Day in the life of a nursing student??

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Hi everyone,

For the current nursing students out

There...can you go through a typical day of what times you are where??

Also wanted to know, is anyone a nursing student while also working?? Do you have set times you work? Does nursing school allow you to pick your clinical/class times?

Thanks in advance

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Our program doesn't let you choose anything. I'm in the LVN program and 1st semester was class on Monday and Tuesday from 8-1 and clinical Wednesday and Thursday 6:30-2:30. Off Friday.

Second semester, class Monday and Tuesday 8-4 and clinical Wednesday and Thursday 6:30-4:30.

Third semester, class Monday and Wednesday 8-1 and clinical Tuesday and Thursday 6:30-4:30.

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Specializes in Forensic Psych.

I can, but it'll probably be completely different than what your program will be like! We had class on Monday and Tuesday from 10-1, lab for 2 hours on either day either before or after class, and 12 hour clinicals on Wednesdays. We were off Th-Sun.

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We can't choose. We can say "XYZ works best for me" if we have kids, etc. But for the most part we are at the mercy of the coordinator!

I'm either in class all day and then I come home and study or I'm at clinical all day and I come home and study lol. This past semester, my schedule was:

Monday: Class 8:30-12.

Tuesday and Wednesday: Off

Thursday: Clinical 6a-2 p

Friday: Class 8:30-12, and then class again 1-4:30

Saturday: Clinical 6a-2 p

Sunday: Clinical 6a-2p

We had tests pretty much every Monday, and a careplan due every Monday at midnight so I had really busy weekends all summer!

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I know all programs are different it was just out of curiosity. I'm wondering for long term (applying this fall- acceptance would be in April) if I will eventually have to quit my job for nursing school. It is 2-6:30 M-F and not flexible on time at all (I do after school care for children). Looks like I'll have to :(

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Specializes in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.

Yes, you may need to find a different job with a more flexible schedule. I'm staying with my old job until I can find something that is flexible and nursing-related (it's a unicorn but we'll see). My first quarter, however, went like this:

School 6A-4P M/W with 2P-6P T

Work M/W 5-9, T 9:30-12:30 (I tried to avoid these shifts since I was full time but it was usually unavoidable so I had to go to part time since there weren't enough days in the week to get enough hours in -- boo!)

Then, about halfway through I quit completely. I don't really know why. I maybe was over-encouraged by my partner to quit and I thought I would get a better foundation in my studies. Then my schedule went like this:

School: same as above

Then, study study study study study work out clean study study study. Really to no benefit, though.

Working while you're in school can be done. I'm going back to do it because not doing so has been detrimental for me.

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Specializes in critical care.

I generally had class MWF 8-12:00. Clinicals 7:00-4:00 T/Th. I have kids and would pick them up from school 3:00-4:00. Hubs works 2nd shift, so me having a job was not possible.

ETA: afternoons from 1:00-3:00 MWF during the first year were spent in either preclinical or skills lab.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg, Psych, Geri, LTC, Tele,.

Wake up at 4:20.

Get me and my elementary school aged son dressed.

Take him to daycare

Drive to school where we met to carpool to our far away clinical sites

Start clinicals at 6:30am

Receive our assignments during preconference

Try to get out of preconference fast enough to help the nurses do their finger sticks and if we were lucky, get to give insulin with our instructor

Check on our assigned patients

Give showers, make beds all morning

Hope we get to assist on the wound tx cart

Lunch!

Back to clinicals

Try to squeeze in completing care plans while at the site, because I was too tired to write care plans at home after school.

Post conference! Discuss cool stuff we learned or ask questions about things we saw.

Drive home

Pick up my son

Talk on the phone with my classmates who were at different sites.

Eat dinner.

Go to sleep.

Repeat! We had clinicals 8 hrs per day 3 days per week.

I had so much fun!

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Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.

In our first semester, here's a typical week:

Mondays: Fundamentals lecture 8 am to 11. Break until 12, then Skills practice 12 pm to 3 pm

Tuesdays: Physical Assessment lecture 8 am to 10 am, break, then Physical Assessment practice lab 11 am to 1 pm. Clinical Documentation & Reasoning (optional, but you'd be crazy not to take it) 1:15 to 4:00 pm

Wednesdays: Fundamentals lecture 8 am to 11 am. Skills Proficiency exam 12 pm (draw a number, go in and demonstrate skills on pass/fail basis, if failed must remediate), Critical Thinking & Test Taking seminar (optional, but highly recommend) & Med Math review (another optional seminar)

Thursday - Clincals either 6:30 am to 12:30 pm or 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Must complete clinical paper work prior to next clinical day

Friday - Clinicals (same as above), turn in completed Day 2 clinical documentation by end of shift.

Weekend - STUDY!!!

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