Msn degree and working full time

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I want to get my msn in leadership so bad. I found the school I want to go to but it needs a total of 378 practicum hours over three semesters. I work full time in a family practice clinic Monday through Friday. I have no idea if I could pull off taking vacation for all those practicum hours needed and I don't even know if my job could accommodate me going less than full time 1.0 FTE :( anyone else out there do msn while full time?!

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

I did my MSN program full time while working full time with WGU, which is designed for the working nurse. In fact, you cannot be admitted if you are not working as a nurse. Perhaps explore some other programs that do a better job helping you balance the two.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Also- you need to find out what constitutes practicum hours. Since most students in MSN programs DO work full-time, it must be possible.

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Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.

And I think you are already working practium hours at present job

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I'm currently working full-time and getting my my MSN on a part-time basis. The expectation is that you build your clinical hours from your current workplace and adhere to the university's guidelines/requirements for a preceptor. For this reason, it is expected that I am working while attending my program.

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I did my MSN program full time while working full time with WGU, which is designed for the working nurse. In fact, you cannot be admitted if you are not working as a nurse. Perhaps explore some other programs that do a better job helping you balance the two.

Not.done.yet. How did you like the program with wgu? I looked at the program info and seems interesting!

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I will look into it, but I don't think I can do my normal job and consider that practicum hours

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Specializes in orthopedic/trauma, Informatics, diabetes.

That is a lot of hours. I just finished my MSN in Informatics. We needed 250 hours, but since I had planned on going on to do my DNP, I needed 500 hours which I was able to to do Still not sure what I am going to do. Not quite ready to go back to school. May sit for my CDE and do diabetes education. Might come up with a better idea for a project for my DNP

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I'm doing my post masters FNP currently. I assure you it can be done working full time. I work PRN but pick up full time hours. The beauty of it is that I can arrange work to fit MY LIFE. I work on days I don't have clinical or I may do a couple hours of clinical and then go into work for a few hours. I was doing 3 12s in the beginning but it wasn't working well so I went prn and have been very happy.

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Specializes in Pedi.

Would your current job let you work four 10 hr days instead of five 8 hr days and then you have one day off each week to complete clinical hours? Or is it possible to find a preceptor who can do weekend clinical hours with you?

When I worked in the hospital, one of our leadership staff was getting her MSN so she could become the nurse manager and she did her clinical hours in our hospital but on another floor. In the unit she did her clinical on, I think the clinical nurse specialists covered weekends too because she was always there and then she'd come up to have lunch with us on like a Sunday, one of the few days we were supposed to be free of her. It was awful. ;)

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Specializes in Critical Care and ED.

I'm in the Acute NP program for my MSN and I work full time Monday to Friday. I have to do 16 hours of clinicals every week and I either take PTO or I do them on the weekends and evenings. It's tough but it's doable.

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Specializes in Case manager, float pool, and more.

I work full-time with occasional mandatory overtime and am going for my MSN. Very tough, but somehow, I am doing it.

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