Procrastination...why now???

Could be a coping mechanism (tongue-in-cheek, but actually a little serious...LOL). Ya know, the brain and body can only handle so much stress before we say, "THAT'S IT! ENOUGH! I don't care any more!" Only sometimes I think this manifests as "Unnnnnhhh....I don't WANNA!"

At any rate, if you're getting the work done, good for you. People all study differently, and while I don't condone the whole "barely getting by" ethic, if you are learning and retaining material and not jeopardizing your goals, then carry on.

I totally understand!! I have to say, I do not cram until the last minute or freak out for an exam. Mostly because, at that point, I have kept up with my reading and organized my study time before an exam so I feel that "if I don't do well on this exam, there is nothing more I could have done". Clinicals though... this past semester (3rd semester of a 4 semester - 2 year- ADN program) almost killed me by the end. I dreaded them for the same reasons as you.

We did rotate to the ER and ICU which was awesome because atleast I got to see something different, but I honestly cannot wait until this last semester. We ended last semester with 3 patients, and this final semester we will end with 5 or 6 and will be able to delegate linens, feeding and bathing. I don't know how well thats going to go over with the patient care techs, but thats the deal. We also will be rotating back to ICU, ER, cath lab, respiratory, dialysis and OR.

Don't worry about doing nothing nursing related on your break. IMO we deserve it. In fact, I'm going to read a real novel. I say relax and enjoy your time off honestly. I know I am. You also don't lack passion either, but this last semester seriously wore me down mentally as well. I didn't know how bad it was until the day after our final and I had time to think about something other than school. Like, I actually felt like I had time to cook a dinner without feeling guilty that I wasn't reading. It was so refreshing. I know my first year of actual nursing is going to be wicked stressful, but I felt good knowing that at some point in my life, I will be able to go to work and take care of people, then come home and have a life, and maybe even do something for myself again!!

That is actually a healthy approach to your situation. Type A personalities will find themselves a nervous wreck compare to those who are more laid back (NOT lazy, super procastinators).

In my nursing school class, we had both the type A, constantly freaked out, anxiety-ridden students, as well as the laidback, "will study hard, but not getting an A won't be the end of the world" students. And as long as we all studied enough to learn and retain the information, BOTH groups got good grades and BOTH groups are now RNs. You just need to find which studying style works best for you.

I honestly think that being able to stay calm and collected will serve you well in nursing. You will be able to handle a code or other emergency without freaking out, and the grief that is often given to RNs (by patients, patient family members/friends, other healthcare workers, etc.) will roll easily off your shoulders and not impede your work. You will also probably be more able and likely to not take work home with you, which is important! Every nurse has different strengths and weaknesses and just needs to find his or her niche.

I have to answer you question honestly and say that I have absolutely no idea how you do this. There are people like this in my class, and they absolutely drive me nuts. Not to sound cocky, but I admit that I am intelligent. I made a 97 A in all my first nursing classes, and I had no problem with the material. I would even go so far as to say that nursing school is easy (so far). In clinical we did everything (IV meds, IV starts, NG tube insertions, catheter insertions, JP drain management, chest tube management, etc) and I found that easy (but nerve-wracking). Am I a type A personality, you bet I am. Will I study down to the last minute even though I know that I will end up with an A on the exam, you bet I will. I also help other people study, which reinforces the material for me.

There are, however, people in my class who aren't interested in clinical, don't care if they pass or fail, and devote only the required amount of time to come out of the semester with an 80 C. As far as I'm concerned, students like that need to go home. If you care so little about such a major education, an education that you will use to save lives and care for the sick and injured, then you have no place receiving that education. Are you going to care that little when you are on the job? Are you going to say, "Oh, I hate giving baths, so I let my patient lie in a wet bed because baths just don't interest me," or, "Oh, I'm just not interested in changing a bed, so if the CNA doesn't get time to do it, my patient will just have to lie on those soiled sheets." I am not implying that you will be a bad nurse, or that you won't do your job, I just don't understand it. Sure, there are some tasks I find less satisfying than others. Yes, I would much rather administer a pain medication and help my patient rest than fluff a pillow. Yes, I really would prefer hanging another vasopressor and watching my patient's pressure rise to a stable level over giving a laxative. However, I can't skip a task, or avoid a task, just because I don't like it. Sometimes patients really need a bath in order to feel human. They've been lying in a hospital bed for days without a bath, they feel dirty, and they are self-conscious. Sometimes something so simple means so much to them. That alone makes it all worth it to me.

Maybe the body switches to this personality type once it reaches its stress limit, and maybe I'm just not there yet. However, I really don't see myself getting to this point. I love clinical, I love patient interaction, I love class and I love nursing. There isn't one thing I hate, and there isn't one thing I'm not excited about.

The nursing school enthusiasm is gone? I get it. And, all of this after only one semester? The question you should ask yourself then, maybe. Is this the type of attitude you want to take with into your next semester? What about after you graduate and you start working, will you not take it as seriously as you are now? Do you think your future patients will appreciate what you're doing for them because you HAVE to or because you WANT to? Think about it... You already seemed burned out and you're only beginning. Please don't misunderstand me, I am for all that is relaxing and being calm. But, procrastination and a lack of interest in one's education may only get worse in time. I just hope you won't get to the point of skipping classes and being late or not taking thorough notes or much worse. Don't set yourself up for failure and start re-evaluating what's important to you. Why you are in school in the first place and the reasons why you want to be a nurse? You, is what matters. Not what other people think and how they are just sliding by or how much of a wreck they are.

I'm happy you had a nice break, you needed it. I can tell just by reading your post, OP. I have not started my nursing school clinicals, as of yet. I won't start until this Fall. So, I don't know exactly what you are going through and I don't want to come off as a goodie-two-shoes or know-it-all, because I am not. But, maybe you should worry about why you're not worrying and start doing some soulsearching to find exactly why you're acting like this. Procrastination is a killer and nursing demands time management and organization, that I do know. I'm sorry if you object to this, but its my honest opinion.

Good luck to you.:)

I definitely agree with you, I really want to do a good job when I graduate that's why I was so worried about feeling so laid back. I want to be one of those great nurses I saw at clinicals, I was so in awed of them and their skills.

I recently talked to a nurse I know and she really helped me understand something though, She told me that that its actually a good thing that I stay calm, and its good that I don't need to cram to pass. She told me that obviously in nursing school I changed and I guess I learned how to deal with the stress in a different way. My first day of med surg lecture yesterday the professor asked questions and I could answer them. People read for pharmacology during the break I didn't, but I read yesterday and I read today and I'm caught up for class tomorrow.

I think you misunderstood me a bit though, I don't settle for a C, in fact I got As in my first semester. I am interested in clinicals, I just wished there was more for me to do because I'm more task oriented. I do care about passing, I did study if not I would have failed. Also and most importantly I would never say something like "Oh, I'm just not interested in changing a bed, so if the CNA doesn't get time to do it, my patient will just have to lie on those soiled sheets." Please dont misunderstand me, I would never do such a horrible thing. I was worried about being too laid back, but definitely not about being a bad person.

You sound like you will be a great nurse one day, really advocating for your patients. I learn a little bit from everybody and I definitely learned something from you about the small tasks. Thanks :) and have a great semester.

I just started my second semester and I seem to be starting it on the right foot :) I definitely will be some soul searching as you say this semester. In the end I need to be happy, and If I'm happy in nursing that will benefit the patients. I definitely don't object to it, its great advice :)