Is it possible?

PurrRN · Nov 4, 2006

Well personally I couldn't do it, because I know my stress level and my husband is NOT as supportive as your is. That however is my experience. I know of at least one fellow student in my class who is a single mom who works full time. She's struggeling, but she's doing it. I think having the support of your husband is the key here, and if you can study efficiently you should be fine. Remember that all things are possible, you just need to acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses and make a plan that supports your goal. Good luck!

81ke83 · Nov 4, 2006

I work full time and go to nursing school. My children are grown so I don't have children issues to deal with. I do think my grades suffer a little bit. I am getting an 85 in the class. I don't do anything else but nursing, homework, careplans and work. I have an hour commute, so I utilize that time and listen to my lectures while driving. We do one full care plan a week. Right now that takes me 15-20 hours depending on how many meds my patient has. The other day one of our students received a call and her boys had been messing around and one of them hit there head. She left in a hurry to go to the ER. So that is added stress. I am fortunate, my husband is very supportive and he helps around the house. Don't let this get in your way. If you want it, you will find a way to work around the problems.

ALT · Nov 4, 2006

I tried to work while I was doing mt Prerequisites and I just couldn't do it, so I knew there would be no way for me to do it while in my nursing classes. Taking your nursing classes completely online I wouldn't do either. Nothing takes the place of personal learning. My professors and their personal experience stories help me a ton. I can not imagine going into my clinical and not know anything about my facility or knowing my instructors and peers personally.

WDWpixieRN, RN · Nov 5, 2006

We have quite a number of students in our class who work in the hospitals full-time....I know one who alternates full-time weeks with her clinicals, but it is a lot to take on....I don't believe they all have little kids, but having a VERY supportive husband should help a lot...this first semester has just flown by, so if this is what you want to do, you should do everything you can to get in and out of a program!!

Best wishes!!

BSNtobe2009 · Nov 5, 2006

I think the age of the kids is an important thing to consider.

I have a 2 year old and can't study at home unless she is asleep b/c every two seconds I'm trying to keep her away from the dog (that snaps at her), fingers off the TV, not pour the milk from her sippy cup on the couch, you know how it is!

It's one thing to read a mindless book, but quite another when you actually have to learn what you are reading.

SchoolRN,BSN · Nov 5, 2006

First of all, :welcome:

Secondly, Maybe.

I don't want to discourage you at all, but you need to consider how badly you want to do this at this point in your life. There are a lot of variables, such as your job, the age of your kids, etc...

Several of my classmates work full time, but don't have a family. You know yourself better than anyone else. If you have tons of energy & have no problem functioning on little sleep, then it might be doable. Just be prepared to sacrifice family time for study time & have lots of hotdogs for dinner (yuck).

Best of luck to you.

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Nov 5, 2006

Talk to a nursing instructor, the director, or an academic counselor that *knows* the nursing program. My school has a 100% drop/fail rate for people who work more then 20 hours a week so discourages working full-time or close to it. Find out how possible it is to work 32 hours/week at your school.

firstyearstudent · Nov 6, 2006

Maybe. I wouldn't want to do it.

JoJo's Mommy · Nov 6, 2006

Just about anything is possible depending on your desire but indeed it will be extremely extremely difficult. You have one of the most important factors in your favor though and that is SUPPORT! because gosh knows you WILL NEED IT- and a whole lot more. Nursing school is like none other. Your kids hopefully are older- I did 2 years Just graduated on Oct. 19th and my son is 6. He absolutely 100 percent HATED me going to school because it took up so much of my time but I stayed strong and perservered and tried to explain to him the future benefits of my education(while at the same time enforcing how important school is to him). This will take a 110 percent commitment and nothing less. Good luck to you, you can do it, and believe it or not the extra money comes from somewhere i havent yet figured out because it was virtually impossible for any of my classmates to work while attending school and those that tried struggled very much. I would say if you have the support you say you do GO FOR IT!!!! It will work itself out if you find yourself needing to cut back on hours at work.

jemommyRN · Nov 9, 2006

I know that it can be done because i am about to do it. I will be working 37 hours a week and I have a 5 year old and a 1 year old. Use that support system of yours. I had a friend in nursing school who was working full time and ALSO pursuing her Bachelor's at a different school simultaneously with nursing school (she only had two more semesters at the other school when she began nursing school, so she wanted to just finish it out) and she DID. she graduated from the University during nursing school and she graduated nursing school shortly after that. It can be done. Everyone has a different plight and a different price to pay for success. You just have to do it and not even think about it until it's done. How bad do you want it? the key is going to be organization.

TouchstoneRN · Nov 9, 2006

I worked 65 hours a week the first semester of nursing school, not because I wanted to but I had to. ya' know, 2 kids, minimal child support etc...It was a godsend when I started receiving grants/scholarships and loans then I cut my schedule back to 32 hours a week and I kept my gpa at 3.75. I felt like a total new person