Do Nursing Students Have a Life?

NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN · Feb 16, 2015

Ok, clearly we need to know more info from the OP's life situation. 18/single/no kids/no rent is much different from 30/married/baby/mortgage/household maintance because of a career change, not being uneducated. When I hear people talk about having a "life" they are usually referring to free time/recreational activities. Today more people are going back to school because of the economy or new interests and have already started living their life. I wasn't a young mom either.

erica2117 · Feb 16, 2015

I worked full time during nursing school, did full clinicals, and had a boyfriend who lived an hour away and I still made sure I drove and saw him and stayed with him every Friday-Monday. I studied my butt off and got good grades and stayed on the honor roll. I went out with my friends, I went to the bars and enjoyed my life. There were times where I felt like I had no life and I had to occasionally say no to different activities if I had to study, but there were nights I was posted up on the couch studying during football. Multitasking and prioritizing is where it comes into play. study every spare second you have. Carry your notebook of critical notes around, do extra nclex questions in the waiting room before your doctors appointments or at the checkout at the grocery store... every couple minutes helps and then you can use that spare time that you freed up to do something fun :)

NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN · Feb 16, 2015

Well working full-time, taking care of baby, being in a marriage and maintaining a home is all life outside of nursing school. Clearly nursing school wasn't the only thing you did with your life if you had time for all of the above.

I made time for all of the above. Going to school does not excuse one from other responsibilities. What it does do is leave very little time for anything else that would easily be done if not attending nursing school...I never considered getting less than 4-5 hours a sleep a night healthy but it was what I had to do in order to study...I didn't have child care. Studying happened when my child was sleeping. Study's have been done that show a young child demands their caregivers attention every 3.5 minutes...I guess if I had better time management skills I could of squeezed the studying in then.

mrsboots87 · Feb 16, 2015

Hey Everyone!
I am going to be a nursing student this coming fall, currently I'm taking medical term, speech and intro to computers. I keep reading all of these things about nursing students not having a life, under so much stress and spend all their time studying. I'm getting a little nervous about all of those thing and I just wanted some real advice from nursing student about the myths that a lot of incoming nursing students hear. So do nursing students have a life?

Nope. We wither up and die after succumbing to the dreading nursing program!!

All kidding aside, whether you are able to enjoy things outside of school or not will depend on you. I, personally, just went on a weekend getaway for 2 days and have a test coming up Thursday. I feel well prepared and know my material. So I will study a bit this week and do a good amount of NCLEX practice questions, but outside of that I feel confident going in. This is usual for me. I study as I go and pick up the content easily so I have plenty of time for school, family, work part time, and study. I do very well in all my nursing courses. However, I have a couple friends in school who have to study every waking minute of the day to be able to barely pass. They have pretty much no life outside of school. So it will jsut depend on you. Try not to worry about it and just take it day by day until you learn what works for you and what you can fit in outside of school. Even if you need to study harder then others, make sure to at least take a couple hours a week to do something for you and relax so you dont get too overwhelmed.

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Feb 16, 2015

I was a non-traditional student during my LPN and RN programs (older, out of high school a loooonnnng time)

I had a husband, 2 daughters, a home to run, a full time job and full time school. I managed. My husband and girls kicked in to help with things I normally did. This freed up time for me to study, do homework etc. I always knew what was due when and what could wait. I scheduled everything around that. I still saw friends and family, was still able to do things, however not as much or as frequently as I had prior..but I did not become a shut in hermit during school. Was it easy..no...but it is do-able. Had I had to do it over I would have loved to not work to free up more 'me' and 'family/friends' time but I got through it.

jetfuel · Feb 17, 2015

In a word, "no."

But then, you can't (and shouldn't try) to put nursing school into a word, or a sentence, or even a book. It's a life - a lifestyle, an almost-all-encompassing occupation, energizing you and draining you all at the same time.

It's a fascinating journey, full of experience and revelation and wonder.

It's an incredible time and labor that I will treasure the rest of my life, and one that I would never want to have to repeat.

Short answer: when someone asks me, "how's nursing school?" I always reply with two sentences:

"I frickin' HATE nursing school! I frickin' LOVE nursing school!"

If you aren't dedicated to it and passionate about becoming a nurse, and don't already see yourself as one deep inside, for heaven's sake, don't do it! It will destroy you!

However, if you find personal satisfaction in making people's lives better, or keeping watch over those who cannot, and you know that the soul of a nurse is driving you, you had better do it!

Keep your eye on "the prize" - follow your soul. And if it is a nurse's soul, you are meant to become a nurse.

No one will be ever able to honestly tell you that it's easy - or even that it's less than very, very difficult.

Don't give up on your dreams just because they're difficult to realize. Most worthwhile endeavors are.

Soliloquy, MSN, APRN, NP · Feb 17, 2015

Before I started nursing school, I kept on hearing how nursing students didn't have a life and how I would have no life, etc and I got scared. I heard a lot of things about nursing that proved to be untrue for me and continues to prove to be untrue. I had TONS of time to do stuff and I still passed my classes, passed the NCLEX, got a fantastic job with amazing support so I can't complain.

You'll have time if you make the time and learn to set your priorities. I was never a party girl, always valued my sleep, skin, emotional, psychology, and spiritual state and quality of life above all else. So it wasn't hard for me at all.

strawberryluv, BSN, RN · Feb 17, 2015

It depends on your time management skills and your innate ability to do well.

caffineaddict · Feb 17, 2015

I think it's more about time management and efficient studying than anything else. Find what works for you regarding studying, and stick with it. Some people work best with text based studying, and some work better with pictures. There are study tools out there for everyone. Just know that life doesn't have to end as a nursing student as long as you prioritize and manage time effectively.

elizabethhRN · Feb 17, 2015

The quick honest answer is no. The longer answer is- sometimes, maybe haha. Depending on my semester of school and the difficulty of the classes I was still able to do some fun things with friends outside of nursing school. It's really mostly about prioritizing your time. You're in nursing school a short time (though it feels like forever, I know). So maybe skip some fun things now so you can study, and know that when this is all over you can have your fun. I always had a lot of fun with the people I was actually in school with though. You end up basically feeling like you know your classmates better than anyone else!

Nibbles1 · Feb 17, 2015

I worked every weekend. I went to school Mon thru Fri. We did 16 care plans per month. We had to be at clinicals at 3am or 5am. We had tests on Mon and Friday. No I did not have a life. And yes I am EXCELLENT at time management.

zzbxdo · Feb 17, 2015

If you hound the forums, you're gonna detect more negatives than positives. Stop logging on allnurses and enjoy your time off. Transitioning to nursing education is tough, but it really is just how you cope and your individual school demands. Best to walk into your program office, scout some seniors and ask them yourself. I personally loathe writing, and my last 2/6 semesters had tons of it this it was a time killer for me. I worked part time and interned 60+ hrs/week on my summers off. But your results may vary.