How difficult is nursing school?

Tiny1Nisolet · Jan 18, 2006

I'm just asking because I'm looking for some kind of part-time job right now. I'm not in the nursing program yet and my major is pre-bacc. (I can never remember how to spell that.) :) I start the nursing program next semester. Right now I don't have a car and I'd really like one. I've been driving my parent's car to commute to school. I'd also like to move out and be room-mate with a friend of mine who says her brother is willing to let us rent his trailer when he moves out for $300 a month. (We would split it between us.)
Basically, my mom says that nursing school is really tough and if I had a job I wouldn't have the time to study as much. I understand that nursing school is hard and it isn't going to be like the community college I'm going to now. Maybe it depends on the person, but I figured that there are some people who have part-time jobs and don't have to live at home who have gotten through nursing school. I have a friend who had a hard time in nursing school and had to settle for LPN I think, but she is married, and worked, and had kids to cook for and everything.
I would appreciate any advice ya'll could share!!!:)
~Dawn~

I think it really depends on the person. Many girls I know worked and completed nursing school. There are also many people who have families and have completed nursing school. I think it depends on the type of student you are. For me, failure was not an option, I worked and just did whatever it took to get through. I graduate in May. I could not have done it without the support of my family and, of course, God!

Best wishes to you!

MIA-RN1, RN · Jan 18, 2006

You just do what you need to do. If you need to work, you will. Just schedule into your time.

Nursing school is busy but not completely overwhelming. I am doing it, working part time, raising two kids, husband and various animal companions. I'm also a girl scout leader and chief cook and bottle washer at my house. My grades are good, my time is not consumed by any one thing.

It all boils down to your dedication and ability to delegate time to study and time to work. You need to be dedicated to following a schedule, and to doing what has to be done when it needs to be done.

Lots and lots of people work and go to school.

FadedBlue · Jan 18, 2006

Thanx ya'll, for the encouragement. :) I know I can do it as long as I spend my time and money wisely, don't procrastinate with my studies,

and most definitely if I include God in it all.

clee1 · Jan 19, 2006

It's a screaming b***h!!! :uhoh3:

Of course, I'm working nearly fulltime nights and going to school fulltime days... and I'm 38 and haven't been in school for nearly two decades... and, they throw TONS of material at you in a short amount of time.

But..... for all the difficulties, it is still SO worth it! :rolleyes:

NaomieRN · Jan 19, 2006

If you are living at your parents, stay there until you finish school. Hopefully after the first semester, you will be able to work as a student nurse, make a little money and gain experience.

mediatix8 · Jan 19, 2006

The thing about my school... and I don't know about other schools... is that my class schedule constantly changed from semester to semester. I had veeery little, if any, say in my schedule. They didn't care really... there's a nursing TEACHER shorage worse than the nursing shortage, so often a class that a teacher taught included the entire nursing class and there was only one class. So... when once I had, say a short day on wednesday... for the next semester I'd have class until 5pm Wednesday and there wasn't anything I could do about it. My first two weeks of nursing school were like orientation and lasted from 8:30-5:00pm every day Mon- Friday I was expecting school to start out at the schedule that my classes were, not this Mon-Fri 40 hours/week deal... they didn't bother telling us this until the week before... so if you had any schedule conflicts with work etc, it was your problem. I went to the same school before for a BA in Psychology and it was totally different, with many classes and you choose your own schedule. So... I'd recommend a job that has very flexible days or that are on the weekends. I only worked 10 hours a week. I also would recommend a job where you could do homework at the job.

kitty9898 · Jan 19, 2006

Nursing school is hard! If you're focused you can through it. I did all my pre-req's before I entered the program so I could focus on the nursing aspect (I could not imagine A&P AND nursing at the same time!). Good luck!

GooeyRN, ADN, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN · Jan 19, 2006

I won't say its easy, but the material is not difficult. It's EXTREMELY demanding. It consumes your life. There is so much work to do in so little time, I feel thats why it seems so difficult. I have no idea how single people with several children and full time jobs do it!!! Congrats to those who somehow manage! I was fortunate enough to only need to work part-time, no kids at the time I went to school.

MIA-RN1, RN · Jan 19, 2006

The thing about my school... and I don't know about other schools... is that my class schedule constantly changed from semester to semester. I had veeery little, if any, say in my schedule. They didn't care really...

Oh yeah, my school is JUST like that. They really outdidthemselves this final semster; after handing out schedules for spring in October, they changed a ton of them in mid-december...after everyone has already set up baby sitting, changed work schedules etc. Some people got evening clinicals, (me) some even got SATURDAY. Which really sucked for the single parents, people w/ no family to watch the kids etc. There was a HUGE uproar and the department sent a letter that they were sorry for the inconvenience (yeah right)but it had to be. They offered to change schedules for anyone who could find someone to change with them. So if you got a crappy schedule, and no one would switch, you were stuck. And that was unusually generous of them to allow that!