Did you work while in Nursing school?

MaverickyMaverick · May 20, 2009

I did work study at my school and then got a job per diem at the hospital working 12-24 hour/wk as a CNA. it is very do-able but i don't know how others do 40/wk...they are miracle workers. good luck!

Chewie_123 · May 20, 2009

I worked 20-30 hours a week in a fun, not much thinking required, non-medical job. Gave me time to relax and shut the brain off for a bit. I did miss out on valuable study time, but kinda needed to pay rent/tuition/eat.

eriksoln, BSN, RN · May 20, 2009

Yes. I worked OT during breaks so I went into each semester with a small savings to rely on, then went part time during the semester. It worked well enough, but I was counting pennies all semester.

CECE,RN · May 20, 2009

couldn't work when i was n school. wouldv'e never got 2 c my family. had a great supportive man 2 get me and our family through though.

exit96 · May 20, 2009

I am just now getting started and THIS was a big question for me. I want so badly to do the Traditional program (2 yrs.) but with my CNA job=3 12 hr shifts/week, nights I thought it would be too tough. PLus I have a wife and kids at home and don't want to miss them growing up, even for a couple years, I have missed out on way too much in the past! SO I am working and will finish my ADN only 1 semester behind the 2 yr program that I was going to start...

Saifudin · May 20, 2009

This is historical (circa 1975-78) and a diploma program on-site in a small community hospital, but we were the main source for nursing aids and orderlies for the hospital. After foundation I, first semester, we could work and I worked most weekends. Also, male students (4 at the time) carried restraint keys. We had a pscyh unit on the top floor (5th) and anytime there was a "dr, strong 5 B" call, i.e. out-of-control psych patient we were expected to respond if we were in the hospital. In my senior year got hired in a larger teaching hospital and after graduation went f/t GN then RN.

eriksoln, BSN, RN · May 20, 2009

I am just now getting started and THIS was a big question for me. I want so badly to do the Traditional program (2 yrs.) but with my CNA job=3 12 hr shifts/week, nights I thought it would be too tough. PLus I have a wife and kids at home and don't want to miss them growing up, even for a couple years, I have missed out on way too much in the past! SO I am working and will finish my ADN only 1 semester behind the 2 yr program that I was going to start...

Oh, thats a great option. Go to school part time and only finish one semester behind. Had something like that been available to me, I would have done it.

beachbutterfly · May 20, 2009

I worked part-time during my last year of nursing school.

LilRedRN1973 · May 20, 2009

At the end of my first semester of nursing school (ADN program), I took a position as an Apprentice Nurse and worked two 12-hour night shifts Fri/Sat. I was also a mom of a 3 year old and 6 year old. My husband worked full time night shifts at a prison while attending school full time as well. Was it hard? Hell yes! But I wouldn't trade that experience for the world. If I could make it through that, I can make it through anything!

What was great about my job is that I learned how to be a nurse in the "real" world (not the way school teaches you) for well over a year before I graduated. When I finished school, I was very much prepared to be on my own and transitioned nicely into a full time position in the ICU, where I had been an Apprentice nurse. I would have been SO overwhelmed had I not had that experience! And the job paid pretty well, too.....$17/hour. If you don't have to work, that is wonderful. But there are benefits to working in a hospital environment while going to school. It can help prepare you for when you graduate and can also aid you in getting a job in the facility where you've worked as a student.