Can you work full time while attending NP school?

patrick1rn, MSN, RN, NP · Oct 13, 2008

can you work full time and still complete your NP degree in 2 years?

No, i dont think its a good idea to work full time once your clinical rotations start for NP school.

johnson0424 · Oct 14, 2008

i did about 64 hours a pp until my residency then i cut back to every weekend so about 48 hours a pp.

UVA Grad Nursing · Oct 16, 2008

It will vary according to situation. Our fulltime MSN programs at the University of Virginia can be completed in 20 months (didactic classes 1-2 days/week for the first 12 months, didactic classes 1 day a week in Year 2 (plus 3 days of practica). Our Acute NP, Critical Care, and Psych programs have didactic classes on Th/Fri in Year 1. The FNP & PNP programs are Fridays only).

I've had energetic individuals w/o families work three 12-hour shifts in both years while a student. But working for pay for 36-40 hours plus 20 hours of clinical and 1 day of classes is a lot of work in Year 2! Most students with families, however, work fulltime in Year 1 (didactic classes only), and then drop to a .6 FTE in year 2 when they are clocking 20 hours of practica/week.

Each program's curriculum varies, but please respect your own emotional and physical health.