To pass or To be the highest?

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are you the kind of person that is satisfied already in passing the exam or on the other side in which you are satisfied because you got the highest grade? i am the kind of person which is not satisfied on just passing my exams, i always aim to be the one who will get the highest grade in our exams in major subjects. i get sad and depressed when i am not the highest which is not a good thing. there are already several times that i got the highest grade especially when we were in third year and the last time i got the highest grade is on our preliminary examination on Nursing management and leadership. i was not expecting it actually but thank God i was able to do it. because of this attitude, my friends would tell me that i should be happy because i passed compared to our other classmates who really failed in the exam. i am still trying avoid that kind of attitude even though there are only 2 months before our graduation. for you, what do you want, to pass or to be the highest?:yeah:

nursing students often spend way to much time worrying about other students imho.

wouldn't it be better to set [color=deepskyblue]personal testing goals then to focus on what others are doing?

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Specializes in CTICU.

Wanting to do well doesn't necessarily relate to what others are doing. It's generally more about YOU and what YOU think your results say about YOUR worth. I don't think the phenomenon is related to being a nursing student, either.

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nursing students often spend way to much time worrying about other students imho.

wouldn't it be better to set [color=deepskyblue]personal testing goals then to focus on what others are doing?

once again, this is an advantage in the on line classes. i don't know my classmates from adam, i am not engaged in idle chit-chat with them, and i have no idea how they are doing. i miss the positive classroom interactions, but i do not miss the classroom drama or competition!

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Specializes in LTC.

I am going to change something that I did last semester. For now on , I'm never going to discuss my grades c- my fellow classmates. Some of them are happy for me and some of them are jealous.

Last semester a classmate was talking about me behind my back and said" Yeah, she makes good grades but she never helps others"

That comment did bother me... I don't ever want anyone to feel that I'm better or smarter than someone, and don't want anyone to succeed.

That classmate did not know that I spent hours, and hours leading study groups for people who did not do so well. However, she judged me based on my good grades. I don't know how she knew, I guess someone told her.

Anyway, I've been to two nursing pinnings and I've never saw students with a 4.0 recieve a gold metal or trophy or some other prize.

If you want to set a goal to maintain a 4.0 thats really nice and Go for it. It just kills me when people get irrate because they got a 88, when there are other students who would kill to get that 88.

It makes people feel really bad who is not doing so well to hear a person with a passing score complain.

If you want a 4.0 through nursing school, Good luck. But don't cry about a B infront of others who you know would love to have you're B. I agree with the above poster, this is not a COMPETITION !

Just my 2 cents.

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Specializes in Orthopedic, Corrections.

I am making that change also. The only people who will know the grade I got is my family, and none of them know anyone in school. Last semester I got sucked into drama I did not want to be in just because I am a little (lot!!!) naive sometimes. You live and learn!!

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Specializes in Pediatric Private Duty; Camp Nursing.

I am currently in an LPN program at the local community college. I used to be a teacher before I decided on a career change. My GPA from my first degree was mediocre, to say the least, and by the time I realized that it DID matter, I had already graduated and was pounding the pavement, being rejected by every principal who had their pick of 3.5+ college graduates. I finally did get a job after proving myself via the substitute teacher route and became a great teacher (according to my evals), but I was always ashamed that on paper I was nothing more than my ho-hum GPA. So now, I'm doing it right. My anger at my younger self is giving me the momentum to keep up my 4.0 now. It's a perfect example of anger used in a constructive, positive manner.

Incidentally, I've always struggled w/perfectionism and OCD tendencies. Once, when I had post-pardum depression, my dr. put me on Zoloft and those tendencies disappeared! Recently I was toying with the idea of going on it again to help me w/the perfectionism/OCD issues, but then realized that those tendencies were exactly what was keeping my academic commitment afloat. So I'm going to continue with my 4.0 au natural!

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I am not in nursing school so I can only speak from my experience with my pre-reqs.

In May 2007 when I started my journey into pre-nursing my only experience with school was getting a 2.0 in high school, and not graduating until I went back 2 years later. But when I started on my pre-reqs and got all A's every semester including the semester I gave birth to my first child, I continued to not only shock myself but accept nothing less that A's. That said, last semester I got a 84% (my lowest grade ever) on an NAS 162 lab practical and I bawled my eyes out. The thing is, I was upset during and after the test before I ever got my grade. And I was upset because the test was very hard, though I had studied my heart out, and I felt like our teacher had not prepared us properly for the test. Especially considering my grade was the highest and another teacher's class has gotten a few A's.

I like to come here to get realistic ideas of how nursing school might be. My school has the typical

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I am a former Deans list student..until I got into nursing school. With 4 children, I am only worried about understanding the information I am given. I know students with A averages who have crappy clinical skills. In talking with the nursing supervisor at the hospital i work as a CNA at, she told me that most employers dont look at transcripts or GPAs and cringe when they see resumes pouring it on about what their GPA was in school..it doesnt tell them what kind of nurse you will be. She said you passing the NCLEX is all she needs to know..the rest is about references from co workers, clinical instructors. I have never seen a nurse who has her GPA printed on her badge..really ;) One of the girls in my nursing class does well with tests and spitting out facts(reciting the text books) but she has had complaints at clinical from the nurses and patients because she is arrogant and lacks people skills.

Get over it, I see this post as just bragging..there are A students and C students who will be great nurses and there are a students and C students who wont be good nurses..its more than the GPA..

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why are you looking at it as a competition??? I don't care if you have straight A's...it does not mean you will be a better nurse than someone who got B's and C's. In my class we never know what EVERYONE has gotten on the test, nor do we all care...as long as we are still passing is all that matters.

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Specializes in Telemetry & Obs.

Well, I just looked online at the job openings at my hospital and they DO ask about your GPA if you're a new grad. Hmmm, something I wasn't aware of before. When I applied I included my transcript to that time (I hadn't graduated at that point).

I remember once going to an instructor's office to show her MY answer was correct...with proof. She told me I was right, but the other students didn't have access to the same materials I had (I bought every book known to man during NS) and that of course my information was the most current AND most accurate. She then told me if that one question kept me from having my A in the end she'd give me the credit :D

I was that student going back after the semester to look over all my tests to see WHY I got something wrong...so that I could learn from it. It was unacceptable to me to not know something that one day could effect a patient's treatment or recovery.

Oh, and at my school we did recognize the students with the highest GPAs at pinning. One everybody knew would get it because she made SURE we all knew. The other was a complete surprise because she didn't feel the need to brag all thru school about how smart she was. Guess who was most popular :D

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One of the girls in my nursing class does well with tests and spitting out facts(reciting the text books) but she has had complaints at clinical from the nurses and patients because she is arrogant and lacks people skills.

Get over it, I see this post as just bragging..there are A students and C students who will be great nurses and there are a students and C students who wont be good nurses..its more than the GPA..

Let's talk about arrogance and people skills.

As one that is usually accused of 'arrogance,' let me define what arrogance is and what it is based on.

arrogance - overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward inferiors

At it's core, the basis of arrogance is judgment. The thing about arrogance is that it comes from a place of truth. Arrogant people most often ARE smarter or more skilled than other people. Rather than just being smarter though, they start to judge other people. It occurs in little ways. Then they start to think they are better than those people.

What I am saying is that for someone to be truly arrogant they must judge others AND believe they are 'better' than another person AND have a basis for that belief (better grades, better performance or whatever).

That being said. Judging someone for being 'arrogant' AND the fact that judgment implies that the person being judged is inferior AND the basis of that judgment being that most people dislike those that are arrogant is, in and of itself, arrogance

We have had a multitude of threads related to is the student with best grades the best nurse. We HAVE answered this question though some refuse to admit it.

The bottom line is that the C student with great people skills ultimately are ALWAYS going to learn at a C level (stress or outside responsibility or whatever other excuse notwithstanding) which is satisfactory. An A student with poor people skills will always learn at an A level and can also learn people skills. ;)

C = Satisfactory. Satisfactory means average. Mediocre means average. Satisfactory is Mediocre.

Some people just aren't happy with being mediocre. That does NOT make them arrogant.

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So now, I'm doing it right. My anger at my younger self is giving me the momentum to keep up my 4.0 now. It's a perfect example of anger used in a constructive, positive manner.

This was the point I was trying to make by my personal story (above)--I too am trying to prove to myself that I am capable of more than my shameful 2.0 from high school. No offense to anyone that has ever gotten a 2.0, it's just not a standard I am willing to accept for myself at this point in time. Especially since I didn't graduate high school until I was 20 because of that 2.0...

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