Will I burn out?

[esunada]

I'm taking anatomy and microbiology with labs next semester. I work 25 hrs a week as a waitress and I already volunteer 4 hrs a week at a hospital. I wanted to take on this volunteer opportunity where I would be a volunteer advocate for domestic abuse at another hospital. I'd be "on call" 2 shifts per month (10 hrs). The hospital is however a half hour from my house. It sounds like a really great opportunity.

It seems like everyone volunteers at a hospital, gets As, and has high motivation to be a nurse, so don't I need to stand out in some other way?

My boyfriend thinks I'm going to burn out if I do all this next semester. What do you guys think? Should I not do the domestic abuse gig/ postpone it? My interview is Tuesday so please advise! Thanks!

[Cherry2000]

Whether you burn out or not will depend on a few things. One, are you a good student? Does learning come easily to you or do you have to put in a lot of time and effort? How difficult are your programs A&P and micro classes? Generally speaking those are two pretty hefty classes to take together. They both usually require significant lab time.

Two, what kind of personal life do you have? Do you have kids? Are you willing to give up pretty much all of your personal life? It sounds like you would be to me. Is your boyfriend understanding about it?

This is a tough call because volunteering is a great opportunity. BUT don't throw your health away. Is there any way you could work fewer hours to compensate?

[FLmomof5]

I work FT with a spouse in the process of deploying. I have to volunteer a certain number of hours per term (school requirement).

I earned a 3.7 in my prereqs. I have dropped to a 3.4 since NS started. If you accept a 'B' as an OK grade to earn, you will eliminate a lot of the pressure on you.

[mld1980]

I took Anatomy, Physiology (separate classes), Pharm, and Abnormal Psych last semester while volunteering 4 hours a week (sometimes more) and working about 20-25 hours a week as a server as well. I got A's in all my classes.

Depending on how efficient you are at studying it's completely doable. There were some days where I went from 9am to 11pm without a break really, but it can be done!

Good luck :)