as a prenursing student, do video games and studying mix or bad idea?

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I used to get all A's and B's in school, knew calculus in the 8th grade, and competed in national math contests. Then my dad died while I was in high school. I got my first F senior year. I go to U and get kicked out. I started to identify myself as a slacker and developed a hatred for school. I also got heavily addicted to video games. Playing from morning until night sometimes for 20 hours straight. Went to different colleges on and off for 5 years, and never graduated.

Fast forward 10 years. I had an ephiphany and now letting go of the past. Im actually a person who enjoys school and excelling, I just had baggage holding me back. I've been studying hard and doing the work. Got provisionally accepted to a nursing program as an intended nursing student. Everything should be good to go as long as I get A's and B's in rest of pre-reqs.

So my question is given my history should I keep my gaming computer or get rid of it. (I was almost close to upgrading it so it can play games with high graphics. It felt like the past was coming back to haunt me). I've played for 50 hours in the past two weeks. I feel like its a distraction for I have fallen behind slightly. I'm pretty confident I can get A's and B's in these pre-reqs but at the same time I don't want to jeopardize my grades even in the slightest. I've failed at school enough. This time I have to do it, no turning back, no quiting, no failing.

So what's your IGN? lols

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For steam, its..

ThePHiLsTeR

You play?

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I've been gaming all throughout pre-nursing and in nursing school. Granted, I played a lot more during pre-nursing but I still play games like WoW and recently SW:TOR. The key is to know when to close the game and hit the books so that it doesn't affect your grades. I've done pretty well in nursing school, maintaining a 3.7 and I'm in my last semester, I haven't taken a break from gaming although I will forgo games during midterms and finals.

It is doable, you just have to be strict with yourself and control the hours that you play.

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Specializes in Nursing Supervisor.

From one gamer to another, you CAN play and go to school... Just use gaming to reward yourself. I don't play on weeknights (and I try to NOT watch DH when he's playing either lol), but on the weekends, if my work is done, and I have studied and taken notes on everything I need to for the next week, I reward myself with a night off schoolwork. For instance this week I have a ridiculous load, but I busted my butt and it's done. Last night I played BF3 for a little until it started crashing (EA needs to work on some things, ugh!) and then played another game with DH and a friend for awhile. That was my reward for working hard all week and getting my "have to do's" done.

It's tough to not play, don't get me wrong (DH just upgraded my gamer), but if you can stick to whatever system you come up with, it can work! (and it's a great incentive to do your work first!) Best of Luck!

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Well the timer works great. It gives me a sense of control. I studied for 8 hours total last couple of days. I can control how much break time I get. No more taking breaks and noticing you've been playing for too long!

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pls can any one tell me more about Alington career nursing sch.? am preparing like crazy to go take the teas test. can somebody tell me a srategy to score more than 17 since you ve just 20min?

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There are many people who play video games while going through school and do just fine. I play wii with my son from time to time. The difference between them and you is you have admitted that gaming for you is an addiction which is great becasue you know there is a problem there. School is not easy and requires a lot of time spent studing and making sure you stay on top of everything else in life. I think for you, playing games would keep you from your studies and could prevent you from becoming a nurse. Why tempt fate. You know yourself better than I do of course, but I say get rid of the computer for now and maybe just get an ebook or small laptop that you could use for school until you're done. Then as a graduation gift you can get a faster computer.

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Hey if anyone is wondering, I have been playing games but only as a reward to myself for studying. I use a timer to time my study time and breaks. I got a 99.5 on my first anatomy and physiology exam and a 90 on my literature paper!!!

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Do whatever man...

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
Hey if anyone is wondering, I have been playing games but only as a reward to myself for studying. I use a timer to time my study time and breaks. I got a 99.5 on my first anatomy and physiology exam and a 90 on my literature paper!!!

:yeah:Well done!

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Dude, you need to get your priorities straightened out. Do you want to continue playing the games and not amounting to much or doing much, or cut the games out and work hard and pass the pre-reqs and move on? In nursing school you will be soo busy with class work that you won't have all that much time for things you used to enjoy. I'm not saying you'll never have time to have fun and play, but gaming will have to take a back seat.

Don't get rid of the computer. Move it to another room where you won't be studying or study in an area where you are not around it.

You'll need to exercise some self-control and I do know how addictive gaming can be. Nursing school and gaming do not mix. It can be difficult for hardcore gamers to just stop and quit cold turkey. I say, start weaning yourself off of the games now while you're still doing pre-reqs. Maybe only play for a certain amount of time each day. Then, shorten how often you play in a week. When you do play, use it as a stress relief. Like you said, we all need some kind of release now and then.

Its time to let go. Do you want a career or do you want to continue playing games?

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Specializes in Critical Care, Clinical Documentation Specialist.

I'm a gamer, have been for 15+ years. I am also 2.5 semesters away from graduating with my BSN and have a 4.0 GPA. I played while I did my pre-reqs but when I started nursing school last summer I didn't go near my games (man, that was HARD!). I know how I am and can get sucked in too easily. I bought Skyrim the day it came out but didn't play until Christmas break....played 40 hours in 3 days - I loved it! But, haven't bought any other new games in a long time, just so I won't jeopardize my school, which is WAY more important to me than any of my rankings.

I would keep your computer (don't upgrade right now - too tempting!!), it's self discipline you need. Uninstall the games if you need some external discipline. If you play any MMORPGs I would cancel the accounts.

You are right, gaming is a great stress reliever and stress has to be managed in school. I loved having a rough day and playing BF2142. Nothing gets me going like a beautiful frag, especially a head shot. hehehe But it's all BALANCE. I don't play if I have things to be done in school.

You need to find what works for you (your alarms seem to be working great), it just comes down to what is more important, a *game* or your *RL*.

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