It has been a while since I have posted, things have been going pretty well around here for me. But lately I have realized a problem that I am having. Some background info first: I am currently in my second semester of nursing school at the University of Texas @ Arlington (Arlington, TX), I just finished my psych rotation- which by the way was not as bad as I thought it would be although I still have no desire to be a psych nurse. Anyways, my wife is a nurse in the Neonatal ICU in a large nearby hospital, she graduated last may and is loving her job. Together we have a three year old son. Here in is where my troubles start. I love my wife and son to no end, and I love nursing school and really want to do well in school. However, I have come to realize that lately I have not been able to concentrate and study regularly like I should/need to. My test grades are starting to slip and I hate it. I want to go on eventually to do a graduate program and I know that I need good grades now to get there someday. I want to study, I really do, but I just cannot concentrate- both when my son is running around the house and even when he is sleeping or at his pre-school. So I am turning to you guys and gals, I am hoping that maybe some of you have been through similar experiences and will have some helpful hints or tips for effective studying. I have tried studying after he goes to bed but I still have trouble concentrating, I end up falling asleep, or staying up too late trying to get something done and then I have a hard time paying attention in class. I am sorry that this is so long, but I feel I am at my wit's end; I really want to do well, and I really want to be a nurse, but right now I am going through a tough time. Please help! Thanks in advance!!

Sorry no great advice here. But for grad school, I have noticed if your grades aren't high enough, you can take the GRE(graduate entrance exam) and still get into a grad school. I even found out Stanford, I think it is, only requres a 3.0

Good Luck.

when i started nursing school, i had an 18 month old, and a 3 year old. it was extremely tough to do, but with the support of a great husband, i was able to carve out the time i needed to study. if they were with me, and my husband was at work, i would incorporate them into my study time, and they loved it! at the age of 5, my son could tell you the course of blood flow through the heart. i must have made an impression on them about how hard college was when my then 4 year old daughter asked me if she had to go to college if all she wanted to be was the check-out girl at krogers? you too can do this, it just takes planning. i took my kids with me to the library when i studied, and they had reading hour, kept them occupied for a little while at least. good luck to you!

Have you tried staying at school after classes, and using the library.? .nice and quiet there, so if you get some concentrated studying done there, you can go haome and be husband and daddy..Good luck...sounds like you`re going to do well

I went through this phase during critical care. Had a hard time getting motivated and when I studied I had a hard time retaining the information. I had to force myself. I made a study schedule and stuck to it. I also made myself recopy my notes and notecards.

The best thing for me was to remind myself why I wanted to become a nurse. I also made myself think of the sacrifices my family was making and how I did not want to let them down.

Good luck. Think of what best motivates you. I hope for you that this is just a phase because you may have spread yourself too thin and have become tired. Perhaps you should create a reward system for yourself. Plan your study time and leave a block of time for just yourself and your family. Best wishes.

Thanks for the advice/ideas/encouragement. Ladyjane- good idea about the library, I will definitely have to look into that one. Cactus Wren- I really can't do much after class because I have to pick up my son, my mother in law watches him which is great b/c it is free, she is a former teacher so she has really excelled him intellectually, but she has other kids that she tutors in the afternoons and I have to pick him up so she can focus on her other kiddos. We don't want to put him in a daycare for $ purposes plus I really appreciate the 1:1 attention he gets from my mother in law. I am going to have to try and maybe "teach" him about what I am learning that way it occupies him to a degree and reinforces what I am learning.

I don't have kids right now so I can't speak from experience. And as for the "motivation" I guess I can only offer that when your motivation is low, try to think about what excites you about nursing or why you want to become a nurse. Maybe talking with your wife about her day at work will give you the mental push that you need to resume studying.

I realize your son is rather young and it sounds like you have a good deal with your MIL but are there any "play dates" or "after school" activities for children of his age in your area that he could attend a day or two a week? It would give you some time alone but it would also be good for him to interact with other children too since he is an only child.

I have found that what helps me is keeping to a pretty strict schedule of studying. It's kind of like a diet. I really have to keep to it 'cause if I blow it off some night it is really easy to blow off the next night, etc., etc. I work between 8:30 and 5 and then some nights have class, others go home and study. In bed by 10:30. Tuesday nights I wash the sheets, Weds and Thursday the rest of the laundry and ironing, Fridays dust, etc. etc. Sunday between 3-6 I get ready for A&P the next day.

Maybe if you can get into a consistent schedule you'll feel a little better about everything because I am also getting the feeling from your post that you feel things in your life are a little out of control right now.

Good Luck in all you do,

Col