Nursing School & The Single Mom. A thread for support and encouragement.

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Probably one of the most undesirable combinations in life is nursing school...with children. Both are commitments that require a large amount of your time and attention, on a daily basis. It can be especially difficult as a single parent, carrying the majority of the workload caring for your child/children on your own.

I had my daughter at the young, "wise" age of 20 and I never second guessed the decision. (Nursing school and a baby? Piece of cake, right?) Not so much. But not impossible either!! That is the point I want to make with this thread. I want a thread that single moms (and even dads) that are struggling through nursing school can go to for advice, encouragement, and support in their journey.

I will go first. When I became a heart-broken and financially-broken single mom, it was conveniently right before I started my last and toughest year of nursing school. Senior year! I wanted to give up, it seemed so hard to care for a child all day until bedtime, study for several hours, and then go straight to bed because 7am for clinicals came up fast the next morning. Not to mention I needed to maintain a B average in order to not be removed of the program. I felt alone in the class because the majority of the other students were all young girls that lived with their parents or partners and didnt have the responsibility of a child hovering them. Needless to say, it was a mess. However, it didnt last forever and before I knew it, I was walking down the isle on my graduation day obtaining my diploma for RN. Every late night, every crying session, every time I had to say "NO" to my daughter when she wanted attention so I could study, WAS WORTH IT. I know compared to some, I was actually lucky. I didnt have to juggle single-motherhood until the very final year. Many others ENTER nursing school as single parents.

I want to ENCOURAGE other young mothers to continue with their education. Follow those goals, and ambitions despite trying circumstances! My goal of this thread is to create a place for others to share their stories, accomplishments, experiences (the good and the bad) and most importantly a place for that parent who feels like giving up, to go to and vent their frustrations and doubts, and receive the positive support needed to keep them going.

Please please please share your experiences, encouragement, ideas, and advice!! It really could make a world of a difference for someone!

Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

Great thread.I was a 38 y.o. single mom of two when I started school I worked 7 days a week at two jobs and went to school two nights a week. Looking back I don't know how i did it.I remember my girls getting themselves up and off to school by themselves when I was up at 5 to get to drive an hour and a half in the snow to get to a clinical placement. I think they were about 11 and 12 at the time.After they went to bed I would start studying. Once in a while I would call in sick to work and the girls would stay home from school so we could spend a day together. Money was tight and I was exhausted but I got through it.

Hang in there everyone. Some day it will all be behind you.

Great story! I really feel for you because you had to work full-time on TOP of it all! I was also lucky in that way. My "job" was a work-study job 4 hours/week at the local hospital that offered me an opportunity to study for most of it! That was it. In order to survive we lived in income-based housing, had WIC assistance, and my car was a 14 year old eye sore but it was all mine without a payment so it worked out! Not having to work really allowed me to spend more time with my daughter. And I only had ONE child, not two! Thank you for sharing your story, as a single parent with two kids, 2 jobs, and school you really are an inspiration for young mothers! Especially the end stating "hang in there everyone. Some day it will all be behind you." That is SO true and it is SO worth it if you do!

Thank you so much for sharing your stories! I am a single mom with 3 kids (11, 8, & 3) and I am currently in my first semester of the nursing program. I do feel a bit weird being (probably) the only single parent in my class. So I am not sure how I am going to survive the rest of nursing school. Thankfully, I do not have to work for the 1st semester so I can concentrate on my schoolwork and kids but I will have to find some sort of job after my first semester. And I don't know how I am going to do it all. I look forward to reading to all the advices the single moms who have been through it and successfully juggled family, work, and school life.

I have yet to enter nursing school but I am so happy to see this thread!! I am a single mom who is 3 classes away from completing my first 3 years of college (2 year gen-eds part time) with a 4.0! To say I am overwhelmed is an understatement. It is going to be an amazing encouragement to see other moms going through the same thing and coming out unscathed on the other side!

So my story, here goes...I have 2 kids. My son is 9 and my daughter is 7. Both kids are pretty darn amazing if I do say so myself :) My daughter has several health issues that require many doctors (she currently has 11), medicines and monthly infusions. She is an inspirational little girl! I have a Facebook page that I manage for her to raise awareness for rare disorders, I am putting together a fundraiser so her and her friends can raise money for the Immune Deficiency Foundation and I am a peer support volunteer for them as well.

I also work full time as a dental receptionist/assistant while I attend school. Like I said before I have a 4.0 and am very proud of that! Along with all I deal with on a daily basis working, volunteering, school, parenting and such, I have an abusive ex husband who likes to try to make my life miserable. To say life is hard, doesn't even scratch the surface.

But... I WILL finish school and I WILL become a nurse. NOTHING will stand in my way. It is not going to be easy and I may feel like giving up but knowing I am not the only one out there who is struggling with these challenges is going to be a huge help! Thank you for creating this thread because I know I will certainly utilize it!!!

pda1984: I'm just going to state the obvious when I say, wow you have your plate full! But I don't want that to make you doubt your capability of graduating! Granted, I only had 1 child and was in my final year but I can relate to you in many ways. There were some things that really helped me. I know it can be a bruise to someones pride, but living in income-based housing until I graduated allowed me to work less and use that time to strategically split between school and child however idk your exact situation if you would be able to do something like that. Also really important, establish a positive and focused study group with a few other students. Students that are determined to graduate. You will start to build relationships in your class and it really makes a HUGE difference to have these "nursing friends" we called it, to work with towards a common goal. It made it all more pleasant too. Also, Davis books. These are great for studying and run pretty cheap in price. They have a book for each major category of nursing (fundamentals, med-surg, OBGYN, psych, critical care, leadership, etc) Each book really prepared me for the challenging quizzes and tests. Also, I went ahead and took a CLEP test which basically if you pass you get out of having to take that course. For me it was English. The less of a course workload, the better for you and family. It seemed like during the first year they liked to pile on pre-requ all at the same time (english, A&P, micro, chem, etc) on TOP of fundamentals and it can be overwhelming. Anyway, I know there are others out there that have a more similar situation to you and could probably offer better advice and if they are reading this I hope they do write something! It is so important for single moms to get their education and accomplish their goals because lets face it, it's impossible to support a family on ONE income of minimum wage. And having to parent by yourself shouldnt stop you from achieving your goals and ambitions! Keep on trucking, get through this semester and please keep us updated on how things are going for you and how you are feeling come next semester as well!

ant2cory: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THIS! I love how you say you that you will still finish school no matter what!! That is the perfect mindset the single parent needs and frankly its hard to always think that way because life happens! 4.0 is something to be very proud of. I'm going to be honest when I say I barely had an 80% for most of nursing school so woo hoo! I pray that your fundraiser for your daughter takes flight! Keep it up! Keep us posted as to how youre doing in your nursing and motherhood journey!

Does anyone else have any words of wisdom or advice for those in nursing school and juggling single parenthood?!:dummy: Or are in the middle of nursing school now and have any tips as to what is working for them? Anything would be appreciated! Thank you! :nurse:

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