Nursing student and mom, how to juggle

[lala2017]

I start my nursing program in the fall and I've been working at this for 5 yrs... I am beyond ecstatic about it still kind of in shock too, i feel mentally prepared for the program itself, but what I'm nervous about is how to juggle school and my family. I need to put school first without actually putting my kid on the back burner...i have been told by nurse friends that i have to make a plan and stick to it... Library/study time and family time. At this rate i am willing to do whatever it takes to get thru it because i know thats the hardest part. Any advice on what will make it easier... Or anyone else gone thru or going thru the same thing?

[Mommy_RN1211]

I agree with most of the mommas up here. I only have 1 son but he is in the "momma attached toddler stage." So getting anything done is impossible with him around. I made sure to make my son the first priority when I could (even if that meant making plans for my husband with my son so collectively he was the top priority.) I also have a job that allows me to study at work so that helps. I am moving on to the next semester so it must have worked out some how. Good luck, you will do fine!

[Lauraingalls, BSN, RN]

I have 3 kids. Mine are 12, 10 and 10. It was a hard adjustment but we all worked together to help Mom do school. I had17 units for my first semester. I just had to stay disciplined about study times. My kids did more chores. I still ran them to their sports after school but I would sit in the car and study while they were at soccer.

I like the thing about bring your study materials everywhere. It helps! My hubby has stepped up and helped out a lot too!

My kids have learned how to cook, do laundry, and handle more responsibility. I also set a great example studying and with 3 kids who are very busy, I got a 4.0!

You can do it!

[calleeflower]

I know I'm responding to a 5-year old post but thank you to everyone who posted on this topic. This is the inspiration and encouragement I need right now. I appreciate all the tips very much!

[Bjulissa19]

On 5/29/2014 at 10:56 AM, Lauraingalls said:

I have 3 kids. Mine are 12, 10 and 10. It was a hard adjustment but we all worked together to help Mom do school. I had17 units for my first semester. I just had to stay disciplined about study times. My kids did more chores. I still ran them to their sports after school but I would sit in the car and study while they were at soccer.

I like the thing about bring your study materials everywhere. It helps! My hubby has stepped up and helped out a lot too!

My kids have learned how to cook, do laundry, and handle more responsibility. I also set a great example studying and with 3 kids who are very busy, I got a 4.0!

You can do it!

your post gave me so much hope ? thank you for sharing.

[TheDudeWithTheBigDog, ADN, RN]

Even though it's an old post: Not every student is created equally. Some struggle academically, while other people barely have to put any effort in.

What I'm seeing so far is that the trick to nursing school is efficiency. When you live and breathe nursing school, you burn yourself out. There has to be time for the rest of your life, and time to go out and have friends.

The reason that I'm able to barely study is because I learned how to study. I learned what is and isn't effective for me. For me, taking notes in class is a distraction. I go to class with nothing to take notes on and just listen. I don't do well with reading, so I learned to only focus on the important topics and explanations, only going deeper in reading when I don't understand it. My studying is focused on what I don't know, with only a quick review of what I do. Everything new I'm learning, I immediately try to apply it to what I already know. By being efficient about it, I'm passing all of my classes on seriously only 1-3 hours of studying per week, total, plus maybe 1 or 2 hours to read through the main points. My entire week of studying is what so many people who are struggling do in only one night.

It doesn't have to be a 24/7 struggle. If you didn't start school yet, use this time to learn how to study. Figure out your learning style, then find tips that work for that style. If you're not a visual learner, color coding your notes isn't going to help you and is only going to waste time.

Prepare now, and you'll be fine going to nursing school and raising a kid, and keeping up on your house. But if you let yourself go into a panic, that's when all the problems start. It's only school, relax.