of nurse I want and want to be.

I will try my hardest to be an A student. If I try my hardest and I get C's I will be bummed a bit but I will still be happy that I made it in the end. I KNOW I will be a good nurse.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · May 23, 2009

you know whats hilarious... i actually interviewed for a med-surg unit almost two months ago now while i was still in school. well, the director of the unit liked me, but ended up she couldn't offer me a job a week later because of the census. the position got denied. so i took on a tech PRN role to get my foot in the door. "awesome!" i thought.
well, orientation came around, and my preceptor for the tech job was actually a new graduate who graduated in december of 2008. this was in april. that person had already used their 6 weeks of RN orientation to the floor and had to re-assume tech job while trying to pass the nclex. they had already failed once.
yet, this is whats funny. they graduated from a local private college that most consider "the hardest in the area" and produce the "most elite nurses" all throughout orientation, this person told me of their great grades at this private institution, and how their particular nursing school was harder than the rest, and that employeers really love this program.
i got thrown under the bus. i called my director of the med-surg after my second night of orientation to ask about the job, and she said "well, im concerned, you didnt get a great performance review. your preceptor told me you aren't a "go-getter"..."
it really blindsided me. during this whole time i had no indication that my preceptor felt i had any shortcomings. they talked to me nonchalantly, as if they knew id be perfectly fine with the job. whenever id make rounds to the room, id constantly be looking for the preceptor, and id find them off in another room making a cell phone call. when we sat down for review of charts, we'd be at the computer, on the net while talking during downtown, and yet the director of the unit said "your preceptor said you were on the internet a lot. we don't tolerate this here"
so i basically had to plead my case and explain how i got thrown under the bus.... by a student with straight A's... that graduated from an "elite" private institution... that FAILED the nclex for the second time i found out and got bumped back down to a tech.
not all of the C students are lazy. it doesn't mean we aren't go-getters. ive made a mix of Bs and Cs during school.
I'm not here saying that C students are more compassionate, while A students are more booksmart. I know plenty of A students who are both more compassionate AND better skill-set wise than C students.
I'm just saying that a blanket statement such as C students embrace mediocrity and are lazy and are not go-getters is ridiculous. I've worked hard throughout my whole life. You don't know my aspect of my personal life and what I've been through in school and what personal struggles I've been through. For me, graduating school is a testament to my will and determination in general, regardless of what grade appears on my transcript. For me, reaching the end of a long road is good enough for me.
You can take your "elite group of nurses" and go elsewhere. I know I'll be successful. Thanks.

:yeah: :yeah: :yeah: :yeah: :yeah: :yeah:

AMEN!!!!! (or insert a non religious phrase if that suits better LOL ) Seriously, that is all I can say, I know I have struggled in some of my classes that are Pre Req classes, I also know if my home life was better that I would do better, but considering all the crap I have to constantly put up with at home and the ZERO support or help that I get from my husband while tending to 4 kids I have stuck to it, I am a good student, my teachers always seem to really like me, I try hard and give it everything I can. I have had SO MANY obsticals thrown at me and have come so close to giving up and persuing a college degree so many times, but I have pushed through and stuck to it. If that isn't a go getter I don't know what is. I don't start nursing school until August, but failling for me is NOT an option, whether I graduate with C's or A's I will be one very proud person on Graduation day that through all the crap and all my family that said I couldn't do it and so on that I MADE IT!!!

Sharingan · May 23, 2009

I too consider C as a failing grade (sorry). Maybe, I am a competitive person/student, I don't know. I just try my very best and earn my A in the classes I take. I know my strengths and weaknesses. Anything that I don't know, I try to make sure that I get help or whatever before the exams.I believe everyone knows their own strengths/weaknesses and knows what they need to do to fix/improve those. I respectfully disagree with the "C=RN" mentality. I don't think it's good for our profession. Nurses should strive to be the best they can be and not settle down with just bare minimum. I am glad to know that some employers do take grades into consideration when hiring.

NurseKayla · May 23, 2009

Trust me, in the "real world," no one cares if you have a 4.0 with magnum cum anything behind your name....all we want is RN...

pinkiepie_RN · May 23, 2009

I think there's a difference between getting all C's and barely making it through nursing school versus getting a C and trying your best and getting super upset because you're an A student who just so happened to get a B on something. For the record, I graduated with a 3.2, which is a B+ average at my university. I got my first C from nursing school during my last semester. There are As, A-s, B+'s, B-'s, and C's on my transcript, but I think the big picture shows that I am competent. The new grad interviews that I went on did look at my transcript but more emphasis was placed on letters of recommendation and how I did with the interview questions, honestly. I think that my GPA will get me into the nursing educator MSN program that I'm interested in and I'll have the ability to build a 4.0 GPA then. I made a few mistakes during my first couple of semesters of college due to not being quite ready for the lack of structure in college but I was able to get myself back on the boat and into nursing school.

Just my $0.02.

jollydogg_RN, ADN, BSN · May 23, 2009

our college also doesn't do the + and - thing.

i think in 75% of my grades, that scale would help me SIGNIFIGANTLY... kinda sucks getting an 83.5 in a NINE HOUR nursing course and getting a 2.0... sigh... really REALLY hurts your GPA.

i really don't care where i graduate from. i know once i get my degree in whatever i pursue, my personality and determination will get me that chance for me to prove myself.

and when i do, look out.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · May 23, 2009

IMO a nurse should do the best that she (he) can in school and don't dare settle for less than their best. If their personal best is an A, good on them! If their personal best is a C, good on them! But they should not settle for getting just a C because it's passing and not try any harder than that. And as it's already been said, there's many factors to consider in what makes a good, successful nurse--GPA is but one--and not all of these factors are learned in the classroom...or on the streets for that matter.

On a semi-related note, I would be estatic if Allnurses could create a section for the topics that have been beaten into the ground, and all of these "A vs. C Students" threads would go into it. Along with "ADN vs. BSN", "Foreign-born vs. US nurses" and "Entering nursing as a divine calling vs entering nursing for a job/money" just to name a few, since it's the same arguments over and over and over and over in them. Maybe have a spot to give them a little break from posts since there's a new one every two weeks (if not more often). I know, my posting in them doesn't help control them any :)

But that's my opinion, so I'll get on the flame-retardant vest now.

Columnist · May 23, 2009

Meriwhen.......Why don't you post your suggestions in the Wish List/Think Tank Forum.

tbell2 · May 23, 2009

Ug. I didn't want to get involved. I guess I dont' have to, but I have a question.

Those who have said they consider a C failing: Can I assume then, if you were to get a C you would withdraw yourself of your own volition and re-enter to strive for what you would consider a passing grade?