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

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · 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.

My school doesn't either, it's either a 2.0, 3.0 or 4.0 and I HATE it. When I transferred schools and they transferred over my Pre Req classes I had taken that they required ALL of my grades but my 4.0's dropped. My previous school had the points, so if I got a 3.8 in a class there at my new school it transferred in as a 3.0. I think this is total crap and takes away wanting to strive to make that extra effort. If you know you have a 100 point window and there is no way you can make the next grade up, why even bother if in the end you getting 99 points of that window or 1 point of the window gets you the same grade.

I still try my hardest but I hate how it is at my school with the grades.

SoCaliGirl · May 23, 2009

Just reading the title of this thread made it clear that there are "alot" of differences between an "A" and a "C" student.

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

that could've been what the patient got i dont know. the instructor said d5 or maybe d50 cant remember exactly.

You mean you don't know for sure??? :rolleyes:

awhitt001 · May 23, 2009

At my school, the lowest grade that you can have in pre-reqs, as well as ALL nursing classes and clinicals is a B- (2.7 -- the bar is set high here). If you need to take a pre-req over, you can only do so once. Each class you take over causes you to loose points on your application. Once you get in to the nursing program, anything under a B- and you are dropped from the program and there is no garauntee that you will be permitted to return.

That may sound a bit harsh, but to be honest, the competition is tight to even get in. This is a limited enrollment program with no "wait listing". There are so many "good students" applying for the program, that during the last round of admissions (twice a year at my school), the lowest GPA that made it in was a 3.6 and that person got over 80 on the NET test. Anyone that thinks they can get into the program with even a B average here is severly mistaken. The same can pretty much be said for anyone that needs to take a class over because of the lost application points.

While I will agree, that not everyone is a good test taker, or a good care giver, or a good critical thinker, the reality is that if you aren't all three, then you need to be in a different line of work. When I or any of my family are in need of medical care, I expect that they are all of the above -- no if's, and's or but's about it. I expect that if a crisis arrives, my caregivers and medical professionals will react to the situation in a calm and determined manner, that the correct procedures will be followed, that the correct medication and dosage will be given and that it will be done in a manner that is caring. I can't imagine that anyone would want less from thier medical team.

As some of the people that are in positions to hire or manage nurses have already said, grades do say something about your abilities. That is why they use them in thier hiring practices. The fact is that if you know the material, you should have no problems with taking tests or performing well under the "watchful eye of the instructor". If you are the type that "knows the info" but "just don't do well on tests", or you "get nervous when the instructor puts you on the line", then I don't want you as my nurse. You think that tests are hard?!? What do you think that the real thing is going to be?... easier?!?

I really am not trying to be mean or offensive, and I am certainly not making a judgement of anyone as a person. The reality is that you don't always get to do what you want in life and IMHO, this is one of those professions where "average" just isn't good enough.

If you are a "C" student, and you have your heart set on being a nurse, the question I'd have to ask is... why? If it's the money, why not tryout computers, or marketing. Do you just love taking care of people? What about going into hospitality or event planning? Is it being in medicine that appeals to you? How about going into billing or coding?

As aways, I wish the very best to all of us :redbeathe

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

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.

Is this supposed to be factual information or merely your opinion? If this is supposed to be factual information I would like to see the research and studies done to prove this from reputable sources.

Some of the people in this thread have said that it is OK to be a C Student if that is your best and you tried and that doesn't make you a bad nurse, but than say, if you are a C student because you are just a slacker than that makes you a bad nurse. (I paraphrased of course) so how do you know which C student is the good one or bad one.

It also seems the assumptions keep being made about the "C" students, (I put in quotes since some schools the normal B really Equals a C in the nursing program) but "A" students are so quick to get offended when assumptions are made on them.

It doesn't take being an A student or B student to see Hypocrisy at it's finest. LOL That there is good old common sense that people either have or they don't.

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

At my school, the lowest grade that you can have in pre-reqs, as well as ALL nursing classes and clinicals is a B- (2.7 -- the bar is set high here). If you need to take a pre-req over, you can only do so once. Each class you take over causes you to loose points on your application. Once you get in to the nursing program, anything under a B- and you are dropped from the program and there is no garauntee that you will be permitted to return.
That may sound a bit harsh, but to be honest, the competition is tight to even get in. This is a limited enrollment program with no "wait listing". There are so many "good students" applying for the program, that during the last round of admissions (twice a year at my school), the lowest GPA that made it in was a 3.6 and that person got over 80 on the NET test. Anyone that thinks they can get into the program with even a B average here is severly mistaken. The same can pretty much be said for anyone that needs to take a class over because of the lost application points.
While I will agree, that not everyone is a good test taker, or a good care giver, or a good critical thinker, the reality is that if you aren't all three, then you need to be in a different line of work. When I or any of my family are in need of medical care, I expect that they are all of the above -- no if's, and's or but's about it. I expect that if a crisis arrives, my caregivers and medical professionals will react to the situation in a calm and determined manner, that the correct procedures will be followed, that the correct medication and dosage will be given and that it will be done in a manner that is caring. I can't imagine that anyone would want less from thier medical team.
As some of the people that are in positions to hire or manage nurses have already said, grades do say something about your abilities. That is why they use them in thier hiring practices. The fact is that if you know the material, you should have no problems with taking tests or performing well under the "watchful eye of the instructor". If you are the type that "knows the info" but "just don't do well on tests", or you "get nervous when the instructor puts you on the line", then I don't want you as my nurse. You think that tests are hard?!? What do you think that the real thing is going to be?... easier?!?
I really am not trying to be mean or offensive, and I am certainly not making a judgement of anyone as a person. The reality is that you don't always get to do what you want in life and IMHO, this is one of those professions where "average" just isn't good enough.
If you are a "C" student, and you have your heart set on being a nurse, the question I'd have to ask is... why? If it's the money, why not tryout computers, or marketing. Do you just love taking care of people? What about going into hospitality or event planning? Is it being in medicine that appeals to you? How about going into billing or coding?
As aways, I wish the very best to all of us :redbeathe

Guess that shows how different the grading systems are different places. A B at my school is a 3.0 there is no B- or B+ it's an 84 or 85% equals a B, Below that is a C. I can't remember off the top of my head I think it's 84

awhitt001 · May 23, 2009

Guess that shows how different the grading systems are different places. A B at my school is a 3.0 there is no B- or B+ it's an 84 or 85% equals a B, Below that is a C. I can't remember off the top of my head I think it's 84

Yep, sounds like yours is the same as mine. A "B" is a 3.0 here too. :up:

AZ_LPN_8_26_13 · 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?

I would not let it come to that point, where I actually would have to accept a C as a final grade. I monitor and keep track of my progress very closely as I go along in a typical class. For example, in my A&P II class a couple of semesters ago, in my first exam, I only got an 84. A solid "B", and yes, I suppose many people would be satisfied and happy with that, but I wasn't. In fact I was pretty upset and disappointed with myself. It was sort of a "wake up call" for me that hey I'd better get my butt in gear and study more and harder. I actually tried to analyze how and why I'd only gotten an 84 even though I considered that I'd studied sufficiently for it. I concluded that I had probably let my guard down somewhat and maybe had become a wee bit complacent, since the semester before, with the same professor, I missed getting an A in A&P I by less than one percentage point and ended up with a final grade of 89% - a high B but not quite good enough for an A. For me, a score of 84 on anything is just a bit too close to "C country" for comfort. And lets face it, if you end up sliding by with only a C-, that means you are only mastering 70% of the material covered. I try to push myself to do better than that.

To directly answer your question, no I would not entirely withdraw from school (if that's what you're meaning), I'm not the "quitter" type, but if it were allowed, I would probably voluntarily try to take the class over again to get a grade better than a C just to prove to myself and to the rest of the world that I had properly mastered at least 80% of the course material. I guess I've never thought much about "what would I do if I actually got a C?" because if you start thinking a lot in that manner, it can end up being a self-fulfilling prophecy - you're unknowingly lowering your own personal standards (and confidence in yourself) by accepting in advance that you might fail - sort of defeatist thinking in my book. It's best not to think of it as acceptable or an option in the first place, and be honestly tough and hard on yourself enough to ensure that it doesn't actually happen.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · May 24, 2009

If you are a "C" student, and you have your heart set on being a nurse, the question I'd have to ask is... why? If it's the money, why not tryout computers, or marketing. Do you just love taking care of people? What about going into hospitality or event planning? Is it being in medicine that appeals to you? How about going into billing or coding?
As aways, I wish the very best to all of us :redbeathe

I am not in nursing school until August, so I don't know what grade student I am yet, but I have to wonder, why does it matter WHY a C nurse wants to be a nurse as opposed to a A nurse or B nurse ???? That doesn't make any sense to me.

Getting a B at your school would be getting a C at mine. I think we have established that SOME employers look at transcripts and SOME don't. It has no bearing as to the type of hospital it is. None of the Pt. are going to have any idea what grades their nurse got so it seems a moot point to me to say "I want the A nurse".

A lot of Nursing Schools require 100% pass on the Dosage and Calculations tests for obvious reasons, even if they require a C to pass the other course, you can have straight A's but if you don't pass the Dosage tests you fail the whole program. At my school you get 3 tries to pass the text, if you don't and you miss one you are dismissed from the program.

Last but not least, being an A student does NOT make you immune from Medical Errors, or mistakes when you are a nurse. We are all humans (hopefully) and no one is perfect.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · May 24, 2009

Oh and to be honest, I don't understand why threads like these or other threads get closed. If people are flaming, remove those posters, if people don't want to read it, don't read it. But I don't see anything wrong with a good debate even if it is 30 pages long.

I have seen many threads closed and I sit there and think WHY??? Just let the people debate as long as no one is flaming anyone else.

JMO

dblpn · May 24, 2009

You mean you don't know for sure???

that's right i don't know for sure if the teacher said d5 or d50. and if you're thinking that i should know which one would bring up a blood sugar, i don't. well, i'm a new nursing student and we havent got to that part of med surg yet. :)

msdeannah · May 24, 2009

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 don't start nursing school until the fall so I have yet to be placed in a box. My question is even if this is factual information... Why on earth would you post this. To a C student this must be the most hurtful thing to see. I mean seriously... I have seen stuff in this thread that C students should consider a different occupation, and the this list of sterotypes. Isn't this supposed to be a place to come for support. I hope if I have a hard time in school, that there are supportive people I can turn to.