How do you work nights and go to school?

dragonfly414 · Mar 26, 2012

In some hospitals 30 hours or more is full time. Check into applying for a specific summer aid which is separate from your financial aid you get for the rest of the year. I was able to get it once to cover my summer courses. Talk with a financial aid person at your school. If they say it isn't possible to get aid just for summer, double check with someone else in the office. Hospitals that I know of generally have a rotating schedule for weekends and a more set schedule for the week. If you wanted to work all nights I'm sure you could. It might be doable to go to class after a night shift so long as you are well rested before your shift and you don't have to work the next night. I know a nursing instructor who works nights as a floor nurse and teaches two days a week. Most people who work nights become accustomed to operating on less sleep than the rest of the world, but it is definitely hard on your body. You might be better off working 3- 12 hour day shifts per week Fri, Sat, Sun if possible.

ImThatGuy, BSN, RN · Mar 26, 2012

I am a police officer and work as one because I thoroughly enjoy it although I went through a spell of hating it. Without going into why I'm in nursing school here's what I do.

I work Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday one week and Wednesday and Thursday the next week. Sometimes on the off weekends I work another part-time job at a very small town (1,900 people) police department.

I work from 5:30 pm to 5:30 am regularly and often have court at 9:00 am lasting until whenever. I've had faculty try to count that as an absence against me, but you can't lawfully penalize someone for going to court via subpoena so there's not much they can do about it. They're sticklers on being in class though.

At any rate, I have clinicals on Monday (early) and just show up and get tired as the day goes by. I wince and deal with it. On Tuesday I have lecture, and if I'm sleepy then I'm just sleepy. I deal with it. On Thursday I have lecture, and again if I'm sleepy I just deal with it. I've adjusted to where five hours gives me adequate rest.

It's a BSN program, and my grades are solid. I passed the exit HESI without studying for it, and I feel very comfortable with all of the material.

When do I study or do assignments? This is the key. I've found that the petty, short time assignments that they give out are best hammered away immediately. As soon as I get them I do them. Bam. They're done.

The long-term junk they give out I tend to procrastinate on, but I chip away at it until it's done. This isn't my first time in college, and at one time I was working on a master's degree but gave up on it because I lost interest in it. Fortunately, that degree program was free. I say this because I've got my method of writing papers down, and I'm awesome with formal writing because my gift of keyboard diarrhea coheses into good papers surprisingly. Maybe I just get lucky.

In summary, get the short, quick stuff done immediately. Just do it. The long junk - chip away at it over time, and it'll get done one day. There are a few days when I'm off that I waste an entire day doing nursing stuff, but all in all I really don't devote that much time to class. I'm really fortunate, but my method works for me.

maccheese · Mar 27, 2012

I work nights and am at work now. My schedule is flexible and I make it based on what's going on. I do have class in the morning and will be getting off at 3a. Class is from 9-11 so I think I can make it through that. The night before clinical, the latest I would get off work is 11p. I gotta be able to think at clinicals.

DreamyEyes · Mar 28, 2012

I work night shift, 24 hours a week, and I've done it the entire time I've been in nursing school. I just make sure I don't work a shift before clinical.

I'm not going to lie, it sucks and I'm exhausted all the time - and a lot of times during lecture, I have almost fallen asleep. But I've made it this far, and I'm 5 weeks away from graduating, so it can be done.

Double-Helix, BSN, RN · Mar 29, 2012

It depends on where you work. Generally hospitals are less flexible then nursing homes or home health agencies.

I worked nights while going to school for a whole school year. I basically I tried to arrange my school schedule so that I didn't have classes until the afternoons on some days. Then I scheduled my shifts so that I was working weekends and the nights that I didn't have an early class. So I could come home from work, sleep for 4 or 5 hours and then go to class. It made for a long, exhausting day, but it was doable.

There were some people in my year that went right to class after working an overnight. The other thing you can go is schedule a class for early in the morning, like 8 or 9 am. Try to make that your only class that day. Then work the night shift, come to that class and go home and sleep. If you can do three 12 hour shifts that is ideal since you have fewer days to work.

mpihl · Mar 30, 2012

I know in my class most of the people who work full-time work mostly on the weekends and on other non-school days (I don't know how often your classes are but we only have 2-3 days of classes). I know a few who go straight from their overnight job to class and they do really well grade wise. Just do whatever you can handle and most hospitals work really around nursing students schedules very well (at least here).

krsmarie · Apr 4, 2012

you have to really want it!

I'm a full time student (12-17cr/semester) when I started the program I also worked full-time nights 10p-0630Aa. The start of junior year forced me down to 20hrs/week.

My classes start at 0900 so I go to work. study before class, attend class till noon or as late as 330pm. head home sleep get up and repeat.

Last year I would leave the house tuesday at noon and come home thursday around 2pm. It sucked but I plan on it all being worth it after graduation.

You will be tired, and stressed out. The only night I refused to work during the week was the night before clinical rotation. It isn't safe to be up all night working and then expect to care for a patient for 8 hours the next day.

and I also developed an addiction to monster sugar free energy drinks...not a great plan but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to graduate.

Good Luck!

maccheese · Apr 4, 2012

Hopefully you're not married with kids. I know neither of these dynamics allow me to go straight from class to work and vice versa.

NurseNisha90 · Nov 1, 2017

I work overnight 36 hrs per week and I start nursing school next month. Whats your biggest struggle?