other non traditional students / moms

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

Published

how are the other nontraditional students doing in their classes?

hello there, new to this site. I am 31 yrs old, mom of two with a full time job. completed all my pre-reqs but having a difficult time passing the pre-nursing exam :( feeling super bummed and discouraged.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Inpatient Psychiatry.

CRUSHING A&P II. Low A in lifespan psych. Waiting to hear back regarding acceptance.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

How is everyone managing their school load with their spouses/partners and kids?

I'm doing reasonably well right now, but summer semester is going to be a beast. 13 credit hours in 10 weeks. I just got the tentative schedule for summer, and my mind is blown. It's very likely that I'm going to have to dedicate every waking moment to school (when I'm not there) effectively making my husband, essentially, as single dad for those 2.5 months.

I feel like I can tackle the school work and studying, but I'm worried about the impact it's going to have on everyone else. I'm telling myself that it's just 10 weeks out of all of our lives (that it's going to be this busy/stressful), so we'll get through it. I'm worried about how my husband will cope with it (I joked with a classmate and said that I'll be surprised if I'm still married by the end of the semester lol I will be, I don't doubt it. It's just going to put a big strain on everyone). I'm not too worried about the baby. It'll be more of my struggle with not seeing him as much as I'd like. I'm worried about my daughter who will be almost 3. I'm worried about how the limited time with me will impact her. Like maybe she just won't really care or maybe she thinks I don't care about her, etc. I'm already having feelings of being a bad mom if it comes to only seeing them for an hour or two a day during that time (I absolutely make plenty of time now, but it's just that one semester).

I'm trying to plan something really fun for the kids during my short break before and something during my short break after. I want to plan something for my husband during my short break after, especially as he's just going to really need (and deserves) a huge break.

I know this is part of the territory, and it's all with good intentions, and won't be that long, but I'm feeling so gutted about it while knowing that it's necessary.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

My last two semesters were crazy. At the beginning of the summer my eldest was 2.5, and my youngest was 6 months. My classes were online except for exams so that made it easier, but I pretty much spent all free time focusing on school. When it was nice outside I'd let my eldest run around in our yard while I sat with the baby on a blanket and read over notes or flash cards, or if we were inside I'd listen to lectures (over and over) while she played. My eldest never seemed to notice. Housework went to crap, which was hard for me at first (I'm a bit OCD) but honestly school had to take priority. My husband was amazing, and definitely stepped up. Whenever I felt guilty for all the time I was taking away for family time or us time he'd remind me that this wont last forever. Planning something fun for the breaks I think is awesome, not only for them but for you as well!

This semester has been an amazing break. I'm only taking one class, and it's a breeze. The summer should be the same. Hopefully I'll be starting my program in the fall though, so I'm trying to soak it up while I can.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
You will most likely still be exhausted too...nursing is usually a very physical job

My exhaustion doesn't come from being on my feet all day so much as dealing with 30 teenagers at a time for 6 hours a day. (So. Much. Yelling...)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg, Psych, Geri, LTC, Tele,.
How is everyone managing their school load with their spouses/partners and kids?...

I'm worried about the impact it's going to have on everyone else. I'm telling myself that it's just 10 weeks out of all of our lives...

I'm worried about how my husband will cope with it....

It's just going to put a big strain on everyone...I'm worried about my daughter who will be almost 3. I'm worried about how the limited time with me will impact her...

I'm trying to plan something really fun for the kids during my short break before and something during my short break after.

Your going to school and having a lot of school responsibilities will impact your family. That's simply reality.

But, like you said, it's only 10 weeks!

And your family will reap the rewards of your nursing career once you're finished, therefore, it's a more than fair trade off.

The limited time for your 3 year old for a short period of time will not damage her permanently.

As a mom of a 4/5 year old when I started school, I felt horribly guilty when he wanted to talk to me and I needed to study. I felt it was so unfair to him. 🙄

Now I know that I was actually just suffering from "mommy guilt". He was fine! I was, after all, still in the home with him. He was at home with me. He was fine.

I can't speak for your spouse, but hopefully, he understands the importance of helping out more during this hard time. If he's a reasonable man, you could try sitting down with him now to discuss the changes.... Perhaps right before or after a nice sexy night with him... I dunno. [emoji41]

Planning something fun with the kids before and after the crazy busy time will probably help alleviate your mommy guilt! I used to do stuff like that, too!

As for managing spouse and kids... My son is handling things great, like a trooper! He's 10 now and I'm so proud of his flexibility with my crazy schedule.

I no longer have a significant other to be concerned with. [emoji6]

You can do this! Just thing of the reward!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

You guys are giving me hope!! I finally talked to my advisor, took my accuplacer, now I am waiting on March 14 to actually register for classes. I am 25, and between my husband and I, we have 5 kids total. He works full time, i stay at home. But hearing how well it's going for you all, I have faith that this is possible!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg, Psych, Geri, LTC, Tele,.
You guys are giving me hope!! I finally talked to my advisor, took my accuplacer, now I am waiting on March 14 to actually register for classes. I am 25, and between my husband and I, we have 5 kids total. He works full time, i stay at home. But hearing how well it's going for you all, I have faith that this is possible!

I went from being an at home mom to starting school to become a nurse, too. The transition was very hard on me, because of mommy guilt. I eventually learned to let it go!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I went from being an at home mom to starting school to become a nurse, too. The transition was very hard on me, because of mommy guilt. I eventually learned to let it go!

I think the mommy guilt is what I am most concerned about. We toured the daycare yesterday, and as silly as it sounds, I felt horrible afterwards. The facility was great, but I am worried about how the kids will react once I am in school.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Surgical Nursing.

Non-traditional student here! I'm 34 (almost 35) and I'm part way through my second semester of prerequisites. I'm taking 2 classes both this semester and last, then I'll take 1 summer (Micro), one fall (A&P I), one winter (Intro to Sociology), one spring class (A&P II), and one summer class (English Comp) and I will be ready to apply to Nursing school this coming January. Last semester I pulled a 4.0 but I'm seriously doubting my ability to keep that GPA indefinitely.

I'm also a full time employee at a bank, and this is a big career switch for me!

Oh, I didn't mention yet I have a 3.5 year old girl. Life is busy, but I think it's what makes me tick sometimes! If I'm idle I just get myself in trouble so the best course of action for me is work, work, work!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med Surg/Ortho.

Another nontraditional student here. I'm 38, married, with two kids (12 and 9). This is a second career for me. I've had to slowly take prereqs because of the kids, the fact that my husband is a truck driver and never home, and that I've been working. But I finally finished them all last semester with a 3.78 GPA. I need to take my HESI entrance exam in the next two weeks to apply soon for fall 2016. I'm so nervous!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Another nontraditional student here. I'm 38, married, with two kids (12 and 9). This is a second career for me. I've had to slowly take prereqs because of the kids, the fact that my husband is a truck driver and never home, and that I've been working. But I finally finished them all last semester with a 3.78 GPA. I need to take my HESI entrance exam in the next two weeks to apply soon for fall 2016. I'm so nervous!

I'm on my last semester and taking the HESI in 3 weeks to apply this summer - good luck (eek)!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment