Anyone do a full-time nursing program part-time?

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I am hoping to enter a nursing program in about a year. However, I have some medical issues that leave me fatigued. The school I am planning to attend only has a full-time program. However, since they start 3 new cohorts a year, I am hoping that I can do the program part-time. For example, the 1st quarter has 4 classes/clinicals, so I could do 2 one quarter and 2 the next. I am meeting with the disability coordinator in a few weeks.

Do you think this is doable and/or has anyone done this?

Thanks!

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If they only have a full time program this wont be possible. My school had a full and part time is there another school in the area?

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You might also want to carefully consider whether working in a high-stress, highly exhausting job (such as a new grad would have) is one you could handle?

People who no medical considerations usually find the demands of work as a new RN to be very stressful and are physically and mentally wiped out at the end of a shift or end of a week. How would you manage?

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I have been a nurse for almost 20 years and I am finding harder and harder to stay in the profession. I went to school full time when I went back to school for my BSN and masters degrees. I have documentation that stated I could have more time to finish assignments, but I had to keep up with everyone else as far as clinical goes. I've had MS for 15 years, treated for thyroid cancer and have had Crohn's Disease for 2 years. Ask yourself, truthly "Can I do this" BEFORE you go into debt with the student loan companies.If you get your degree and you go on SSD, the loan company CAN garnish your benefits. Food for thaught.....God bless and best of everything no matter what you decide!

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Thanks for your responses.

Financially, I have planned that I won't need to take out loans for the ADN.

My long-term goal is to be a psych NP, so it will be a job where I mostly sit and talk with people. If I can make it through the nursing program and 1 year as working as a nurse, I should be physically okay.

It looks impossible for the program to be part-time, so I will either have to do a full time program or move (which I'm not in a position to do so).

I might make a specific post about this, but does anyone have suggestions to reduce fatigue in school? I found out that the lectures are given using PowerPoint, so I'm thinking that I could have someone record the lectures and I could listen to them without having the wear-and-tear of going to school.

Thanks!

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Katie, you usually have to get permission to record lectures. I am going to be as nice as I can when I say this, but very blunt...if you can't handle the classroom portion without fatigue, then you will have problems in clinical. Even though you want to do psych when you are done, you can't skip med surg. Usually, the first semester or year, you also do the PCT/CNA aspect of care and the nurse part, meaning you give bed baths and change/clean incontinent patients as well as pass meds, document, etc. Typically, you are lifting about 40-50 lbs (or pushing more). Are you okay with that?

If you are, then I wish you the best of luck in nursing school, but I would think long and hard. Only you know what you can and can't do.

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