Finances while in LPN school

Nursing Students LPN/LVN Students

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Wondering if anyone works while in school? Or how else are you paying for the bills?

I am married with 2 kids. They are in school, but we need around $900 a month X 10 month program to pay for the bills my husband's income can't cover. I don't want to work during school so I can concentrate on my studies. I'd like to stay as debt free as possible, but that is going to be impossible I'm afraid.

I'm saving like crazy until school starts but will be way short. I'm looking into a grant from Labor Dept. We make too much money for me to qualify for much financial aid too.

I feel so stuck. :banghead: I want this soooo badly, but I feel the world is against it. Should I just go into some debt and be better off in the long run? Please, any advise/support will be appreciated. :D

Specializes in Rehab, CICU, ICU Pulmonary, ER, OB.
My suggestion: Go to the local hospitals and take what you can get, even housekeeping or dietary. Why? Because once you are there you can move around the system. Also, even part timers get tuition reimbursement. I started as a registrar and now I'm an LPN. The hospital where I worked paid for my LPN and my current hospital is paying for my RN. I took what I could get and ran with it. Look for facilities with nursing homes, lots of corporations will pay for your LPN even if you work in the hospital and then transfer you to a nursing home to fulfill your committment. Good luck!

GREAT ADVICE!!!

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hmmm finances while in school. well have none! hehe

my hubby now works 48 hrs a week to meet the mortgage pmt. right now i work 30 hrs a week for health ins and groceries. yeah i make that little.

ill work 20hrs 2/10 hour shifts over the weekends. just for health ins. i work in a LTC , who will not help me at all. theyre cheap somethings!!

anyway. hubby will keep his 48 hrs. he quit smokin to save the money. well be on really tight budget. hundred dollars a week for food. and NO spending. no christmas, no bdays. well pay for school with a loan. its going to be tight and hubbys gonna have to cook dinner at night so i can study. its a sacrifice. we have to put off kids, i cant get pregnant until dec. but.... i did out the numbers with both of us at nurses pay. and wowey, thats what we keep looking at.

its so worth the sacrifice.!!!!!!!!!!

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Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately all of my experience is as an administrative assistant and even that is not recent. I did wait tables in high school for a couple of weeks but then I dumped a huge glass of ice water on someone and that was the end of that, lol. I'm sure I can find something somewhere though. I've bounced around doing a little of this and a little of that for the past 10 years, never focusing on any one thing long enough to be considered "experienced" in anything. I just started working on my resume and it reads like a who's who of out of business IT companies and administrative temp agencies, lol.

But it will work out one way or another. :) It always does.

Stay positive! You and I are in very similar situations, But I still am working FT and wont quit until I'm ready to start school.

So why do you need a job now? To get $$ for another car? Can you carpool to school? Perhaps someone will buy the junker that broke down on you, that would help. Even if it's pennies on the dollar.

Good luck and keep us posted :=]

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I dont want to jinx myself but I have an interview with a local hospital tomorrow morning for a position of IDEAL hours... weekend days and flexible weeknights totalling 56 hrs every 2 weeks.

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Specializes in Hospice, ER.

Hosptial Interview Tips:

Make sure you look professional. Wear a nice outfit and sit erect. Present yourself as a professional. Look interested. Don't talk over the interviewer. I'm sure you know this, but just reminders. A good first impression starts the interview off on a good note. Seen folks come in looking like they just crawled out of bed, didn't get the job. STAY POSITIVE and focus on your future as a nurse. Also, not to start a debate, but remove facial jewelry, tongue jewerly, and cover up tattoos is possible. Nothing wrong with these things, but think of a conservative manager. Lots of my coworkers have these things but keep them low key at work. First they got the job, then these things reappeared.

Good luck!!

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We bought me a car for school (paid in full, kind of a junker that was just supposed to get me through LPN school and till I found a job to get a nicer car) Well... it lasted about 3 days and died. The seller gave us about 1/4 of what I paid for it back, and told us to resell the car, which has not worked. So now I'm freaking out about not having a car, my books costing more than I had expected, and trying to figure out how to pull an extra $560 p/mo just for childcare out of thin air.

I'm sorry to hear about that lemon of a car that you bought. I hope that you didn't pay too much for it. I too just bought a used car, paid in full, just for the purpose of getting me through LPN school (ending next June), instead of buying a more expensive car. So far, it runs good, but I think it needs a new tire. I wish you good luck with your financial situation and your job search. :)

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I am getting a summer job to save some money, but other than that, I will be relying on the mercy of Jesus and good ol hubby:)

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thanks so much for all the feedback. I wore a suit to my interview and I think I looked pretty sharp. The HR lady that brought me over to the dept to interview was wearing something similar too so I know I didn't overdress. I saw two women in the HR office when I got there (the receptionist and an applicant) and they were really really dressed down compared to me, so I was a bit concerned.

But all in all I think it went pretty well. I didn't get a "yes that job is MINE" vibe, but I do think that if I don't get this one I'm a good candidate for other positions at the same hospital.

It was actually a lot of fun just to get out of the house, dress up, talk to well spoken adults and get a mini tour of the hospital and their specialties.

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I know when an interviewer shows you around the place, that's a good sign. They wouldn't bother wasting their time if they didn't like you.

Good luck!:yeah:

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Specializes in Hospice, ER.

Don't worry what other people wore. YOU looked professional. This is very telling - says "I care." Sounds like you made a great impresson and even if this didn't come thru, they will remember you. It also raised your self confidence, so you already won! Good luck!:yeah:

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Hey debanam were u in medical billing prior to getting that registration job because its like the local hospital here in fl where I live won't give me a break I applied for patient registration like 3 times and haven't gotten a call back yet its really stressful because I would really like to have the job I even tried dietary its like I can't get a call back I have 6 years in customer service I would think that would be enough and its like u have to have hospital exp or medical exp I'm like that's what I'm tryna get with your hospital is the exp. Should I volunteer with them I mean I just wanna get my foot in the door sory if this message is too loonng I just had to get this fustation out any advice would be greatly appreciated

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Specializes in Hospice.

I really do wish you a lot of blessing with this situation. I know how hard it is, just about all of us here are dealing with the same thing in different ways.

I got offered a flex position at the local hospital in housekeeping, but turned it down because I'm scared I won't be able to full-time school, work, 2 kids and my mom, who has cancer. I don't have any help with my mama and my kids, so I have to be very careful. I got laid off last month from a job that was willing to work with the hours I needed, and now make more in unemployment than I did working. So I'm holding on to my unemployment for dear life, and once I lose that will be depending on child support to get me to and from school. Thus far I've been paying my mom 400.00 a month to help offset her bills, and taking care of the house for her. I won't be able to pay her anymore after I start school and it's eating me alive.

Just 1 year of struggling for all of us for the most part, and then it's over. hopefully!

If it helps at all, jobs have always been very receptive to me when I tell them 'I was a homemaker until just after my divorce.' The same thing applies to you. your situation changed dramatically. In your cover letter or on a description on your application, mention briefly that IN SPITE of the fact that you've been a homemaker for the past however many years which explains your lack of employment history, you still maintain: and then list whatever skills you have and how they've helped out your employers in the past.

Also, I always offer to work the shifts nobody works. A gas station is the perfect place for that as crappy as it sounds. Tell them you'll work the holidays and weekends in exchange for them not touching your school schedule. That worked REALLY well for me.

Also, the hospital thing is a good idea too. Actually, it's the best in my opinion. Although, be forewarned. The hospitals here in Pa. require a child abuse background check that can take a month before you can start working for them, even in housekeeping. That's something to think about.

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