What happened to my brain?

[karlymarie]

I am in the second year of my ADN program. I received my LPN license in August, and I finished my first year with straight 4.0s. I just took possibly the easiest test of my entire nursing school career and earned my worst grade! I still passed, but I did not get a 4.0. I know I shouldn't care, but several other students in my class that usually just skim by did get 4.0s. I have been trying to rationalize it by thinking that I probably didn't study like I should have. I have also been sick for the past week and working more hours. I've never had a problem before though. The thing that bothers me the most is that I knew it was an easy test and I over-thought many of the questions and changed some of my answers. It's so frustrating that I ace the hardest tests and bomb the easy one! I hope this is not going to become a trend because I only have two more weeks of this class left. It is my personal goal to finish with a 4.0, and I intend to. I know I should just let it go and be grateful that I still passed, but I needed to vent a little.

[KLG2004]

We all have our moments. Being a great nurse is more than making an A on a test. I'm not a great test taker and I find that I read too much into questions when they are easy. I sometimes look at my answers and wonder what the heck I was thinking.

Dust yourself off and don't be hard on yourself. 2.0=RN.

-K

[karlymarie]

Thanks. I know that being a nurse doesn't have much to do with grades at all. I found that out the hard way when I started working as an LPN and felt like I had no idea what was going on. I was so sure that it would be an easy transition form CNA to LPN, but I was wrong. After a few months I am slowly getting better though, and I'm confident that one day I'll be a great nurse. Right now I have to just be OK with not killing anyone and making sure I pass all of my meds. I am a notorious perfectionist, and it is hard for me to settle for "just OK" even if I am trying my best. I am trying though. I am also trying not to be so hard on myself, but I am my biggest critic. Sometimes I think I'm just afraid that if I don't get a 4.0 that means I don't know the material, and ultimately I won't know what to do in a critical situation. I'm sure my instincts will guide my decisions in such a situation, but I still want to be as prepared as I can. I know it will be fine though, and I am over that test now and moving on. Thanks for the feedback!