Working Night-Shift and Going to School

SusanJean · Dec 28, 2004

A fellow classmate of mine ( a few semesters ago) - premed- worked fulltime nights and carried a fulltime, heavy school load. He is/was from another country and had very limited resources.

As brilliant as he was, his school work suffered from his chronic fatigue. He was always falling asleep during classes and our study time together.

He was my "study buddy" for organic...absolutely brilliant... but he would miss tens of points that he knew just from being so tired.

oneLoneNurse · Jan 2, 2006

I'm going for an interview next Tuesday for a Unit Secretary position at a local hospital. The only hours that they have available is 7p-7a. I've never worked night shift before so I don't know if it would be for me or not. My biggest concern is, how can I keep up with my studies with those hours? I'm only taking A&P this semester on Monday and Wednesday evenings. Which isn't a big problem but what I'm concerned about is not getting enough sleep. So my question is, has anybody ever had a schedule like that and if so how did you make it?

Changing to this schedule tonight as well. I do think working 12s is different than working 8s. 8s were always a breeze, since you can sleep in the morning then 6-10. 7p to 7a does not have 6-10 sleep hours.

AuntieRN · Jan 3, 2006

I just started working 12 hour nights as well. I only work Friday and Saturday though...Sundays are a loss for me...can't sleep but can't seem to function to do anything either...LOL...I start back to school on Wed...doing my psych and 3rd med/surg (4th semester of 5)...hopefully this schedule will work for me...i figured it gave me lots of study time during the evening hours during the week....and I always say ya gotta do what cha gotta do to get through....good luck!!

CRNAhopefulguy · Jan 3, 2006

well i worked third shift while taking patho, micro, and nursing and i can tell u, that u wont have any time. u will be so tired. at least i was, but ur only taking one class, so thats not that bad, i had three and i was overwhelmed. itll burn u out and i took classes in the morning and trying falling asleep before work but never worked. and i worked a second job on top of it too, so 40 hrs night shift and then a second job ontop of class was a no no. try it out tho and see if u like it. its nice cuz ur working the hours most are sleeping and ur maximizing ur time which i liked, but couldn't adapt.

NHNurseMan · Jan 3, 2006

i am doing this currently, i work 7-7 2 or three days a week; oh yeah i just remembered i have 2 kids and a wife too....:chuckle :chuckle :chuckle :roll :roll i must say that exhausted is an understatment. thing is i actually get one day to sleep/spend with my family, and as one person said earlier it isn't that long. as another person said make sure you use care when driving or doing any hazardous work, and most importantly use care when going to clinicals, i never work the night before clinicals as mistakes in clinicals may get you kicked out of school, or worse you could do harm to a patient.

good luck in all of your endeavors!!!!!!

kevin

rn may 2006

lcbradley · Jan 4, 2006

i am doing this currently, i work 7-7 2 or three days a week; oh yeah i just remembered i have 2 kids and a wife too....:chuckle :chuckle :chuckle :roll :roll i must say that exhausted is an understatment. thing is i actually get one day to sleep/spend with my family, and as one person said earlier it isn't that long. as another person said make sure you use care when driving or doing any hazardous work, and most importantly use care when going to clinicals, i never work the night before clinicals as mistakes in clinicals may get you kicked out of school, or worse you could do harm to a patient.
good luck in all of your endeavors!!!!!!
kevin
rn may 2006

very good advice. i too worked nights in an assisted living facility during my first semester of school. for me, it worked well because i was able to study during down time. overall, i think it depends on the intensity of the job and how much studying at work others will tolerate.

gt4everpn, BSN, RN · Nov 30, 2007

you'll find a way! i have school in the day then go to work the same night 11p then get off work 7a and go straight to school for 8:30a, whew! its exhausting and sure my grades are dipping alittle, but i think my grades would about the same alittle higher if i wasnt in school, but either way my grades have to come back up again, so i'm thinking of laying off work for a while!!

jemommyRN · Dec 1, 2007

I am currently working FT night shift (at work right now) (3 days/week 12 hour shifts) as a unit secretary. I am able to study at work and (depending on your unit) you may be able to also. Sometimes I go straight to class but that's only if its a test or a short class because in a four hour class I would be sleep for sure. It is very doable if you want it to be. I'm not going to say that you won't be tired because you will sleep all day and get up and study. That'll be the way it is. You could try it and see. I have two kids too (just to say I have a lot on my plate and I'm still getting it done). I would at least give it a try.

SteveNNP, MSN, NP · Dec 1, 2007

I currently work 3 night shifts a week with occasional OT here and there. We do self scheduling here, so I really try to think ahead and schedule myslef so I am at my "freshest" for classes. This semester I have 2 classes on Tuesdays, one from 8-11a, and one from 5-8pm. I live too far away from school to go home in between class, so I usually end up trekking around NYC for a few hours, or catching up on reading. Next semester I will have 2 days of classes, so I'll be working every Th/F/Sat night, readjust on Sunday, and have class Mon night and Wed morning. It's crazy but doable IMHO.