Need some insight.

Nurse2bee · Mar 28, 2003

I think that asking how long school and study time is for each person is not going to do you a lot of good because it varies according to the school and the individual. A lot depends on how you manage your time as well as your innate abilities. My husband and I are both full time students. We take anywhere from 12 to 18 hours per semester each. I try to schedule classes between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm. This gives us time to get everyone to school and preschool before we go ourselves. Of course once my real nursing classes start the hours will get crazy! Anyway we put the 2 younger kids in a private school that offered all day kindergarten and all day preschool so after class we have several hours that can be used for uninterupted studying or errands as needed. The amount of time you study depends on how easily you absorb new information. I can read my class notes one time and pull straight A`s on my tests, that`s just the way I have been my entire life. My husband, on the other hand, studies a lot. He just has a different learning style than I do and needs to write and rewrite things to better understand them. We have 4 kids and went back to school in our early 30`s. I`m having a great time and think you will, too. I also work full time evenings while hubbie stays home with the boys. He does all the cooking and most of the housework. It works for our family. I also stay up quite late at night to get my quiet time in. Good Luck!!!!!

sixes · Mar 28, 2003

I went to school full time. I have one girl and 5 boys. I to started my family young and didn't start nursing school until age 31.

I photocopied extra anatomy sheets and the younger ones colored while I did homework. The older ones did there own homework.

On the weekends I prepared extra dinners and we had a baking day.

I made sure we had at least 2 hours of family time everyday. Ps I was a single Mom as Dad decided to be a deadbeat. I had the full support of my Mom and Sister.

Somedays I wanted to quit but I'm glad I stuck it out.

Doing homework together gave the children good study habits.

When the going gets tough remember that the tough get going

Good Luck

Tweety, BSN, RN · Mar 28, 2003

Good luck. There really is no way to describe the joys and frustrations and agony of nursing school in one post.

For me, I took only nursing, had all other related classes done. It still kicked my royal behind. Some days where very long, others only a couple of hours.

The best thing you can do is support your peers and find someone to support you. Without the strength of fellow students it's hard.

MelRN13 · Mar 29, 2003

My first semester, I had class 2 full days a week and clinicals on Th/F from 6am-2pm. I also worked full time and took care of my son.

If you have a supportive family, you will do GREAT!!! I studied with my free time (also while at the park, soccer games, etc.) And because I worked midnights, was able to study on some of my down time.

I wish you the best of luck! If you believe in yourself, you can do it!

blklab · Mar 29, 2003

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply. I am sure I will have more questions as time goes on. Thanks for the good luck and the same to all of you!!

CountrifiedRN · Mar 30, 2003

Hi blklab, welcome to the board!

My program is 5 days a week, three class theory days and two clinical days. The times have been different each semester so it's hard to give a typical full time week. This semester our clinicals are from 6:45 am until 3 pm, class schedules vary, but we're usually done by 1 pm. Every program is different though, so you might want to ask for a tentative schedule from your program.

I have three kids, and things can get pretty chaotic at times. But it is doable if you can organize your time well. I bring my notes to study while waiting for doctor appts and in grocery lines, and do most of my text reading after the kids are in bed.

Have you been to the student nurses board? If not, you should check it out, there are lots of great discussions about student issues. Hope to see you there!:)

RNsweetie · Mar 30, 2003

Hi good luck to you, i have heard some really great suggestions. I have 3 girls, and am 28years old as well and i think it helped to prepare them early. Talk about it alot, get them realy so there are not too many surprises when school starts. Start them helping to make lunches, cleaning there room, sorting laundry early too, this way they don't connect them doing more work to mom going to school.

My program is a 25 mth program started in sept 2002, we go 5 days a week from 8am to 4pm. we had 2 weeks off at christmas, and now i am waiting for summer holidays starting August 1st (horray).

Then we go back from september 2003 to september 2004 (2 weeks off at christmas again, but no summer break) then GRADUATION and lots and lots of sleep :zzzzz

best of luck to you. you can do it!:)

Vsummer1 · Mar 30, 2003

First of all, good luck to you! And, before the bad news, remember that many, many people have gone to school and are now RN's.

Now the bad news. Our first week we had about 15 chapters to read... literally hundreds of pages. Plus lab time, clinicals and theory which was time spent in school -- over 20 hours in class. I spent every waking moment dedicated to just trying to get the reading done and studying my notes before that first test on all of it -- 1 WEEK after school started!

They say that for every credit hour, you should spend another 3 hours studying. That means if you have 15 units, you should spend 45 hours a week studying. And, in my case, that was barely enough time with all of the other assignments! Last semester of 25 students, only 6 passed this class. The instructor told us basically that if you work more than part time, or don't have a supportive family that you probably will not pass this class.

Two people dropped after the first week. Many failed the last exam, and if they don't pick it up on the next one they are out. It is HARD WORK, more than a full time job.

BUT REMEMBER, YOU can DO IT!!!

blklab · Mar 30, 2003

Thanks for the help! Do you guys suggest taking the general calsses first so you will have more time for the nursing courses or just putting the pedal to the floor and doing it all at once, or would it really make a difference. Again I really appreciate all of you taking the time to help.

Thanks, Ali

Vsummer1 · Mar 30, 2003

In order to even be eligible to apply to the program I am in, you must have many classes already done. While you are doing these pre-reqs, get as many other classes done that you possibly can. I got all of my degree requirements out of the way so that I could concentrate on just nursing classes. In my post above, you can see that the nursing classes are enough!

Only 2 students in my program had other classes last semester and passed nursing. The rest either dropped the other classes or failed the nursing. These 2 students were married, with no children and no jobs so had good support and no other activities (like raising kids or work) to take up their time.

Every program is different, every student has different circumstances. But every nursing student I have ever spoken to has stated that nursing school is one of the most demanding things they have ever done.

CountrifiedRN · Mar 30, 2003

In my opinion, it is best to get all of your other classes out of the way so you can focus on your nursing classes. The nursing classes are very time consuming, and you have to make a certain average in most programs to continue. A full load is very overwhelming. But I have seen people do it. I think it really depends on what you can handle, and how well you can study and retain the information.