Family support through nursing school

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Please help, I am a junior in college and just completed my first semester in the RN program. I also have a job at an assisted living residency for alzheimer's that I work at EVERY sat fron 3-11pm. I am stressed beyond imaginable and I dont know how to tell my family and boyfriend the kind of support I need (mainly my boyfriend). We have been together for 4 1/2 years and all of the sudden we argue quite a bit over petty little things. He feels that I chose this career so I should be able to suck it up and take it when it comes to stress. How do I explain to him that I love this career that I have choosen but that doesn't mean its not hard! I need support through this and it's only stressing me out more trying to explain this to him. Please help me...

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It is difficult from your post to tell the source of the stress. It appears that you are relying on others, especially your boyfriend to "take care" of your stress for you.

Can you be more specific about what is causing problems? You mention you work EVERY Saturday night. Is that it? Is he whining because you can't have date night on Saturday? Or are you?

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I agree with the previous post. Nursing school can be really stressful at times. Sometimes, relationships can add to your stress unnecessarily. It is up to you to decide how much you can handle and how important Nursing School is to you. When I started, a whole lot of changes had to be made in regards to my personal life. But I am okay with that, b/c I am focused on finishing school. I don't get a lot of support from my family but you just need to take a step back from the outside issues, and learn to lean on yourself for support. :0)

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I don't really agree with the above posts. It is important to have a good support system behind you, and that has been stressed through out the RN program I am in. I do agree that you cant blame others for your stress level and you should be accountable to your own feelings. I pretty much expect that I am not going to go out with friends, my big stress relief sometimes is just a 15 minute chat on the phone with my best friend. Some extra help around the house or your husband/boyfriend to watch the kids while you go somewhere quiet to study can really make a difference. So "Suck it up" as the big advice seems rude and insensitive. Yeah, you have to give it your all to make it, but to have people supporting you with the little things rather than having some dead weight dragging behind you really makes a big diff. If you have to cut the dead weight, just know that sometimes its better to have the person not being there at all than than making things more difficult--

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

I guess I am somewhere in the middle. Did your family/boyfriend make the decision to go to nursing school along WITH you? Meaning....did you discuss it beforehand, talk about the rigors required and discuss how to make it work for you both? If the answer is no, then you can ask for more support, but not expect it. If it was a decision you made together, then you need to work out together how to make this work for your household.

Honestly there isn't enough detail in the original post to really answer this with any sense of clarity. What is "support" to one person is no big deal to another. Some people's idea of support is to not have to do anything but school and/or work. Others is less stringent. It is hard for me to say if you are being reasonable without a clearer idea of what needing support means to you.

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