I would like to hear from those who got through nursing school without a vehicle.
So this is my problem. I have been working at this ALF for almost 2 years. Really bad place to work, poor management, rude employees, I am bullied a lot, it is mentally exhausted. On top of it all, I only make a few cents above the minimum wage so I really don't make a lot. During my time working here, I have been saving money (which was extremely difficult due to the small amount I make) in order to buy myself a car since I've never had one before even though I am 26 years old.
I have just been accepted into an LVN school at my CC which I have been working so hard to get it. I am excited and ready to start in June. I have decided NOT to continue working so that I can fully concentrate on school and also because it's a really bad environment for me. My family has told me multiple times to quit because they see how it affects me mentally.
Anyway, I will not be working while in nursing school AND I just found out I will not be receiving financial aid, but I'm trying to apply for scholarships though.
Sooo.... I've also decided to sacrifice buying a car and use the money I've saved up, for nursing school.
This means I will not be able to drive myself to school and clinicals and have to keep using public transportation:banghead:. So sad, but school is important to me.
How did you guys manage to get through nursing school without a car? Can you share your story, might give me some motivation. I am nervous about this but I am willing to do whatever it takes to get through nursing school. Any advice or tips are greatly appreciated.
Not having a vehicle isn't the end of the world. If you are determined enough you will be fine, and there are plenty of options open to you.
Public transportation. What are your options? How reliable are they? Take them a few times so you know the route, know the times... Buses can make variable numbers of stops depending on the number of people wanting to stop. Will you need to transfer? Make sure this is all stuff you have set and ready to go. Don't assume. Taking a bus to a clinical site? Do your research. Call the location (you don't have to give them any information on who you are) and ask what bus route services them.
What about a Taxi? Family? Roommate or a friend? What about Car pooling? A clinical that is far away perhaps someone can take you? Or maybe you can borrow a car for the day. Does one of your clinical-mates or classmates live close to you? You could offer them some money weekly to pick you up and such. Even if they can't take you home, certainly you can map out a bus or subway, or have someone else arrange to pick you up. Even if a person can't do it every day, even just ONE day would help wouldn't it?
What about a bike? How far are you form campus? Or even clinical! Not only would biking get you where you need to be it's fitness. It might be impractical to a clinical site. You can't bike in your scrubs and unless you take it very easy you don't want to get all sweaty. You could take a pack and carry your uniform and come cleansing wipes and just get to the site early and change. That would all depend on how your school works clinicals.
Really.. the answer is honestly dependent on how your school runs things. Still, you need to look at all your options and plan!
You will need someone to drive you to clinicals, they usually start at 630am meaning you have to be in parking lot of the hospital by 615pm. I taxi or bus will probably make you late. If you dont have a mate or parent to take you, maybe another student can take you,,or buy a cheap car that looks like crap but runs.
I too didn't have a car during half of my nursing school career. Carpool carpool carpool. If you are in the area as some of your students, ask if they can drive you and give them money or food in return. It's possible, I had to commute 37 miles four days a week and it all worked out for me. Become friends with your clinical group!
One of my clinical sites in California was 98 miles from my home. There was no public transportation in the middle of the night to get me there by 6:30 am, there was no public transportation to get me there at all. Getting there was my problem.
I don't know how good transportation services are where you live but I wouldn't have been able to make it through school without a vehicle. Yes, you can carpool with others but even that wouldn't have worked at times for my school. Sometimes we would be assigned a day to go to a clinic or elementary school or somewhere else random by ourselves. Obviously in those situations you cannot carpool and have to rely on your own transportation. Maybe see what the school offers for this as well. Does the school recommend that you need a car to make it? Also, my school had a transportation office sort of thing where you could be put on a list to borrow one of their cars for clinicals (almost like a rental car service).
I am currently in my last year of nursing school and I have survived so far without a car. I am saving up to buy one this summer though since my peds clinical is 2 hrs away via bus.
Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
I understand that there are no excuses if I am late or whatever due to my lack of reliable transportation, and will receive no sympathy. I'm not asking for that, that's why I said I am nervous about this because as someone who doesn't have a car, I will have to work 100X harder. I still live with my parents but I [might] be moving in with my boyfriend before school starts. We've already talked about this and he is 100% supportive and will drive me if he needs to. I just want to hear from people who did it, to get some motivation as I am struggling financially and I won't have a car so this is scary.
You won't start clinicals right away so I would suggest you see if anyone in the program is willing to ride share to school and clinicals? Be prepared to chip in some money for gas. When I was in my third semester RN program I was so pregnant at the end I couldn't fit behind the wheel of my car so a classmate picked me up and drove me around. He's a great guy and still a good friend.
Clinical's at 6am(ish)?! Oh my. I am not sure what I would do! I feel rather lucky now. For my first year clinicals were only 8 hours and started at 8. Next year they'll be 12 hours, but they only start an hour earlier at 7am.
At the nursing school I'm attending, being late even by a few SECONDS (not minutes, SECONDS) for a clinical means one academic deficiency. Get two in the same mini-semester, and you are removed from clinicals. Do check with your program as to how they handle being late or missing a clinical. Also, check into their policies of what's necessary to stay in clinicals. If there are multiple ways to get removed from clinicals, do you need the stress of being late or missing clinical added to the mix?
First of all, congrats on your acceptable to nursing school!! Second, congrats to be financially responsible!! I think it's awesome you've saved your money all these years and are going to use that to pay for school! I only briefly read some responses and I agree with them that there will be no understanding of you being late if that happens, but please don't let that deter you from following your dreams! You've made it to work everyday all these years without a car (I'm assuming) so what makes getting to school/clinical any different? Where I go to school we actually can't even park at our clinical site and have to take park a few miles away and take the city bus, so if all of us do it everyday you will find a solution :) (and I don't live in a warm state like Cali or Texas lol) also you will make friends with your classmates and maybe one of them lives near by and you can catch a ride. Best of luck to you, don't give up!!
I did nursing school without a car in California (Sacramento). I really tried not to accept rides from other students unless we were all going from one place to the same second place, because I didn't want to be a leach. Public transit worked out most of the time to get to clinicals. Sometimes another student would pick me up at a park-and-ride. I was generous with gas money. The real problem came in public health clinicals, where we were expected to drive to people's houses around the city. I managed some of this by bus and the instructor was nice about assigning me sites that were accessible--something I never asked her for. That was the only class where I heard a couple of people grumbling about me getting "special treatment"--no one ever implied that I was a freeloader otherwise (that I know of). Would have been better if I'd bought a bike, but I didn't get into biking until after nursing school.
Miss.LeoRN
234 Posts
Not having a vehicle isn't the end of the world. If you are determined enough you will be fine, and there are plenty of options open to you.
Public transportation. What are your options? How reliable are they? Take them a few times so you know the route, know the times... Buses can make variable numbers of stops depending on the number of people wanting to stop. Will you need to transfer? Make sure this is all stuff you have set and ready to go. Don't assume. Taking a bus to a clinical site? Do your research. Call the location (you don't have to give them any information on who you are) and ask what bus route services them.
What about a Taxi? Family? Roommate or a friend? What about Car pooling? A clinical that is far away perhaps someone can take you? Or maybe you can borrow a car for the day. Does one of your clinical-mates or classmates live close to you? You could offer them some money weekly to pick you up and such. Even if they can't take you home, certainly you can map out a bus or subway, or have someone else arrange to pick you up. Even if a person can't do it every day, even just ONE day would help wouldn't it?
What about a bike? How far are you form campus? Or even clinical! Not only would biking get you where you need to be it's fitness. It might be impractical to a clinical site. You can't bike in your scrubs and unless you take it very easy you don't want to get all sweaty. You could take a pack and carry your uniform and come cleansing wipes and just get to the site early and change. That would all depend on how your school works clinicals.
Really.. the answer is honestly dependent on how your school runs things. Still, you need to look at all your options and plan!