Baby and UAMS

maxamillion · Jan 10, 2010

I do not know much about UAMS' program, but if you were pregnant while in school you will have to be careful with certain things. You can't be around patients who are getting radiation therapy, those with certain infections, be careful lifting, and of course be careful with stress. Nursing school is VERY stressful. We had a student who was pregnant. She made it through school ok, although she had to quit while she was out for leave and finish up the following year. Best of luck to you.

srleslie · Jan 16, 2010

Hi Everyone! I am most likely about to move to Little Rock in the next couple of months. My husband is in the Air Force and he will probably be stationed there for 3 to 4 years. I have been wanting to go to nursing school for the last 2 years, but have been moving all over the place with my husband so he can finish pilot training. So now I finally have the chance to go to nursing school, but we are thinking about trying to have a baby before he starts deploying. I have all my prerequisites which I got As in and have a GPA of 3.9. I am planning on attending UAMS and getting a BSN. The reason we are thinking about trying to have a baby is basically because I do not ovulate very frequently. We are scared that if we don't start trying before he starts deploying that his deployment schedule and my ovulation cycle are going to be opposite and we won't be able to get pregnant. So I guess here is my question. Is it possible to have a baby and attend nursing school at UAMS at the same time? I would like any comments from anyone who attended UAMS and knows what there schedule is like. From reading other posts it didn't seem like the Fall and Spring Semesters were that busy. And, the only reason I am even considering doing both at once is because I do not have to study that much. Fortunately I learn by hearing and if I hear it I can pretty much remember it without having to spend a lot of time in the books...at least that is how it has worked for me so far. Any comments would be greatly appreciated!

Allow me to extend you a very warm welcome to Arkansas. I'm a junior in the program at UAMS. Let me start off by saying there are quite a few single parents in the program, and it is doable, but they have to rely on family support or arrange some kind of child care.

The program starts in the summer. During the summer, you go almost every day during the week, sometimes there early as 7, sometimes staying as late as 6, and you might have some meetings on Saturday. You will average 5-8 hours a day during the summer, depending on what is scheduled for that day. Logistically, this would be the most difficult semester as far as juggling being a student and full time mom. There is a reputable and affordable daycare nearby open 6am - 12am. If you want details on that, PM Me.

Once the regular semester starts in the fall, things do slow down a bit. But the courses are still time intensive with a lot of paperwork associated with your clinicals and you will have group projects which will require you to meet outside your regular class times. A typical schedule will have you in class 2 days a week from 9am to 3pm. Clinical will be 12 hours a week. You will spend one full 12 hour day, or two days a week, 6 hours each day. It really is luck of the draw. Sometimes if you get a clinical you don't want, and another student wants to change schedules, that can be arranged. Depending on your instructor, you may get out earlier. But plan on 12 hours.

In addition to the above, this semester as part of the Peds course I'm taking, I'm required to attend a 2 hour guest speaker on another day during the week. That makes 4 days a week right now. Clinicals for one of my courses were 12 hours on a Saturday. Be prepared for that possibility. The nice thing is that each clinical course is half a semester long so your schedule will change every 7 weeks. That may be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it.

I think you may want to look into UALR's program. It offers an associate's degree, but they have a BSN bridge. Their first summer only requires you to be in class a couple of days each week for a few hours. It is not time intensive. In the fall and spring, their course format is similar to UAMS's, class 2 days a week, clinicals 1 or 2 days a week. The difference is you don't have to take the extra courses for the BSN along side your clinical courses. So your course load is lighter. You can always begin employment as an RN and then do your BSN online, through UALR or UAMS. This would also allow time for to work if that is a necessity while going to school.

I hope this information helps. If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

Ryan

srleslie · Jan 16, 2010

Fortunately I learn by hearing and if I hear it I can pretty much remember it without having to spend a lot of time in the books...at least that is how it has worked for me so far. Any comments would be greatly appreciated!

A word up on nursing school. It is unlike anything you will have encountered before. Firstly, not everything is covered in lecture. There WILL BE questions on the exams related to reading assignments that ARE NOT covered in lecture. You will have to read. But morever, you must be able to critically analyze the question presented and pick the BEST answer for the clinical situation. 3 or 4 answers maybe be right, but which one is the best? You will not succeed and gain an understanding of the nursing process and how to apply it by simply hearing it once. You have to truly understand the material. Be prepared to study, and read, and study some more. You will have access to all the power points online. You will also have ATI exams for every course that you must prepare for. I have a BS in Biology, and I can tell you that nursing school represents a paradigm shift in thinking and how to prepare for exams. It took me a while to make the adjustment. It may or may not be as difficult with you. As with anything, your mileage may vary.

One other thing to keep in mind is that the grading scale is different than what you are likely accustomed to. 93=A, 84=B, 75=C. If you don't average 75 or above on your exams at the end of a course, then they don't even count the other components that contribute to your course grade - you simply don't continue. 74.99999 = don't continue. The stakes are lot higher.

Ryan

srleslie · Jan 16, 2010

I do not know much about UAMS' program, but if you were pregnant while in school you will have to be careful with certain things. You can't be around patients who are getting radiation therapy, those with certain infections, be careful lifting, and of course be careful with stress. Nursing school is VERY stressful. We had a student who was pregnant. She made it through school ok, although she had to quit while she was out for leave and finish up the following year. Best of luck to you.

Following your logic nurses should not get pregnant while employed in a health care setting. Encountering a pt getting radiation therapy is not an issue. The pt leaves the room, goes to the place where the radiation is done, and then comes back to the room. Once radiation is completed, there is no residual radiation left. Radiation is simply an electromagnetic wave. Occasionally pt's do have radiation isotopes ingested for certain tests, but exposure is still minimal. In any case, her situation would be accommodated. It is not a big deal. Also if one gets the flu vaccine, and follows universal precautions, a pregnant nurse is not any more likely to contract a pathogen than a non-pregnant nurse. If procedures are followed the risks are very low.

maxamillion · Jan 17, 2010

Following your logic nurses should not get pregnant while employed in a health care setting. Encountering a pt getting radiation therapy is not an issue. The pt leaves the room, goes to the place where the radiation is done, and then comes back to the room. Once radiation is completed, there is no residual radiation left. Radiation is simply an electromagnetic wave. Occasionally pt's do have radiation isotopes ingested for certain tests, but exposure is still minimal. In any case, her situation would be accommodated. It is not a big deal. Also if one gets the flu vaccine, and follows universal precautions, a pregnant nurse is not any more likely to contract a pathogen than a non-pregnant nurse. If procedures are followed the risks are very low.

You did not mention those that have implanted radiation, such as those with prostate cancer. If the exposure to this is minimal, then why even have the big lead shield in the room? And if you want to be pregnant and be around ACB or MRSA then go right a head. And let me add that on my unit, we do not let our pregnant nurses take care of our patients who are in isolation nor do we allow them to do any heavy lifting.

srleslie · Jan 18, 2010

You did not mention those that have implanted radiation, such as those with prostate cancer. If the exposure to this is minimal, then why even have the big lead shield in the room? And if you want to be pregnant and be around ACB or MRSA then go right a head. And let me add that on my unit, we do not let our pregnant nurses take care of our patients who are in isolation nor do we allow them to do any heavy lifting.

I admit I don't know anything about implanted radiation, but I doubt that pt would get a nursing student assinged. MRSA is not a problem if contact precautions are followed, but, last time I checked there are plenty of pt's going around without MRSA. You point out a couple of extreme examples and behave as if accomodations couldn't be made for a pregnant student. Unless a clinical instructor wants to be an ass, a pregnant sudent could easily be accomadated. :rolleyes:

AlishaNHayzley · Mar 30, 2010

I work at UAMS as a charge nurse, have been in grad school the past 3 years- passed FNP boards today. I had my first baby while getting my associates, 2nd baby 1st years of grad school, and most recently, my last baby while doing 30 hours of clinical a week plus a class day plus working weekend option. So 3/4 kids while in nursing school. I'm not a very patient person- I wanted babies and school and I wanted them both now so I went ahead. I am a firm believer where there is a will there is a way. I'm not saying it will be an easy way and you will miss out on kid time and it will stress your marriage, but you have to just hang in there. I was delivered by my preceptor on a Tuesday, released on Wednesday, and back in clinicals on Thursday. If I had complications, I would have had to double up on clinic hours later. I almost forgot the reason why I wrote this- I work specifically on an infectious disease floor. MDRA, MRSA, TB yada yada. Being charge there was no option about going in to the rooms or not. As long as you are using your precautions, it's fine- that's why we have them. The only thing I wouldn't handle was chemo in first trimester. Good luck!

amyelizabeth · May 21, 2010