Do you have a job while in clinicals?

AuntieRN · May 26, 2006

Hi maggiesmama, I held a fulltime position while in my first 3 semesters of nursing. I had clinicals every week and in the summer semester I had them twice a week. It was hard but doable. Now that I am in my last semester I only work 2 12s on the weekends. Good luck

shock-me-sane · May 26, 2006

i work about 25-30 hours a week and have done so for the past 3 quarters. it sucks, but i have to pay for rent somehow. i also do take out the student loans. there is time, you just have to be good with your time management and it also depends on how much time you need to study, some people need more hours with the books than others.

vegetarian_goddess · May 26, 2006

yeah, but only 5 hrs. a week.

Daye · May 26, 2006

I was blessed to not have to rely on my income, and I often wondered if i had needed to work while in school could I have done it? Many of my classmates worked usually 1 or maybe 2 days a week is all.

MIA-RN1, RN · May 26, 2006

I worked 18 - 20 hours a week all thru nursing school, with both school and work being only M-F. ya do what ya gotta do. I know others who worked full time and still did it. None that I know of with a new baby tho!

Achoo!, LPN · May 26, 2006

I work 2 shifts a week, Friday nights and 10 hour Sundays. Our instructors flat out told us we should NOT work during our clinical days as we will need time to do our paperwork for the following day, med cards etc..

luv2shopp85 · May 26, 2006

I got lucky with my job....I've had it for 2 years. Actually I have 2 of hte same job so I'm REALLY LUCKY!

Basically what I do is "babysit" old people. I take care of an old couple who both have Parkinsons. I normally work evenings 4-10 just 2 nights a week. I make their dinner for them, do light housework, and help them get into bed. I'm pretty much only working less than an hour while I'm there. The rest of the time I either watch Television with them or I STUDY! YESSSS... I get to study! I love it! Its really a great job and I don't know what I'd do without it.

I also take care of a lady who has alzheimers... I go to her house every morning and every night. I just go there to change her briefs and everything... just to make sure she's not sitting in a wet pad all night. There are other people who are there during the day to take care of her.

I like these 2 jobs because I'm able to study, they kind of prepare me for nursing and I get paid good money! I make 800 a month under the table!

Annabelle57 · May 26, 2006

I work one shift a week (12 hrs) on a med-surg floor as a tech while I go through nursing school. I actually got the job while finishing up prereqs, so entering clinicals was less intimidating because I was already familiar with the environment. I do have some student loans, and my husband works full-time, but he is also finishing up his master's degree, so we couldn't live on just his salary alone. Twelve hours a week isn't a lot, but something is better than nothing. Plus, all the experience really helps me understand what I am learning in school, and all the RNs at work let me do extra stuff (under supervision) that I might normally not get the chance to do as a tech. When semester breaks come, I work a lot of hours for some extra income.

I am in an accelerated BSN program, and the volume of work is large - they recommend that we do not work more than 10-15 hours a week, if we work at all. There's just too much work to do!

ChadleyNC · May 28, 2006

I work full time during the day, that means at min 8 hrs per day 5 days a week. Usually I end up working about 43-45 hrs per week total. I attend classes at night and I have clinicals on weekends. I'm in my 3rd semester and i can not stop working as my partner and I are in no position for me to not work. I mean, it sounds silly to say it, but we do need to eat and pay our mortgage. I've asked a few times about quitting my position at work and just going to school fulltime, I am certain my GpA would be higher and whil that would be nice, we would have no utilities and our house would be foreclosed within a few months of me no longer working. I also owe a huge amt of stdent loans already for my BA and do not wish to add to that amt.

So if you don't have to work, then more power to ya, and if you do have to, It's doable, you just have to manage your time wisely and remember it's not the fault of those more fortunate that you may have had little or no sleep the night before . LOL

Good Luck to you

Chadley

BeccaznRN, RN · Jun 4, 2006

I tried to hold a job as a tech (2 12-hour shifts per week) for my third semester - it proved to be too much for me. Some people are able to hold jobs, full-time and part-time, and be successful nursing students. Some cannot. It will depend on your own personal needs and situation(s). I have relied heavily on student loans to get me through school.