Part time

dudette10, MSN, RN · Mar 1, 2014

Clinical hours are usually no more than a shift (12 or 8 hours) twice a week, maybe even less. My question is, if you are unable to withstand a full clinical week, how limited are your work hours going to be once you become a nurse?

I think you need to think past cutting clinical hours and consider more your ability to find a job that suits your needs once you graduate. Desk jobs are available for nurses, but as with all nursing jobs, they are not easy to come by, and many require traditional nursing experience.

I'm not sure why you would choose to go into such a physically demanding profession if you already know your job choices are quite limited.

This might sound "mean" to some--like I'm stomping on your decision to become a nurse--but I just want you to think it through before you invest two years of your life and a significant monetary investment in a profession that you may not be able to do.

allnurses Guide · Mar 1, 2014

Schools require a certain number of clinical hours to graduate. I am not sure how part time will figure into the equation. At a minimum it will delay your ability to graduate but it may not be considered a reasonable accommodation given the way the program is set up. You will absolutely have to disclose your disability and requirements before starting the program.

In terms of research nursing, generally you will need several years of acute care nursing experience in a hospital. If you can only work part time the number of years you will need of that will double. Whether you can get an acute care job as a two year RN depends largely on where you live. In many parts of the country BSN is now the gold standard for acute care.

i too am wondering if nursing is a reasonable choice for your situation. There are other, less physically demanding, jobs in healthcare.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Mar 1, 2014

The school does not have the discretion to decrease clinical hours for students-- if you want to graduate, you need to perform a certain number of clinical hours as part of your education to satisfy the Board of Nursing that you have had an accredited education.

Did you not know this when you applied to nursing school? With so many new grads out of work, do you think it will be easy (or even feasible) to find a job as a grad when you cannot fulfill the bona fide requirements of the position?

As to getting into CV research, if you mean to do it as an RN, you would need at a minimum some years of solid experience in some aspect of CV nursing -- CCU, cardiac/vascular surgery, CV rehab, general cardiology, or some such. You won't find a new grad job with limited shift hours there. And researchers will likely prefer a BSN or even MN.

Maybe something else would be better, or you can rethink your disability to see if your limits can be stretched. Even with a diagnosis of PPD, you can improve. I have had people call up the insurance company years later and tell them to stop sending the checks, because they got better. Obviously I have no idea what your disability is, other than the fact that it doesn't affect your ability to lift, but see if you and your physician (or another physician) can work on that.

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Mar 1, 2014

Have you asked how much you'll be in clinical to begin with? When I was in school, the most we did was 6-8 hours twice a week; we were never on the floor for 8 hours though, b/c that time included pre- and post-conference. Internship required a set number of hours in a set period of time; we had to work whenever our preceptor did, including 12 hour shifts, nights, weekends. But it was a very limited amount of time...I want to say four or six weeks? It was the final part of the final semester.

I would just talk to your school's disability center and your program's PTB, and ask what kind of reasonable accommodations can be made. But through the vast majority of your program, clinical hours ARE part-time, and like PP said you have to do all of the hours.

There are jobs available for ADN's. The prevalence, setting, and candidate pool varies by location.

As for research positions, I'm guessing you might need a MSN, although I could be wrong about that. For sure you'd need a BSN at minimum. And as far as I know, all nontraditional nursing work requires prior bedside experience.

Room4me · Mar 1, 2014

Thanks for the advice! I've had myself, mainly, telling me about what I can't do for many years already. No more, though. I know there's a place for me. I am excited about healthcare and the biology of healthcare and through a lot of vet clinic experience I know that iam very good at it.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Mar 1, 2014

Thanks for the advice! I've had myself, mainly, telling me about what I can't do for many years already. No more, though. I know there's a place for me. I am excited about healthcare and the biology of healthcare and through a lot of vet clinic experience I know that iam very good at it.

Yes, well....as a disabled nurse myself...you need to realize that nursing is a tough physical job. Research jobs aren't in abundance. For a RN it will require a BSN or MSN preferred.

While your experience in a vet clinic is admirable it has little to do with human medicine. Why not consider vet tech? since you already have an affinity.

There is no nursing shortage. Hospitals are beginning to hire only BSN grads. Research will be even more selective and require some experience.

What is your disability? The school may accommodate you but the hospital may not. You still need to meet them minimal requirements and then they may decide IF they can accommodate you. The ADA states that the accommodation may not cause "undue hardship" on the employer.

I have not found the profession very accommodating.

NightNurseRN13 · Mar 1, 2014

Home health and/or PDN may be an option for you. Some of my cases, I am lifting my patients and others there is no lifting at all. Most require 1 year experience before they hire you though.

Like others have said, I don't think asking for part time hours is going to work, but you def. should talk to your instructors about options.

KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN · Mar 2, 2014

From personal experience:

- get your doctor's note with your DS and clearly stated limits of what you can and can't do.

- with it, go to the Dean's office or to the highest administrator in school you can reach. Try to do it before start of the semester. Explain your situation and ask for personalysed plan or other reasonable accomodations. Formally, what you're doing is covered by ADA and school should at least attempt to accomodate you. Be ready to have your education time stretched to get your "X" hours to graduate.

- it should not be your job to tell your clinical instructor about your needs. You may, tbough, be asked to work additional days to compensate for the missed time, and you may have to pay for this. In my place it was 35 bucks/hour.

- use the above point to your advantage. Every hospital has desk jobs for nurses, and they can be suitable for a new grad. You have to market yourself really hard for that and become really well-known in local people network.

- if you got time, money and/ or some additional marketable skills, use them. If you find a job, description of which suits you well, do whatever it takes to get into that profession's universe.

In my now former place, I knew several students (not counting myself) who needed temporary or permanent "special accomodations". Every one of them made it through the school, and every one is working now. I couldn't do some home care visits, so i did part of the clinicals in LTC and had no problems. And a guy who basically couldn't move anything over 10 lbs. is grabbing 200% of typical new grad salary by utilizing his BSN and previous IT degree byd doing EMR developing.

KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN · Mar 2, 2014

Yes, well....as a disabled nurse myself...you need to realize that nursing is a tough physical job. Research jobs aren't in abundance. For a RN it will require a BSN or MSN preferred.
While your experience in a vet clinic is admirable it has little to do with human medicine. Why not consider vet tech? since you already have an affinity.
There is no nursing shortage. Hospitals are beginning to hire only BSN grads. Research will be even more selective and require some experience.
What is your disability? The school may accommodate you but the hospital may not. You still need to meet them minimal requirements and then they may decide IF they can accommodate you. The ADA states that the accommodation may not cause "undue hardship" on the employer.
I have not found the profession very accommodating.

Well, nursing is in fact more "accomodating" than, for example, many areas of human medicine. Problem is in finding the precise place, but after that "there is the will, there is a way".

One of the most amazing nurses I've met is a local cancer center case manager who is legally blind. She never did anything administrative before being diagnosed and given bad prognosis, and never worked in onco as well. She managed to get super-speedy MSN right before losing her sight. She is the patients' favorite, as they think that she doesn't see what their bodies became after cancer treatment, she is respected and successful and makes money. Sure there are not many more like her, but how many professions will accomodate a person with such a severe disability?

roser13, ASN, RN · Mar 2, 2014

Thanks for the advice! I've had myself, mainly, telling me about what I can't do for many years already. No more, though. I know there's a place for me. I am excited about healthcare and the biology of healthcare and through a lot of vet clinic experience I know that iam very good at it.

I'm very happy for your level of confidence. It will serve you well. I doubt, however, that your vet clinic experience will transfer into human clinical experience and you should not have expectations that it will.

The other aspect to consider is that while nursing CAN BE a flexible, part-time occupation, those types of positions are usually available only after several years of full-time experience in the related field. Nursing school & clinicals are just a fraction of the required education for any type of nursing position.

Please do yourself a favor and read all of these responses, while giving them your serious consideration.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Mar 2, 2014

Well, nursing is in fact more "accomodating" than, for example, many areas of human medicine. Problem is in finding the precise place, but after that "there is the will, there is a way".
One of the most amazing nurses I've met is a local cancer center case manager who is legally blind. She never did anything administrative before being diagnosed and given bad prognosis, and never worked in onco as well. She managed to get super-speedy MSN right before losing her sight. She is the patients' favorite, as they think that she doesn't see what their bodies became after cancer treatment, she is respected and successful and makes money. Sure there are not many more like her, but how many professions will accomodate a person with such a severe disability?

I worked with a wonderful nurse who is legally blind (uncorrected) and she works in cath lab. I worked with a nurse who was born with only one full arm...yet she functions equally with everyone else.

When is the last time you saw a nurse, nurse educator, manager, administrator... with a cane or needed a scooter/wheelchair? Who's physical limitations limit their physicality? A nursing program that allowed a student to go part time to accommodate their disability limitations? An educator/administrator/manager nurse who uses an assistive advice while working? Clinical hours are set to a required limit within a set time constraint.

I am a perfectly capable, educated, experienced RN for 35 years. When my disease made it necessary to use an electric chair my educator position was eliminated due to budget constraint....until I was gone. They suddenly found they money again and hired someone younger and NOT disabled. I am no longer employable. I can't even get a telephone triage job. No one wants a sick nurse.

While anything is possible you need to have a plan B in case it doesn't work out. Even if the OP gets into and finishes school and passes NCLEX there is no guarantee he/she will be hired.

The thought of the ADA is great in theory and it helps many of us but it has it's limitations as well. You have NO IDEA how inaccessible places are to a wheelchair...until you need one. The next time you are in a clothing store or a 7-11...think about navigating those isles in a chair with wheels.

Think about being on wheels every time you cross a street and STEP off the curb, get in an elevator full of people, swim in a pool on vacation...attend a public event, get on a bus or train. Think about sitting and wheeling yourself around. I am not complaining (well a little) I am proud of myself and the challenges I face. For me...the glass is half full. I have plenty of will but there is not always a way.

Praemonitus praemunitus or forewarned is forearmed

OP always have a plan B