Diabetic and nursing school

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Hi everyone. I'm concerned about being a diabetic and being in nursing school. I'm worried I won't get the chance to eat or eat healthy enough to maintain a balance in my body. I live a very healthy lifestyle, always been in good shape... I'm so worried I"ll get so busy and stop exercising and begin eating bad foods. Anybody else in nursing school with diabetes? How do you keep a balance?

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Specializes in Primary Care; Child Advocacy; Child Abuse; ED.

There were a couple type 1 diabetics in our class and they informed everyone and were given appropriate time to eat and take insulin when needed. Don't be afraid honesty will work for you :)

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We always were allowed to eat during lectures because we had straight classes from 8-12 am then like 30 min for lunch and three more hours of classes. Don't be afraid to pack healthy snacks and bring them with you!

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I would think Nursing school would be the most accommodating for someone with a health issue like diabetes? Nothing I did was terribly stressful like my job in a nursing home. I think most girls would quit nursing school if they had to do a shift as a real CNA. We did one clinical as a CNA at the nursing home and it was very easy.

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Continue to exercise and eat healthy

You get lunch at clinical

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Specializes in CMSRN.

It won't be the easiest thing to eat well during nursing school but it's definitely possible. Our instructors didn't mind if we ate in class, as long as it wasn't loud or obtrusive. Also, we got a 5-10 min break every hour during lecture and could eat then as well. Planning is the key to make sure you have healthy meals/snacks.

Clinicals are a bit more tricky but as others have said, being transparent and open about your diabetes will be the key there. All of my instructors encouraged students to bring healthy snacks and take a quick 5-10 minute break when they needed it. There were times we would go from 7:00 am - 2:00 pm before we got a real lunch break and most of us had to have a quick snack long before then. If you are clear with your instructors they should be very understanding and accommodating to make sure you stay healthy and safe during your shifts.

Good luck!

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Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care.

Good day, amberdawn85:

While your concerns are valid, you should be fine. College is not like high school, as long as you are respectful in how you go about taking a bite to eat or drink, most professors will not mind if you do so during lecture (labs are most likely another story for safety reasons). You should be the one mostly in charge of your schedule; so you can allot time for meals.

At the school I'm attending, classes that have long lectures (i.e. two or more hours), typically have a short break halfway through where you could have something to eat if you didn't feel comfortable doing so in the class itself.

In terms of exercise, a lot will do with how you organize your day; if you make the time for exercise, you can get in exercise. If you tape record lectures, you could even do a form of studying while you exercise by re-listening to the lectures.

Thank you.

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Thanks everyone! Glad to know that the instructors let you eat and take breaks. I was scared of everything being go go go. Recording the lectures is a great idea! I have 3 kids and I'm super busy so anything that gets 2 things done at once is wonderful!

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