Am I crazy or is this doable?

Hi everyone!

I'm about to enter my final year of nursing school next month, and I just accepted a 28 hrs/week night shift float pool CNA position at a nearby hospital.

I'm a good student, but I am a little worried about finding time to sleep. My school is prone to creating unpredictable clinical schedules, and I don't know how flexible my manager will be. If I have to, I would quit the job to stay afloat in classes, but I really want the experience the job offers (and would love to work there as an RN when I graduate in the spring) and need to pay for school.

Am I insane to try to work that much right now? Any tips on finding time to sleep on a crazy schedule?

Any advice you guys can offer would be so appreciated.

Thanks!!

I made it through working 24-48 hours a week at a local bar & grill. Staying up late for bar closing (getting off at 3am) and having to be at clinical by 6:30 am was tough. I skipped sleeping a LOT. But I was young, and the young body bounces back. I managed to graduate magna cum laude. It's doable. But it's not ideal.

It's very doable. I worked 40 hours during nursing school. I also had a toddler.

Oh, and I gave birth during nursing school, too. Not ideal, but stuff happens. Just keep your eye on the prize.

Best of luck!!

I can't speak from experience because I was a full-time student. However, I had several friends who worked a lot of hours to pay for school, and they all graduated. It can DEFINITELY be done. I think the most important thing is to remember to leave some time for some self-care. It's the only way to avoid burnout.

I'm currently working full time 3 12s a week going into my second semester and I have been for the last 3 years of prerequisites. I worked the first year Nocs full time and had to switch to days once I got into my program, honestly I could not do Nocs and nursing school, but im also a dad and husband so its very busy for me and I would literally go crazy with the lack of sleep.

Best of luck!

I, too, have been in similar shoes. In my view, an important consideration is how many nights those 28 hours make up. I would talk with the manager about working primarily on Friday and Saturdays (assuming your school doesn't do a lot of Saturday clinicals) if at all possible. And plan to sleep a lot on school breaks like Thanksgiving and Christmas!! Best of luck in both school and your future work!!

Thats definitely doable.

It's definitely doable but also very possible your grades will take a hit.

Thanks for the encouragement, guys!