Commute

CountryMomma, ASN, RN · Jun 23, 2016

I traveled 40 miles, uphill both ways, through 4 ft of snow, by mule...

Lol. My commute was only 25min to lecture but up to 3.5 hrs for clinicals. I live in an extreme, yet rural state, so bad weather was more of an issue than traffic/parking. I drank a lot of coffee, listened to a lot of loud music, and offered to carpool. Good tires, an emergency kit, and good music were essential.

I used the time to unwind.

oldsockventriloquist · Jun 23, 2016

I traveled 40 miles, uphill both ways, through 4 ft of snow, by mule...
Lol. My commute was only 25min to lecture but up to 3.5 hrs for clinicals. I live in an extreme, yet rural state, so bad weather was more of an issue than traffic/parking. I drank a lot of coffee, listened to a lot of loud music, and offered to carpool. Good tires, an emergency kit, and good music were essential.
I used the time to unwind.

That must have taken awhile to get there by mule. On a serious note, how early were you waking up for clinical, if it was first thing in the morning? Hopefully, you didn't have your clinicals on back-to-back days. But even with regular lecture, you are talking about not a lot of sleep in school, unless you went to sleep in the evening.

dorkypanda · Jun 24, 2016

So my school was about 20ish to 30 mins from home but that varies on what time I leave home and if there is a lot of traffic. My class started at 8 I left around 640 or 630 am to get to school around 7 or so, I like being a bit early. Clinicals kind of varied location wise. Once I clinical located about 6 mins from school so my usual route was similar but I had to be on the nursing floor by 630am so I woke up by 4:25 ish or 4:30 if I'm good or 4:40 if I slept a bit. I'll leave around 530am or a bit later and get there a bit early, enough time to chill and walk to the hospital. Always give yourself time to find parking and walking distance to the hospital. Depending on where you can park whether it be a short distance away or on visitor parking you need that extra time. You may find yourself parking in a parking structure maybe 10-15 mins away from the hospital or on the actual visitor/patient parking lots if allowed. There was another semester where I did park in a structure 15 Mins from the hospital, plenty of parking if you come early. I also parked in the visitor area and depending on what hour you came it can be quite busy and the parking lot is very full. I noticed that there are certain busy hours but it varied on the days. You can also park on the street too. My tip is to leave at a time you are comfortable. If you want to be early, leave at a time where traffic is not terrible and congested. Sometimes a few minutes or so can make a difference and you can't always account for the random things that can happen where it makes traffic worse like 4 lanes on the freeway must become 1 lane all the way to the left.

barcode120x, RN, NP · Jun 24, 2016

My school was 20 minutes without traffic from my place. With usual morning traffic, commute would range from 30-40 minutes. Our classes were always scheduled at 7am which allowed EVERYONE to have no issues with parking. All other classes at my CC started no earlier than 8am. It was nice not to have to deal with parking, but waking up early sucks. Then again, I was more fortunate than my fellow classmates to live live closer than they did. Halfway through the program, I ended up carpooling with a classmate. Made it nice to have company on the way to and from school.

NurseEmmy · Jun 24, 2016

I show up early. If parking is an issue get there before classes start. I would definitely get there early before clinicals. You NEVER want to be late to those!

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jun 25, 2016

My LVN program was 95 miles away from my home one-way. At the time ('04 and '05) I lived in Bakersfield, California and commuted into the thick traffic of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. I made the 190-mile round trip drive five days per week for 12 months. Somehow I made it work.

The LPN-to-ASN program was 220 miles away from my home one-way. I live in Fort Worth, Texas and crossed state lines to attend a school in Oklahoma City for 14 months ('09 to '10). I drove to school every Tuesday morning and stayed in an apartment on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. School days were Tue/Wed/Thu. I made the drive back home to Texas every Thursday evening.

There are reasons why my user name is 'TheCommuter.'

alohalife · Jun 26, 2016

My commute is 66 miles round trip. It takes me an hour. And in the snow (Maine) it can take me upwards of 2 because it's all back roads.

I suck it up knowing that it's short term. I actually like the 'decompress time' alone with no one talking to me!