How can it be done?

barcode120x, RN, NP · Dec 14, 2022

Main advice I can give is focus on time management and look ahead on your calendar. You should calculate how your clinical hours will fit into your week (work+family+personal life+didactic+exams) in order to meet the minimum requirement for each semester and to graduate. I'm not saying you should this, but most of my classmates either stopped working or dropped to PT or PD (I luckily was PT). I typically worked thurs fri and sat/sun each week while the rest of the week was clinical and course work (average about 2 clinicals a week, but I had to crank that up to 3-4 days my last 2 semesters). My main issue and drawback was obtaining clinical hours. Course work became simple and routine.

The focus of any FNP program should be everything. You cannot evaluate if you do not treat. You cannot treat if you do not diagnose. You cannot diagnose if you do not assess. Your boards will test you on all aspects. Aside from that, I can't really say much more about any program as each is different in its own way.

N7NP · Dec 15, 2022

^^^THIS.

Plus. It's easy for someone like me to say this---someone who planned meticulously, arduously and ruthlessly to be financially stable enough to stop working altogether for a whole year---"just go PT or PRN!". It's not that simple for many. Some are single earners or have debt mountains so high that anything less than 1.0FTE is impossible.

My process was to do whatever I needed to do in order to succeed. I knew I wanted to become an NP---I knew what the workload was going to be like (we all did, clearly, graduate from nursing school....so it's not a different calculation)---and I decided failure was simply not an option. It's about what your priorities are. What are you willing to do in order to achieve your goal?

During nursing school, I worked PT, I stopped seeing friends and family, I stopped spending any money unless it had to do with eating or a roof over my head. This "social life" thing and extras....great....terrific....but tell me....is that movie night out or vacation for a week in the Bahamas going to get you to graduation? What is your successful graduation worth to you?

Yepper....I was that girl. I was laser focused on nursing school and now NP. So...I took a job as a Travel ED Nurse in one of the most horrendous hospitals I've ever seen (pretty much describes all of them at this point)...because they were offering $5500 a week after tax and a 6 month contract. I lived in a crap Residence Inn, away from family and friends, went to work---came home from work---studied and wrote papers---and THEN did my clinical. I was financially set as I did not spend a dime I couldn't justify.

When clinicals rode around....I quit working. Scary? Nope. Because if I failed school or boards because I was trying to "have it all"...instead of sacrificing for the brass ring for what....a year?....landing me........oh....right back in the ER where I desperately wanted to escape from with a whole mountain of new debt and a whole lot of crushed dreams.

Decide what is worth it to you more.....and do that.

Chris RN BSN · Dec 23, 2022

Thank you all so much for the guidance. I’m currently looking at loans to supplement my income while I get through the next 17 months before graduation. School is my priority and I could always work to pay off the loans. I have to finish. No other option

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