Working during an accelerated BSN program

lblamons · Apr 4, 2005

I will be starting the accelerated BSN program at Johns Hopkins in June. I'm extremely nervous about how much it will all cost (still haven't heard back from financial aid) and am curious of anyone else has worked part-time during an accelerated BSN program? JHU advises against it, but then again, I think all schools and professors error on the side of caution.
I have handled a huge load before. I took 18 hours my last semester of graduate school (including A&P1 and chemistry and two graduate courses), collected data for my master's thesis, wrote my thesis, and worked 20 hours a week. This was stressful, but doable. I do think nursing school will be quite different than anything I've done before, so I'm not sure.
I plan to see how the first summer goes in nursing school and decide if I think I can add in a job, I just wanted to see if anyone has some words of wisdom for me.

Hey What to do. I'm very excited for you. I graduated from the accelerated program in Jul 2002. As far as work, I did not really work while in that program except for in the community outreach program about 4-5 hrs a week. They do frown upon working at least during the first summer and fall semester. I do remember some people working as a nursing extern/asst in the fall but more start in the spring. You can make pretty good money considering but you really can't work much, maybe a full shift (12hrs) a week. However, your care plans take so long each week in addition to studying for exams. My roommate worked once a week or every other and did ok. But you will get a sense of what you can handle. You might be able to handle more, but don't overload yourself. Enjoy this program and its opportunities. I think you'll really like it. Best of luck!