schedule of average day

catzy5 · Feb 13, 2008

I'm looking into nursing school, but I'm concerned about how much time will be taken away from my family. I've read of some people being at school and clinicals and studying charts and they are gone from 6am until 10pm. Not seeing their kids until the weekend. Is that for real?
Can someone give me a realistic example of the hour-by-hour happenings for one day in nursing school (what time you get up, go to class, clinicals, hours spent studying, doing research, get home, etc etc)
Thanks so much! You guys are awesome!

Well it will be different for everyone and it will also differ I am sure from semester to semester. I am in week four of my first semester and I see my kids when they come to the library with me to study. I wake up at 5 sometimes earlier, read or make notes, get the kids off to day care then I go to school, come home lock myself away with my books or go to the library with the kids. I finish about 1opm when I am about to drop, the weekends I spend the entire day at the library (my 10yr old often comes with me) and then come home and study some more. I am hoping the load will lighten as I get in a groove but so far I don't see that happening. I haven't even started clinicals I will do that next week 13 hour days with an hour commute each way, I won't see the kids at all that day. I get summers off though and will finish in 2 years if (if being the operative word( I make it.

good luck.

ZooMommyRN, ADN, RN · Feb 13, 2008

best thing to do is talk to someone in the program you're entering, and the schedueles are different every semester, some heavier than others, I'm in my last semester so it's alot lighter than med/surg I or II

WanaBaNurse · Feb 14, 2008

This is my fifth week in 1rst semester and my schedule goes like this

Lecture Days...

5am-8am: wake up, get ready, and get to school (study for alittle while before class)

8am-12:30pm: Nursing Lecture

1pm-3:45: Co-req Growth and Development

4:45-5:45pm: get home and put together something to make for dinner

6:00-11pm: study all material from current day and prepare for next day

11pm-12am: put together everything needed for next days class and fix lunch for following day.....oh, also pray that I'll have more hours to accomplish everything the following day

Clinical Days:

4am: Wake up and get ready for clinical

6am: arrive at clinical site

3:30: go home for the day

4:30-12:00am: same as above

We don't start care plans for 2 weeks...so that should push bedtime back a bit=)

Honestly, it's ALOT of work. i study all the time and still only have gotten an 80 on my past two tests. However, I love the busy schedule (yes I'm a freak, lol). I don't have children, just a husband and it's takes alot of prioritizing to get it all done. Alot of people in my class have children and jobs. Some seem to get it all done, but most are below the passing average of 78%. You have to be dedicated to do it and your family will have to pitch in on tasks you used to soley be responsible for.

Good luck to you in whatever you choose=)

SwampCat, BSN · Feb 14, 2008

I know each semester will be different, I'm just looking for a general idea of the sacrfices made. I have a 5 and 2 yr old and I was planning on going to NS when the younger one is in all day 1st grade, figuring I'd be home shortly after they would get off the bus, but thats not what I'm hearing. 13 hour days plus commute, Catzy5? That awful! Things like that make me second guess the whole nursing thing.

SwampCat, BSN · Feb 14, 2008

This is my fifth week in 1rst semester and my schedule goes like this
Lecture Days...
5am-8am: wake up, get ready, and get to school (study for alittle while before class)
8am-12:30pm: Nursing Lecture
1pm-3:45: Co-req Growth and Development
4:45-5:45pm: get home and put together something to make for dinner
6:00-11pm: study all material from current day and prepare for next day
11pm-12am: put together everything needed for next days class and fix lunch for following day.....oh, also pray that I'll have more hours to accomplish everything the following day
Clinical Days:
4am: Wake up and get ready for clinical
6am: arrive at clinical site
3:30: go home for the day
4:30-12:00am: same as above
We don't start care plans for 2 weeks...so that should push bedtime back a bit=)
Honestly, it's ALOT of work. i study all the time and still only have gotten an 80 on my past two tests. However, I love the busy schedule (yes I'm a freak, lol). I don't have children, just a husband and it's takes alot of prioritizing to get it all done. Alot of people in my class have children and jobs. Some seem to get it all done, but most are below the passing average of 78%. You have to be dedicated to do it and your family will have to pitch in on tasks you used to soley be responsible for.
Good luck to you in whatever you choose=)

Thanks so much for this! It really opened my eyes. How do you survive on 4-5 hrs sleep/night? Right now I'm up every 3 hours w/ my son but am still getting a total of 8-9 and doing fine, but 4 hrs sleep would not be possible.

WanaBaNurse · Feb 14, 2008

Coffee.....and lots of it...lol!!!

Honestly, it's just the inner drive to do it. I'm really excited about nursing school....maybe I'm still in the honeymoon stage=) Some days it's tough, but all in all I don't mind the lack of sleep. Considering the situation some of my classmates are in, my lack of sleep seems insignifcant. I just keep telling myself the old phrase "if you ain't living your dying"...guess I'll get some sleep then. lol

Good luck to you. Even if it isn't the right time now, don't let go of your dream. Nursing school will always be there when your ready to make the commitment!!

kgh31386, BSN, MSN, RN · Feb 14, 2008

my advice....do what works for YOU. the first day of nursing school they told us we need to study a minimum of 4 hours for every hour we're in class, and to study 9-6 EVERY day. and yea some people have made notecards and studied that long and do well...but then you get people who study hours upon hours and still don't get higher than a C. my schedule is usually one class a day, but on Wednesday and Thursday I have 2 classes and my schedule is like this for a 2 class day. I wake up around 930 and eat some breakfast, at 10 price is right comes on. While watching price is right I review over my Integrative Skills cds(i have that on Wednesday morning at 11). Then I got to Skills from 11-1250. After that I eat lunch with some people until class at 2. I have class from 2-5, then I go to work from 6-9. After work I come back and eat again(I eat a lot), and watch some tv while I plan out what homework might need to be done. During the weekend I might look over notes and what not to keep it fresh in my mind. And on an easy day like Monday...I wake up around 930 and go to work, I work from 10-1, then get lunch before Foundations. I look over the foundations notes while I eat, then go to class from 2-5. After that I go BACK to work and work 6-9. Then I do my usual look over homework potential. As for studying for a test, I just got a 96 on my Patho test and did the following..skim over the powerpoints once, listen to the podcasts while I follow with the notes and talk online and have the TV on( i know its against the studying rules, but you gotta be comfortable). then study with a few people a couple of days before the test...and the day before the test it's just all review and ironing out the rough spots. No need to study 7 hours a day with my face crammed into a book. If you force yourself to study, it won't help too much in my opinion.

SwampCat, BSN · Feb 14, 2008

kgh31386, you make it sound like a cakewalk! lol are you just naturally good at stuff like this?

I guess the way I'm starting to see it is that you can only truly focus on one thing at a time. There's no way I could be an awesome mom and a passing student. My family would always win out with the whole guilt factor. Maybe I'll have to rethink this whole thing and put it off for another decade. I hate the thought of doing that, I was so psyched to start this, but reality sucks.

Anywhoodles, you guys rock the house! Keep up the awesome work! :up:

kgh31386, BSN, MSN, RN · Feb 14, 2008

Don't get me wrong, I did study a good while for the patho test, but it wasn't hours and hours and hours. It's not about being naturally good, or naturally smart, or naturally anything. it's just about how you relate to it. When I study and get stuff into my head, I relate it to dumb stuff that would make most people just sit and stare at me like I'm dumb, but it's what works for me. I relate it to cars or planes or anything that interests me, so when I see it on the test I'm like, yep I know that and can explain how it works. You just have to make your studying effective. And it's not the same as memorizing because I can still tell you everything about what we learned after the test, but then you have some people who know it for a test and forget it the next day. You just have to really find your routine and let it roll from there. I think you can handle it even with the family too. There are at least 5 people in my class who have 3 or more kids and careers outside of school and they're doing fine....so it's manageable without a doubt.

P.S.-and I know school will get tougher, which probably will change around some of my free time, but it still goes back to relating material..regardless of difficulty

nurz2be · Feb 14, 2008

I'm looking into nursing school, but I'm concerned about how much time will be taken away from my family. I've read of some people being at school and clinicals and studying charts and they are gone from 6am until 10pm. Not seeing their kids until the weekend. Is that for real?
Can someone give me a realistic example of the hour-by-hour happenings for one day in nursing school (what time you get up, go to class, clinicals, hours spent studying, doing research, get home, etc etc)
Thanks so much! You guys are awesome!

In a nutshell, yes..... Depending on what type of program...ASN versus BSN.... You could be devoting even more time...

It is worth it....it isn't going to last forever....

I get up at 5... make coffee to endure the day

Kids up by 630 and off to school shortly there after

At school until 4 PM M

Clinicals W

Go home, make a quick dinner...

Study until 11- 12 or so, depending on whether there is a test the next day..

Up at 5 and all over again....

Sat study group from 8 am - 5 pm

Sun study group 9 am - 4 pm

Repeat for 18 months.....

Nurse2Bhomeschoolmom · Feb 14, 2008

Not a cakewalk but......

Not entirely what I found on this website to be true. It is managable to have a family, get great grades and have a life. I do nights/weekends and if you have kids I think (unless they are in school) this is the way to go. I am in an ADN program at a CC and I have yet to even be challenged, still in my first semester (famous last words I am sure). I homeschool my kids (husband helps A LOT now) and am almost always caught up without a lot of missed sleep. My family eats home cooked meals and we have a relatively clean home. It is what you make of it. Don't panic all of you out there you can do it, we all can do this. If you are in your core courses right now just think: inside two years we will be pinned, taking our NCLEX and working as RN's/ LPN's whatever the case may be.

DON'T GIVE UP!!!!!! NEVER GIVE UP!!!!!! You rock. Sing "I will survive".:) Go for your dream, whatever that is be it a SAHM or an RN. Be that person with excellence. We can do this.