Time for family

Brickman · Jun 6, 2004

Did you all feel that you missed out on valuable time with your family and friends while in school? Was it possible to spend decent time with your family while in school? I have 2 young boys that will be in school full-time when I start the program (hopefully) and I am getting nervous with all the talk about how grueling school is. I would love to hear how people with family commitments did it through school. I want to be a CRNA with all my heart and can't imagine doing anything else. Thanks!

I personally think that if you don't follow your heart then you will regret it the rest of your life. If it helps at all I can't really remember much before I was ten years old and certainly don't have trauma because my mother wasn't always home. Will it be worth it to you? No one can answer that, but you. :)

TraumaNurse · Jun 6, 2004

FLCRNA2B,

I was told before I started that I should expect 60-80 hours per week between class, study and clinicals as a ballpark figure. This is a fairly accurate estimate.

Qwiigly,

Yes, you are entitled to your opinion, I never said you weren't, I just said I disagreed with some of your points. I do agree with you that having multiple points of view adds depth to the discussion and adds valuable info for those interested.

Passin' Gas · Jun 7, 2004

I graduated school in May 2003. I started the program in fall of 1999. I had an 8 year old, 6 year-old, 5 year-old, and a 2 year-old. I actually feel like I had a lot of quality time at home. I didn't attend classes 8 or 12 hours a day like working, I had summers off and worked per diem as a tech on weekends and sometimes during vacations. I actually miss the summers off now that I'm working. At the hospital you can only get a certain amount of time off during the summers!
Organization is the key. Study an hour or two a night rather than cramming and start research papers early so that you aren't cramming during finals week to get it all done. Keep an "assignment" notebook and write down what you are going to do each night. It really worked for me and I got a lot of people in my class doing the same thing.

This thread is discussing the rigors of enduring nurse anesthesia school, not nursing school. However, your comment regarding organization is true, but the numbers are dramatically increased. Trauma Nurse wrote he/she should expect 60-80h/week committed to class, study, and clinicals. Pretty accurate estimate. Getting ADLs done (yes, activities of daily living, I'm still a nurse ) ....grocery shopping, pay bills, do laundry is tough. Hard to make yourself stop for gas at 1900 on the way home from clinical when you've been at the hospital since 0600 even though the little gas pump light is on! When you get home still have to write care plans for tomorrow's cases, look up a dozen diseases (that's one of your three patients), and you're starving...lunch was at 1100. You start out the program 'dressed' every day with makeup and hair done. By the end of the first month it's t-shirts and shorts, down to lipstick and mascara, hair done most days. By the end of the first semester it's t-shirts and scrub pants, clogs (quicker on and off), chapstick, hair in pony tail.

Tough, you bet. Worth it? Absolutely.

PG

movinsouth · Jun 7, 2004

TraumaNurse-

You are exceptionally motivating! You seem to have had a positive outlook from the beginning, before you even started your program. That seems to be absolutely necessary to suceed. Thanks for giving us all hope:) !

FLCRNA2B · Jun 7, 2004

So you are saying an average day is around 13 hours (0600-1900)? This is before studying and careplans? Is this a realistic average? The program I am applying to states 40 hours the last 2 semesters.

Passin' Gas · Jun 8, 2004

I appreciate everyone's replies. The program I will be applying to in 2.5 years increases clinical hours throughout the program. In the last 2 semesters you have clinicals 40 hours/week. My plan is to listen to lecture tapes during the 1 hour commute to and from school and study 1-2 hours a night. Is this a realistic amount of study time...approximately 3-4 hours/day? This would give me a few hours each evening to spend with my family, right? I plan on taking out lots of student loans and my mother in law will be watching my 2 kids while my spouse is working and I am in school. As far as the weekends, if I studied approx. 3 hours each weekend day, wouldn'd that leave the rest of the day for family? It seems like I could find the time for my family...am I being niave?

I don't know what school you will be attending, nor do I know what your school will require for class work while in clinical. There are requirements for 'on-call' experiences and emergency cases. When do emergency cases show up? After 1500. Hospitals are 24/7. When are CRNAs in the hospital? 24/7. Who's going to administer (or complete ) the anesthesia for the drunk who tried to wrap the car around a tree at 0100? Someone's gotta do the anesthesia while ortho and neuro attempt to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. How are SRNAs going to get emergency cases? By being on call rotations. I would be extremely surprised if your clinical hours were 0700-1500 M-F for the entire 2.5 years.

Yes, you may be SCHEDULED for 40 h/week. There will be times the days goes longer than expected. Example: you start a craniotomy for tumor resection at 0700. At 1200, surgeon is still resecting, more involved than expected. At 1700, the surgeon finally resects last of the tumor and begins to close. You've been involved with this case for 10h. I would definitely want to stay to see how the patient wakes up. That may be another 2h between closing, emergence from anesthesia, and transfer to ICU. Then you get to come back again tomorrow at 0600 and take care of more patients.

As for study hours, estimate about 3h+/- of study time for each hour of lecture/week. Taking 15h of classes X 3 = 45h of study time. This is an estimate. Some students get by with fewer hours, some students put in more time depending on the material.

PG

CHATSDALE · Jun 8, 2004

Love You All....if I Ever Need To Zonked Out I Hope You Or Someone Like You Is Sitting At My Head

louloubell1 · Jun 8, 2004

I believe that children come first. Career comes second. A family can do well with a parent at home. So you have to "sacrifice" some of the luxuries in life. You say that is wrong, but you also say its ok to sacrifice the lives of the children. IN MY OPINION (and only that) the sacrifice should be the parent not the child. The parent brought them into this world. Their life can no longer be as it once was. Reality. You have to make choices in life. If someone choses to bring children into the world, they have to give up doing things that others do due to their choices.
Is CRNA school that hard? Yes. (Those reading this in nursing school: nursing school is pretty darn easy in comparison).
Again, these are my opinions. You have a right to yours as I do in mine.
Those considering going to CRNA school (only) please read ALL of the opinions here and make your decision. An informed decision.
Good luck to all!

When I was a kid, I had a mom who worked about 25-30 hrs/week at a minimum wage job, and a father who was the major breadwinner of the house, working 40-45 hours per week. One day, the company my father worked for declared bankruptcy and suddenly my father was out of a job. He quickly went from having a $30,000/year job (a decent living 25 years ago) to having to have two full time minimum wage jobs to support our family of six. I guess he could have let us starve and lose our house, because if you are right, and spending time at home with your children is more important than "career," he should have held only one of those 40 hour / week job and spent the rest of his time with us. As it was we ate Ramen noodles and mac-and-cheese for more meals than I care to remember. My parents were, and still are to this day, deeply in debt from that whole experience. They could not afford to do many things for us, including helping us go to college. They were unable to be financially supportive. A parent who is away from home often for career is not always the selfish thing to do you know. One of my most motivating factors for furthering my career is my family. I want a better life for my kids. I want to make sure that we can afford to send them to college and to provide them with a suitable home, things I didn't have. I'm sorry, Quigley, I just disagree with you on several points. You are right that a family can get by just fine while sacrificing some of the luxuries, but do you have any idea how much it costs to raise a family? Housing, food, insurance, car payments, schooling, and the extras (like sports or dance lessons or whatever, which are really not luxuries but important steps for children to develop their talents, provide them with healthy activities, and enhance their self esteem).... these things cost more money than most single income families can afford. I really get bothered when people make the insinuation that spending time away from your family for career purposes is selfish and harmful to the children. I personally am glad that my father chose to spend so much time away from home for work purposes, even though it provided such a meager living, at least it was a living and we had a roof over our heads and food in our bellies. You can't live on just love you know..... It bothers me even more, and I realize that you didn't specifically say this, that those insinuations seem to be most often directed at mothers rather than fathers.

CHATSDALE · Jun 8, 2004

Having Children Is Such A Life Altering Occurance That Is Amazing That Any Of Us Were Ever Born.....you Have To Provide Necessities Of Life And Some Times The Sacrifices You Have To Make Is The Absence Of Time In Their Lives....you Do What Is Best For Your Own Families And Don't Feel Quilty = No One Is A Perfect Parent And You Know That You Weren't A Perfect Teenager Enjoy Life And If You Only Go Around Once Make It Count

susswood · Jun 8, 2004

Having Children Is Such A Life Altering Occurance That Is Amazing That Any Of Us Were Ever Born.....you Have To Provide Necessities Of Life And Some Times The Sacrifices You Have To Make Is The Absence Of Time In Their Lives....you Do What Is Best For Your Own Families And Don't Feel Quilty = No One Is A Perfect Parent And You Know That You Weren't A Perfect Teenager Enjoy Life And If You Only Go Around Once Make It Count

Yo CHATSDALE...

This Has Nothing To Do With This Thread, But, Do You Realize How Difficult It Is To Read Something That Is Written With All Words Started In Capital Letters? You Have Some Interesting Things To Say, But I Have A Hard Time Reading Them.

Hell, I'm Exhausted Typing Like This....

Gotta Go... :uhoh3:

gingerzoe · Jun 8, 2004

I am here to give words of encouragement to all the moms who are going back to school. I did this also. I started in June 1992 and graduated in May 1995. I went to school year round and obtained my RN. I had previously been an LPN and had taken about a year of college classes. At the time I was 32yr old and had two kids age 5 and 9. Was it hard yes. Was it worth it yes......My husband was not all that supportive at the time, he resented me wanting to go back to school, but my sister was a doll, without her I would not have made it. Did I miss my kids? Yes, I also worked full time so I wouldn't loose my medical benefits. Now, for my words of advice. Let the house cleaning go...the house will still be there when you are done. Let the laundry pile up, especially when you are too tired to do it. Spend your free time with your kids, they will be okay if you explain as best you can what you are doing. Today my husband is thankful i went back to school, he has apologized for not helping. My kids are age 17 and 21. They are normal and I think realize how important college is. My son will be a senior in college this fall. He is already making plans to go to graduate school. My daughter is going to apply to colleges this fall. (she is a high school senior). It does all work out , but somedays you won't believe it. Take one day at a time and be thankful of the time you do get to spend with your family. think quality no quantity. Good luck to all.

London88 · Jun 8, 2004

Passingas

I have to say that your comment on the deterioration in dressing by the end of the first semester hit home. I had to laugh when I first read it because it is such an accurate description of waht happens. The only thing I will disagree with you on is the chapstick. That would require time to go to the store. How about just reaching for the jar of vaseline!