How did you do it?

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Hello all,

I am new to the forum, and sorry if this is so long. I stumbled across this site while searching information on second degrees in Nursing.

My situation is- I am 34 year old mother of 3. I have been in the IT field for over 11 years. I am currently halfway through my BS in Health Administration. My issue is that I wanted to go into the Health field, so I was going to go into Health Informatics, as to not lose all the years of IT experience, but I have been watching jobs HA in this area, and none are paying nearly what I am making now. It also seems that most HA jobs want you to have experience in Nursing. Nursing is always something that I have wanted to do, but I felt as if maybe I couldnt do it and juggle a family as well. So I focused on something that came easy to me.

Now, all these years later, I am at a cross roads as to what I need to do. I have looked as ABSN programs at Duke and UNC, as well as Watts School of Nursing. All of those programs require full-time commitments. There is an Associates program at a local community college for ADN and it offers a night options with weekend clinical hours.

After reading some of the posts here, it seems that the BSN or ABSN would be the option for me, but I am wondering how you all were able to do it and juggle a family also (financially)? I am scared to step out there, but my company has had layoffs every year, and is now wavering on bankruptcy. I dont want to wait until I get my pink slip to make a decision on the future.

Any sound advice would be greatly appreciated.

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Anyone? :-(

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Your question may be better asked of current nursing students as opposed to pre-nursing students. I've had the opportunity to speak with a few nursing students at my school who are juggling families though, and will share what I have learned.

Nursing school demands very good time management. It is harder than I anticipated when I began my current journey. That being said, most of the students at my school work at least part time. Your age will be an asset. Experience makes learning easier - the more you know, the easier it is to connect what you know to new information.

Are you considering working full time, mothering 3 children, and going to nursing school? That sounds very difficult. If, on the other hand, you are able to quit your job and concentrate on the children and school, then you have a good chance. It will require that your family understands the demands that will be placed on you, and that your husband be willing to help with the domestic duties when you have conflicting obligations at school.

An option that may be less stressful would be to pursue an Associates degree in nursing, followed by an ASN to BSN bridge program. This would take longer to complete, but you would be able to work as a nurse after the ASN degree. Many ASN to BSN bridge programs assume that you are working full time, and cater to such schedules.

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I think the poster above me has some sound advice.

I am applying to an accelerated program, but I have been given a situation where I will be able to do this financially while still taking care of my kids (3 of them also) and that my mom is willing to be a huge support system for me while in school. So in my instance, I need it to be done faster, so this is how I'm hoping to make it work.

However, if I had to work full time and do nursing school at the same time, the above advice sounds workable. Or to do the regular BSN program that's not accelerated--it just depends on how much assistance you get at home.

Good luck!

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I see that UNC does have part time options in their RN to MSN bridge. Seems that they aren't offering the RN to BSN bridge currently though.

I researched Duke in the past, and recall that their program was accelerated full time. I bet it is a wonderful program, but I have yet to complete my first bachelors degree, making it out of my league.

You are in a great area for nursing school, although it may be one of the most competitive as well.

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Thanks!

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Your question may be better asked of current nursing students as opposed to pre-nursing students. I've had the opportunity to speak with a few nursing students at my school who are juggling families though, and will share what I have learned.

Nursing school demands very good time management. It is harder than I anticipated when I began my current journey. That being said, most of the students at my school work at least part time. Your age will be an asset. Experience makes learning easier - the more you know, the easier it is to connect what you know to new information.

Are you considering working full time, mothering 3 children, and going to nursing school? That sounds very difficult. If, on the other hand, you are able to quit your job and concentrate on the children and school, then you have a good chance. It will require that your family understands the demands that will be placed on you, and that your husband be willing to help with the domestic duties when you have conflicting obligations at school.

An option that may be less stressful would be to pursue an Associates degree in nursing, followed by an ASN to BSN bridge program. This would take longer to complete, but you would be able to work as a nurse after the ASN degree. Many ASN to BSN bridge programs assume that you are working full time, and cater to such schedules.

Thank you so much for your advice. No, I was under the impression that it would be nearly impossible to work fulltime and still attend nursing school, so I would either have to quit, or wait for the layoffs. I was told that it was nearly impossible to find a position as an RN with just the Associates as many RN's are returning to get their BSN to stay competitive in the field?

I did however see an evening program here also, but wanted to weigh all my options.

Thank you so much again!

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I believe it is hard to find a job without the BSN degree. I'm applying to two schools - one of which will require me to get my ASN, then bridge to BSN. I do know that others in the program have had job offers by the time they finished their ASN. So it's difficult, but not impossible to get a job.

If that's the school I end up at, I just hope I am able to network during my clinicals and prove myself worthy of an entry level job while I continue on to the BSN. Otherwise, I'll just grin and bear it for another year, and bury myself in student loans.

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