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:

Specializes in progressive care telemetry.

I don't really care what my grade is as long as I have a thorough understanding and am able to apply the information once I finish a class. Learning this stuff - that is my goal. Good grades are secondary and I could really care less who has the best grades in the class.

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It happened today. I got a 90 on our first assigment. Most people got the same grade, and many got below that, and I was thrilled, until I saw three people with 100's. I was not thrilled anymore. It makes me feel like such a bad person to feel this way. I try to tell myself that I did my best and that is all that matters, but it's hard to get rid of that bitter feeling.

I am a horrible person!!!!!!!! :(

You are NOT a bad person because you wished to be up there with the top 3. Each person has their own personal standards that they set for themselves. Just because someone wants the highest grade in the class doesn't mean they find pleasure in being better than everyone. Just don't put so much emphasis on what other people are getting. Compete with yourself, for your personal pleasure.

However, I have been in your shoes. The jealousy tends to fade when the next test scores roll out and you are up there at the top again!

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Specializes in LTC.
Also, I should point out that I am pre-nursing and I understand that the Nursing classes will be considerably more difficult. So I am sure though I would like to keep making A;s on exams, come nursing classes, I am sure that I will have to be happy with below that. However, I will not stop striving for the A. It fires me up!! When I expect no less than an A for myself I feel motivated and unstoppable. Please note, I am not working so I have time to study. Also note, my daughter is 18 so this also frees up my time for studying. I REALLY admire the ones that work, go to school and have little ones at home to contend with. Making an A with all of that going on is indeed awesome!! So my hat is off to those dealing with multiple roles along with college student!:yeah::redpinkhe

Uh, yeah... think you should of mentioned that too. I've seen many prenursing students with 4.0s and now in nursing school not even close ! I'm not saying you'll be one of them... I would just advise you to keep up with your good study habits. Good luck.

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Specializes in NeuroICU/SICU/MICU.

I don't know about the rest of you, but my classmates don't tend to make it a habit to share test scores, and the scores aren't posted anywhere. I have no idea where I fall in relation to my classmates. I have a 4.0, so I might be at the top, but there are other students who I consider smarter or better nurses than me, so they might be at the top. It doesn't bother me where I am, as long as I do the best I can do.

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What makes that more realistic?? I honestly had WAY more As than Bs in NS. I did have a C in one class and I thanked God for it...I was told that class was the "stop gap" to slow the progression of students into the program.

I also worked, helped take care of my father with terminal cancer, and I'm the mother of a disabled daughter. Sorry, just the facts.

Nursing school is supposed to be really hard and many people have admitted to making it through by the skin of their teeth. So it seems more realistic for most to be getting a C average than A averages in nursing school IMO

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I use verbal, visual, auditory, and kinetic learning

And how do you do this? using what?

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Specializes in Cardiac.

As for employers looking for GPAs,I have yet to encounter that . I have begun the task of applying for jobs and none of my applications have asked for transcripts or GPA

I had to submit my transcripts at my current job application, and I was the ONLY new grad hired. Now we have people take critical care tests prior to being hired. I get to help grade them. Guess what, especially in this market, we are only accepting nurses with the best grades on those tests.

That's a good point.

To the OP: How would you know IF you had the highest test score/grade in the class?

Our grades were posted.

I wonder how many nurses will pass a random exam from nursing school after working for about a year or more ?

Bring it on. The stuff I learned in nursing school was fluff. I am studying for my CCRN right now, and soon I will think it was easy too. Everyday of nursing is an 'exam'. Everyday I learn something new. A randomized nursing school test would be a joke!

20 years from now, I may not know the answer to this question off the top of my head: A client has just had his anticoagulant therapy monitored via international normalized ratio. What is the rational for using this laboratory value ?

If you don't know the answer to this now, in one year and in 20 years, then you will not be a competent nurse. That's basic stuff....You are learning it for a reason.

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And how do you do this? using what?

using verbal learning, I read the question out loud and auditory hearing the answers in a certain rythym when I repeat the information. Visual, I will draw funny designs and symbols next to some material and kinetic, I will make certain little gestures with my hands on some particular subject matter. We took a test in Humanities on learning styles and learned these little tips to help encode material into memory. It works for me.:wink2:

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but I also attribute lower grades from not studying enough or maybe not knowing one's own way of learning. For instance I apply all learning styles when I study. I use verbal, visual, auditory, and kinetic learning to help encode the material into longterm memory. I think if one knows one's learning style, it makes all the difference! In A and P our professor gives out little prizes to anyone that earns an "A" on their test. Usually out of 35 people, maybe 4 of us earn A's. Yes, there is one person in last semester's class that would brag on and on about their A. I do not think that is very becoming. One never knows when a failing grade will happen. So while I enjoy doing well in school, I am also humble and know that to keep my A's I must stay on top of studying.:typing:wink2:

low grades are not always attributed from not studying enough or not knowing one's own way of learning..as someone else stated, some people are not very good test takers, but great clinicians..My class average is about a B- there are plenty of C students who have made it through these past 2 years and are doing great by their clinical instructors standards..we also had a 100% NCLEX pass rate for the graduating class of 2008..and that wasn't an A average group either. My school has a lots of papers due each semester that are graded and that affects GPAs from either direction.

I agree with what some other posts that have thought that maybe there are more C and B students in nursing school than some will admit..I admit I have had my share of C grades..I work hard, aim high, give 100% but sometimes life happens... I am confident, based on my clinical evaluations, that I will be a good nurse despite the fact that I am no longer a Deans list student..We lost a student last semester whose GPA was higher than mine..but she failed clinically..so she is out of program.

No matter what your grades are, I just want to know that the nurse caring for me or my family know what they are doing, have compassion..intelligence can be measured in many ways.

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I would love to get the highest grades in the class! However, even though I study just as much (if not more than) those who do achieve the highest grades, I usually end up with B's and C's. I am the type of person who usually has to work twice as hard to absorb information, but I also tend to retain it pretty much forever. So, I'm just fine with not being at the top of my class, since I know I won't forget things when they matter the most!

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