Here I stand after my 3rd semester of nursing school, twenty pounds heavier than one year ago. I get sick regularly. I struggle with anxiety and panic attacks (the anxiety was always present, but the panic attacks started during my second semester). I have one semester left before I graduate with my ADN.
I have maintained a 3.65 GPA. I have good relationships with my husband, my family, and my in-laws. I have a job as a PCT and am starting as a student nurse extern in January 2017. So, overall my life is going well - but my health has taken a hard, hard hit as a result of the stress and time involved in nursing school.
So, I'm here to ask for suggestions/advice for staying healthy while balancing family/work/school. What are some of your tricks for avoiding the temptation to grab junk food while on the run? What are some healthy snacks/easy meals that won't break the bank and don't require extensive preparation? What motivates you to stay healthy?
How long have you been living with inlaws? I could never ever live with my inlaws for the record ������
We have been living with them for almost a year and a half - it will have been two years when we move at the end of July. We made the decision in order to avoid accruing debt in our undergraduate degrees - my husband will be pursuing a PhD in chemistry following both of our graduations in May 2017. It's definitely not for everyone (in fact I heartily advise against it for relationship reasons), but it has allowed us to save a lot of money AND purchase two cars outright - setting us up for stability going into the next five years of schooling for him.
And to be honest, relationships with families are not things that I am willing to push aside - once school is done, we will be leaving the area and living away from both sets of parents and siblings. We value the time that we have with them right now. :)
I had the same issues when I was in nursing school. We had a basket of "quick snacks" (ie cheese / peanut butter crackers, candy, microwave popcorn etc) in the classroom and a lot of the students grabbed fast food in between (and lots of sugary soda and sweet tea as well). My health did suffer because of unhealthy eating, long hours and a lot of coffee intake. I was having stress / anxiety and my bp was rising.
I started replacing a lot of my cups of coffee with bottled water. I look back at how much coffee I had consumed before I started drinking water and I think dehydration was one of my problems. I could not believe how something so small helped me tremendously. Then, I started buying bags of little apples and the little tangerine (Halos) that I could bring along as a quick snack. When the group of us would grab something quick for lunch, I'd look for a small salad or a veggie pack to have with my sandwich. When we'd do our early clinicals and met for our breakfast break, I'd bring along a packet of oatmeal instead having my usual biscuit and gravy combo at the cafeteria. I know it can be challenging trying to shop healthy in between classwork and home, so even if it's a few healthy things it's better than nothing.
I know exactly what you're going through and know it's not easy - but little things sometimes help a lot. Good luck and congratulations for being near the finish line! :)
thelittleRNwhocould
33 Posts
We have been living with them for almost a year and a half - it will have been two years when we move at the end of July. We made the decision in order to avoid accruing debt in our undergraduate degrees - my husband will be pursuing a PhD in chemistry following both of our graduations in May 2017. It's definitely not for everyone (in fact I heartily advise against it for relationship reasons), but it has allowed us to save a lot of money AND purchase two cars outright - setting us up for stability going into the next five years of schooling for him.