How to balance everything?

babe48076 · Nov 6, 2009

Yes, I am going to school, work, and I am married with three kids. It is very difficult because there really isn't enough time in the world, but I just make it work. I know at the end it will all be worth it and we will be working 3 days out of the week with 4 days available for ourselves and family.

work&play · Nov 6, 2009

That's gotta be hard. You guys are super women. In my class all the women with children are making the "As" and everyone else are in the low Bs and Cs.

darrarizer · Nov 6, 2009

I work 2 jobs to get by (after my first job cut my hours) and go to school. I have a boyfriend a dog and 2 cats which is nothing compared to kids, i'm sure, but i'm convinced the old standby "you do what you can to get by" is true.

Good luck to you. I believe you will apply yourself until the breaking point and then either push through or quit. Next semester i'll be working 44 hours and *hopefully* going to nursing school taking 12 hours of clinicals on Sat. and one online course.

Update me about how you do because i'm scared as heck myself.

babe48076 · Nov 6, 2009

That's gotta be hard. You guys are super women. In my class all the women with children are making the "As" and everyone else are in the low Bs and Cs.

It is hard, but I think my children is what pushes me more. It is funny because my instructors are

telling my friends in class to study like me.

JBMmom, MSN, NP · Nov 6, 2009

Believe me, we can do it! I work full time, I've got three kids six and under at home. I also teach swimming lessons and Sunday school, I'm taking two of my pre-reqs this semester (on-line) and I get up at 4 or 4:30am every day to run or walk before work. I also pulled an A in A&PI while many students that didn't have anything going other than that one class were complaining they didn't have enough time to study. I think once you get to this stage in life, multitasking just becomes a way of life. I'm far more efficient than I ever was as a college student. While I know I'll still have a rough adjustment when I start the actual RN program- where there's a will there's a way. You'll be fine, just a little tired. Good luck.

3rdgenRN2B · Nov 9, 2009

I work full time and have a daughter who will be three when I start my pre-reqs in the spring. I will also have to work full time throughout the program as my whole family is on my health benefits. But as an adult student with a family to help support I feel so much more motivated now then I did when I was younger with no responsibility. So here's to making it work!! Good luck to you...

tlc2u · Nov 12, 2009

So I'm just wondering if anyone out there is working full time, and has kids while going for their RN degree? I have to work full time while going to school due to circumstances and while I share custody of my child with my ex and have a great support system to help me take care of him, I don't know how I'm going to manage going to school and working and still have time to see him.
So I guess my question really is how did you balance your life and not get too overwhelmed?

I don't know but maybe it depends on how tough your school is or not. Not to scare you but at my school it appeared that all the students got overwhelmed regardless of their life circumstances. I'm sure a lot of that depends to on the activity level and organization of the different students. Some students seemed to be like superwoman and could do it all and others who did not work and had less hom responsibilities or no children etc. and yet they struggled through nursing school.

Our school definitely recommended that you do not try to work full time during nursing school. A couple students did who had overnight jobs that they could study on the job. Most however did reduce their working hours while in nursing school.

I sent you an email with some of the things I did to prepare for nursing school. Also try doing a search here on allnurses with terms like "first semester nursing school" or "how to prepare for nursing school" etc. and look for other tips on getting ready for nursing school. Try a search for "work" and "nursing school" and you may find other helpful posts.

Best of Luck

tlc2u