Need help making a schedule for class!!

i know this is something you probably dont want to hear.. but you really should consider not working. the rationale behind that is... i have seen a handful of my classmates have to drop out of school because they dont put nursing school as a top priotrity and burn out because they are trying to do too much at once.

i cant talk.. i still work, but dramatically less than before nursing school. i work only a few times a month for my old job and then i got a job at school working for the nursing dept. which would be awesome if you could do that (some people arent eligible though). its called "work study" and basically a grant you get and work for during the quarter when you have time.

i think that when you go from the transition from pre-req to nursing school its easy to forget that now you are taking the classes that will make you a nurse. people also forget its only 2 school years of your life and if you over work yourself and fail nursing school you will have wasted all those years of prerequisites and all that money you have put into your education.

when you are a nurse you will be able to pay back debt you may have from not working. your family will benefit and your family is not something you can pay back when you are finished with school.

please trust me when i tell you it wont be good if you keep working fri. sat. and sun. if your school work and patient's care doesnt pay for you being too busy your husband and children will.

i am super poor but loans can be paid back. atleast you wont go crazy in the process... or atleast not as crazy.. hahah...

i am almost done with my 1st year of nursing school, have about one more week left... and thats my advice for now.. if you have to take one thing out of your schedule i would recommend the job... husband, kids, and your future career should be your priority.

PS when you get into nursing school dont stress out if you dont get all 4.0's . its okay to get grades that are just "passing" once in a while. you will still become a nurse, you will just know what you need to study more in the future.

I am going to be starting my first semester of clinical this fall(05) in an ADN program. I have been in college for the past 4 years taking all my prereqs. part-time. I have done very well in college, making academic recognition every semester. When I start clinical, I will be going full time. After reading other threads about starting clinical, I realize that coming up with a schedule for lecture, studying, as well as, family time, is very important. The problem is I do not know how to set it up. When ever I make schedules they are always unrealistic. Can anyone help me with this? Maybe an example would get me on the right track.

I do not go to the college for lecture, b/c I am taking the evening telecourse. I do go for labs, seminars, and exams. I also go to the hospital 2 days a week (Mon & Tues). Along with class, I have 2 young sons, husband, who works gaveyard shift, and I work Fri, Sat, and Sun. As you can see, I am pretty busy. This is why I have no clue where to start with the schedule. Please help me!

Jennifer

Well I understand where you are coming from. I am in my last year of nursing :) Thank God. I have 3 kids and a husband. If you want to continue to work I suggest just working Sat and Sun. I work Sat and Sun 7a-11p. This frees up my week but still allows me to bring home a decent paycheck. These type of hours are usually available in a hospital setting. Good luck!

:)

Well I understand where you are coming from. I am in my last year of nursing :) Thank God. I have 3 kids and a husband. If you want to continue to work I suggest just working Sat and Sun. I work Sat and Sun 7a-11p. This frees up my week but still allows me to bring home a decent paycheck. These type of hours are usually available in a hospital setting. Good luck!

That's what I am more than likely going to do. As far as, quiting work all together, it just isn't possible for my family. If I could I would, but my husband and I can't afford for me to work any less than 2/3 days. In the local hospital, they pay their nursing assistants a few dollars more than what I make now, so, after my first semester I will try to get a job there. I think it will be good, considering I have to work and at least I will be learning as I am working.

Surreal, nursing is very important to me. it is my future, my childrens future. Without it, I will never be able to give my sons th kind of life they deserve. Plus, I love nursing and if I am not working as a nurse, I will be miserable. I know that this will be more than hard. I do worry about the effect it will have on my family, as well as, my pts, but this is something I have to do. Believe me, if I had a choice whether to work or not, I definatly wouldn't. I have tried to prepare my family as much as possible for when I am in clinical. The reason why I am asking for help on how to schedule everything in(class, rotation, studying, family time, work, eating, sleeping,ect), is so that I can prepare myself and somehow make this work. Now, I know of people who have done what Iam doing and don't have as supportive of a husband as I do, so, if they can do it,...I can, too. :) As I said, I have to do this. I have no choice. Fortuantly, my husband is a very supportive husband, who cooks, cleans, does the laudry, bathes the kids,and what ever else I may need help with. He is one in a million. And truthfully, I would not be able to do this without him.

I want to thank you both for your advice. Whether I take it or not, it still has made me think even more about this. How you schedule in clinical with life? Did it work?

Thanks again!! :)

:)

That's what I am more than likely going to do. As far as, quiting work all together, it just isn't possible for my family. If I could I would, but my husband and I can't afford for me to work any less than 2/3 days. In the local hospital, they pay their nursing assistants a few dollars more than what I make now, so, after my first semester I will try to get a job there. I think it will be good, considering I have to work and at least I will be learning as I am working.

Surreal, nursing is very important to me. it is my future, my childrens future. Without it, I will never be able to give my sons th kind of life they deserve. Plus, I love nursing and if I am not working as a nurse, I will be miserable. I know that this will be more than hard. I do worry about the effect it will have on my family, as well as, my pts, but this is something I have to do. Believe me, if I had a choice whether to work or not, I definatly wouldn't. I have tried to prepare my family as much as possible for when I am in clinical. The reason why I am asking for help on how to schedule everything in(class, rotation, studying, family time, work, eating, sleeping,ect), is so that I can prepare myself and somehow make this work. Now, I know of people who have done what Iam doing and don't have as supportive of a husband as I do, so, if they can do it,...I can, too. :) As I said, I have to do this. I have no choice. Fortuantly, my husband is a very supportive husband, who cooks, cleans, does the laudry, bathes the kids,and what ever else I may need help with. He is one in a million. And truthfully, I would not be able to do this without him.

I want to thank you both for your advice. Whether I take it or not, it still has made me think even more about this. How you schedule in clinical with life? Did it work?

Thanks again!! :)

soontobe_RN,

Thanks for this post. I am going through the same problems. I starting my ADN program this fall. I have a super supportive husband, three kids, and I need to bring home some kind of paycheck. I am trying to come up with a feasible(sp?) schedule that will allow me to attend school, study time, and work part-time. I have no doubt that I can do it. I know too many other people who were in my shoes to ever say that it can't be done.

It would be nice to hear some suggestions from other students or nurses who have done what we are about to start.

I go to clinicals one day out of the week. Tues 7a-7p. I go to lecture and lab on Wed and Thurs. Friday is test day. I go to work on Sat and Sun. I am off from everything on Mon. This scedule works for me. I am abale to study at work between pt and all day on Mon. On Fri I try to take a much needed school break (after the test).

soontobe_RN,

Thanks for this post. I am going through the same problems. I starting my ADN program this fall. I have a super supportive husband, three kids, and I need to bring home some kind of paycheck. I am trying to come up with a feasible(sp?) schedule that will allow me to attend school, study time, and work part-time. I have no doubt that I can do it. I know too many other people who were in my shoes to ever say that it can't be done.

It would be nice to hear some suggestions from other students or nurses who have done what we are about to start.

.....