How stupid & crazy can I be???

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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I'll tell you how stupid and crazy I can be....

I have to complete and pass a CNA class as a pre-req to the nursing program I'm starting in Jan. We're almost done, 2 clinical days left and 1 class day left for the class final exam. (and then the state exam in Dec.)

Anyhow...we have a text and we have a 454 page workbook that goes long with the text. Workbooks count for 30% of our final grade. Graded on completion and accuracy.

I am such a terrible procrastinator and irresponsible too, I guess (more like pretty darned depressed and totally burned out on life, but thats another story...).

Our workbooks were due today, this morning at 8am. No exceptions, no excuses for not having them completed and turned in.

When do I start working on completing the 35 chapters in the workbook? Do I work on them as we go through the chapters each week like a normal person? NO - that would be too sensible......Here's when I start to work on my workbook....

Last night at 9:30pm. :uhoh3: Plus I really underestimated the difficulty of the material aong with procrastinating terribly. So, at 9:30, the kids are in bed finally, husband is asleep with a headache and I have peace and quiet.

I get to working on the 35 chapters...10:30 comes, 11:45 comes, keep working....only taking a break to pee and make a new cup of coffee. 1:20am comes and goes....keep working....2:35am comes, 3:50am comes.

I have to be up at 6:30am at the very latest to be at clincals before 8am, startijng to get really tired and really nervous. Tell myself to keep going, I can survive on 2 hours of sleep...4:45 comes and goes.....5:27am comes.

Finally I cant stand it anymore and I have to go lay down. Have to be up and about in an hour. I should have just stayed awake, made another cup of coffee. Have to be rested for a full clinical day...yeah, right!

So, alarm goes off way too quickly and I jump out of bed. Still have some pages to finish. Work for another half hour. Have got to leave! Throw on my uniform, brush my teeth, make a lukewarm cup of coffee to go, don't even brush my hair or put makeup on...do that in the car on the way to the clinical site.....STILL have pages left undone in the workbook.....Arrive with 3 minutes to spare - no time to finish, hope and pray for the best....hand in the workbook.

For the accuracy grade the instructor flips to a random page in the workbook and grades the first 10 questions on the page. If she flips to a page not completed - too bad ...grade for accuracy will be a 0%

Sweating it the whole day.....we get our workbooks back before we left this afternoon and I got a 98% for completion and a 100% for accuracy - so my grade is a 99%

THANK YOU GOD!!!! Pure luck.

But WHY do do this to myself? How dumb can someone be???? Talk about self-defeating......:o

So, that was my STUPID...here is my CRAZY...

For my first semester in actual nursing school I'll be taking 17 credit hours.

No way around it. On Tuesdays I'll be gone from home from 6:45am until approx. 9:00pm. M & W are full days. Th I get a bit of a break - dont have to be in until 5pm. Fridays are pretty full too.

A & P II (plus lab), Pharmacology (plus lab), Nursing 105, Nursing 110 (all with clincals & labs), Human Growth & Development, and a required Intro to Nursing (nursing history and stuff....)

Plus a husband with a demanding job, a marriage in trouble, plus 7 kids, no support system, no help, no family in the area for any relief.

As it is now, 12 credit hours has been tough this semester and A&P I has been kicking my butt. (mostly because I'm procrastinating and not putting in the time and effort needed.) We have fianls for A&P I in two weeks and I relly need to go back to the beginning of the book and start furiously relearning everything in prep for the finals cause without doing that I won't pass which means no nursing program.

So, do I qualify for being 100% certifiably insane??? This is gonna be some coming semester, let me tell you....definately make or break and I'm really, really gonna have to get VERY disciplined and organized and stop procrastinating!!!!

Somebody please tell me I can do it if I put my mind to it. I'm a pretty intelligent person but I keep self-sabatogizing myself here. I work very well under pressure and deadlines and under stress but this is crazy!!!

Okay, I still haven't slept at all yet and my eyes are crossing here...Y'all have a great holiday and don't be like me!!!!!!!!!!!!:rolleyes: Thank God my husband loves doing all of the Thanksgiving cooking! I'll be studying all day!

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I've done similar things. For example, I once wrote a very important, 25 page research paper in 36 hours -- no sleep, obviously. It was assigned about 2 months before it was due. It is very self-sabatoging. I was reamed out once by my critical care instructor, the ONLY time I was actually caught in my procrastinating (I'd gotten away with it before). She said I was a smart, capable woman and I was not going to enjoy my life and I was going to make a bad impression on people in the real world if I wasn't crossing my T's, dotting my I's and keeping on top of things. She was right.

See, the reason many people are able to get away with procrastinating is that they ARE smart -- they can get by on the bare minumum and they know what the bare minimum is. They are WASTING their potential to be the best that they can be. I learned less in school than I would have if I had given it my all and I truly regret that. This is a habit that can, and will, get many people kicked out of nursing school.

I recently ordered this book:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0874775043/102-2522242-4509748?v=glance&n=283155&n=507846&s=books&v=glance

I hope it helps, I'll let you know! Maybe we need a procrastinators encouragement group, just like a weight loss encouragement group or something! :rotfl:

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Specializes in NICU/L&D, Hospice.

"Hi. My name is Lisa and I am a procrastinator".

:icon_hug:

Woogy

I wish they would stop procrastinating and get those darn letters out!

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I commend you for keeping it together! :yeah: No, you're neither stupid or crazy. You were incredibly lucky though.

I procrastinate about procrastinating. Some people study a bit each night. I've never been able to do that. I get better grades when I wait until the last minute....or in your case the last microsecond. I don't have kids or a husband so I don't have much of an excuse. You said your marriage is in trouble. Have you tried talking to your hubby about this? Would he be nice enough to keep the kids entertained for one hour a night while you do homework? I know he has a demanding job.

Rest assured: nursing school doesn't last forever. Tell yourself everyday when you get up that you are one day closer to graduation.

Good Luck

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.

I always procrastinate when it comes to study for an exam. The pressure boils and gets me in motivation mode. I usually do very well.

Some people function better under pressure and I think I may be one of them. :rotfl:

Yet, another reason to be thankful this Thanksgiving right?

Congrats on the grade :p

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Wow, I can't imagine taking anatomy and/or physiology DURING the nursing program. We had all that stuff out of the way before we got in.

I don't have any advice - I have done the procrastination thing. :rolleyes:

steph

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Well, I am sure you won't do something like that again, or then maybe....

Procrstination is something most people fight...in school and out of school. I know I constanly procrastinate about signing up for certain classes and such now that I am out of school- with the results almost always having to scramble to get my required certifications renewed. It IS a lot easier to do stuff on time, but in my experience things do not always happent hat way.

Best Wishes! I am sure you will get through all of this. DO take some time to spend with your hubby- and compliment his meal....make sure you do have some fun, or you will just feel more burnt out...

For my procrastination, I use this great web site- it's free: http://www.43things.com Not nurisng related, but helpful.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

Several people in my class took A&P while in the nursing program. It's very tough to do, but you can do anything you set your mind too.

If you are prone to procrastination, you have to find a way to break that habit, because in nursing school you have to stay on top of things.

You definately are not stupid, but you definately are crazy. That's o.k. you're in good company. LOL

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Specializes in ICU, ER, HH, NICU, now FNP.

I have to give myself multiple deadlines for projects...

For instance - by the first deadline I will be 25% done, the second 50%, the third 75%. Sort of subjective but it seems to help.

If I don't meet my deadlines, I punish myself in some way - no desert, no new shoes etc. I reward myself for meeting a deadline - even if its just a nice bubblebath. Over time, the procrastination has improved. Most of the time...

The other thing that has helped immensely - someone once said to me - "The only thing standing in the way of excellence is perfection". I realized that I was procrastinating things because I knew I could not do them perfectly - it was such a freedom to realize that they only have to be excellent! Not perfect!

Guess I better get to work on the 40 page paper I have due Wednesday that I have NOT met my multiple deadlines on! No pumpkin pie until its FINISHED!!!

Looks like I'll be eating my pumpin pie on TUESDAY NIGHT! :rotfl:

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Several people in my class took A&P while in the nursing program. It's very tough to do, but you can do anything you set your mind too.

If you are prone to procrastination, you have to find a way to break that habit, because in nursing school you have to stay on top of things.

You definately are not stupid, but you definately are crazy. That's o.k. you're in good company. LOL

We HAD to finish all our pre-reqs before we could even apply to the nursing program. That meant anatomy, physiology, micro, chem, algebra, etc.

Funny how programs differ.

I have to say I much prefer being prepped by all the pre-reqs prior to attempting nursing school.

steph

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
We HAD to finish all our pre-reqs before we could even apply to the nursing program. That meant anatomy, physiology, micro, chem, algebra, etc.

Funny how programs differ.

I have to say I much prefer being prepped by all the pre-reqs prior to attempting nursing school.

steph

Yes it is. Back in a day when I went the program was designed for people coming fresh out of high school and could be finished in two years. The pre-reqs were high school chemistry, biology, english and algerbra.

The A&P were "co-reqs", along with college English, and a few liberal arts classes.

I took the co-reqs prior to starting because I worked full time and couldn't do it all at once. I'm so glad I didn't have to learn A&P at the same time as nursing med-surg, that would have been extremely hard for me.

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Specializes in Operating Room.
We HAD to finish all our pre-reqs before we could even apply to the nursing program. That meant anatomy, physiology, micro, chem, algebra, etc.

Funny how programs differ.

I have to say I much prefer being prepped by all the pre-reqs prior to attempting nursing school.

steph

We had to complete A&P 1, Algebra, Intro to Psych & Composition English before applying. (Of course, I also finished my other courses before applying: A&P 2, Micro, Life Span/Developmental Psychology, Speech & Humanities elective.)

Onehusbandsevenkids: I'm glad you lucked out this time, but I hope you have learned your lesson, young lady! :p

You never know, your staying up all night may have made the difference in your grade. Your instructor may have chosen a page you completed at 3:30 AM! :rolleyes:

Good luck with your classes come Spring. :)

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