I'm looking for advice from LPN students about half way through the program....

Nursing Students LPN/LVN Students

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Sorry, this is a little long.....

and anyone else who would like to chime in. :up:

I start my LPN program in October. It is 3 nights a week and every Saturday.

For background:

I have five children. My only preschooler is 2 1/2. He was just diagnosed with Autism.

He will be having a minor urology surgery in September. He has complex congenital heart disease, so nothing is ever truly minor.

He will have a heart cath/ablation procedure around the first week of December, with surgery likely the following week. He has problems with tachy arrhythmias and takes a med for it. This med will have to be stopped Oct 1 for the Dec 1 procedure. There is a very high possibility of tachy problems during that time. Everytime he has had a tachy arrhythmia, it has meant ER trip, a minimum overnight stay to as much as a week in ICU. (It has been more than 2 years, though.)

Now my question:

To those of you about halfway through the program, who have btdt as far as beginning LPN school....

Can I actually do this with all of this going on?!?!? :banghead:

I plan to contact the instructor of my program next week and get her advice, but I thought I'd ask here and see what you all have to say.

I'm more than a little overwhelmed.

On the upside, I do not have a job to worry about and I have always been a good student. Is that enough?? :confused:

Thanks!

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Specializes in OB, Occupational Health.

I'm sorry to hear that you're going through so much right now...I can't imagine how difficult it is.

Now for my advice...I think you should delay your entry until you don't have so much going on. You say you're already overwhelmed, and nursing school will only add to that.

You may be able to handle the class portion with difficulty, but when it comes to clinicals you won't be able to miss more than a certain amount of time and nursing programs are usually pretty strict about that. (I know from experience...I'm currently repeating my med-surg I class because I missed too much time due to a medical problem out of my control.)

I hope this doesn't come across as harsh, but from the information you gave, it sounds like you should continue, as you have, to make your son a priority and see if you can delay your entry into the program.

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first and foremost my prayers are with you and your family....I too am a nursing student, wife, and mother of four (3 teenagers and one in middle school) I will graduate in December and the road has been long and filled c tragedy. No need to go into details....I just want you to know you are not alone in your concerns and stress. You CAN DO IT !!

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Only you truly know the amount of time you're going to need to devote to your child. And since you are in your LPN program (congrats!) and have taken pre-reqs, you know the amount of time you need to commit to school.

It's much better to be proactive and prevent problems for yourself rather than be picking up the pieces afterward. I'd talk with your instructor about the situation, and see what options might be available to you. See if you could defer your last half for a semester or something. While I do think anyone can do anything they set their mind to, I do believe in setting ourselves up for success as much as possible. With your situation, your child's needs after surgery are not exactly in your control, and you need to be prepared. I admire (and I'd think any instructor would too) your priorities and your responsible thinking-ahead plans regarding school.

I'm in my last semester of LPN school. Between preceptorship, clinicals, and class (plus we have an exit exam to prepare for), it's only getting tougher re time constraints.

I wish you the best and hope the surgery goes smoothly. Good luck with school!

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