Back to school after 17 years

[EmilysMama]

Evening all,

I'm going back to school after 17 years of being a mom and a truck driver. Motivation for it comes from my daughter, who has a neurologically degenerative disorder called Sanfilippo Syndrome (I'll let you google that). Not only am I hoping to be a better mother to her as her disease progresses, I want to help other kids in the hospital, and the parents too. I like to think that since I have been there WAY to often, it might be nice to help out a freaked out mom that has her child in the PICU, my eventual specialty of choice.

Given that I am a mother and a wife first, and my daughters condition will severely progress over time, I'm going to attend Medtech here in Indianapolis. They are in candidacy status and and are on track to be accredited with the NLN by time I graduate. My question to you all is what can I expect as a nursing student? What will they let you do in clinicals? How do patients see nursing students? Any other tips and tricks you might be able to give me would be great!

[itsmejuli]

Good for you on deciding to go to nursing school.

I suggest you do lots of reading on the boards here at Allnurses, especially about the cost of nursing schools and student debt.

My advice is to find a public, well known nursing school in your area. They generally have lower costs and better clinical placements.

You can also try to find the NCLEX pass rates for the schools.

[Chryss]

Hi! Im so sorry to hear of your daughters situation. But you sound like a great Mom and im sure she's very lucky to have you. I just graduated form nursing school and will be sitting for my boards soon, for my LPN. I'm moving on right away for my RN BSN. I'm 50 years old, and nervous as can be. Being a nursing student and a mom isn't easy but definitely do-able. You'll need plenty of time for reading and studying, so try to plan times when your daughter is asleep or maybe visiting grandma to immerse yourself in your studies. It's also great to form a study group with a few of your classmates for tests. I found that helpful. I also made ALOT of index cards to atudy from! In clinicals for my LPN we did a lot of pt care, bed baths, wound care, feeding, parenteral feelings, IM and subq injections, and med passes. The patients were always very welcoming in my experience, but bear in mind most of my clinical time was spent in nursing homes caring for the elderly. Good luck to you! Take lots of deep breaths and remember the reason you're doing this, and you'll be great.