Nursing School And Outside Work?? Help!

suzanne4, RN · May 3, 2004

Are you doing a two year or four year program? If you don't have to work in the beginning of your program, I would recommend that you don't. However, once you get into your final year, I definitely recommend getting a job in a hospital. This way you will be much more familiar with the routine when you finish.....things are quite different when you are up on the floor as a student vs. being employed there.

Hope that this helps......................and good luck............. :balloons:

PedsNurse1981 · May 3, 2004

hello all! my name is Sara!
im starting nursing school in the fall, and im OVERLY stressing myself about a question that i have, and dont know how to answer..
"do i work while going to school , or do i not"
i guess the questions i need to ask to determine that are, how hard is it?...i dont REALLY have to work, but i guess it would be nice to, im 18 yrs old streight out of high school , it isnt like i have bills or rent to pay or anything.
im also the type of person, that when in school, and in a "learning process" like to do just that, and dont like to get side tracked..i think that being a nurse, you should be as full of knowledge about your career and things you need to know to be a good nurse. i could totally see myself just really taking int seriously, is it important to do really well in nursing school?
Thanks to all who answer! it would be nice to stop stressing!

I started nursing school straight out of high school at age 18 and didn't have to work because I still lived at home and didn't have any bills. I was in school for 2 years to get my ADN and only worked 16 hours that whole time. I decided after those 2 shifts that it was stupid for me to work when I didn't have to. You'd probably do better not to work if you don't have to. Anyway, enjoy it while you can. I'm 22 now and have been on my own for almost 2 years. It's not as fun as you think it's going to be. I promise you that.

Renee' Y-Y · May 3, 2004

Many hospitals have nursing student/tech positions for nursing students in their jr & sr year. I HIGHLY recommend getting one of these jobs your jr & sr year. The work requirements are usually pretty mild (maybe 1-2 shifts/month) & the experience is invaluable when you finish nursing school. I was a nsg asst in high school...so I thought I knew it all when I went to nsg school. I did not work at all during nsg school...and when I finally finished I was quite shocked at my lack of experience.

purplemania, BSN, RN · May 3, 2004

nurses have a different level of responsibity than unlicensed workers, so it is generally a shock to graduate and not feel adequate. This is normal. I also feel that you should not work while in school, if your situation allows. Getting a nurse extern, tech or aide job that last year or last semester would be helpful to learn hospital protocols and culture, but the only way to learn about being a nurse is to be one. Believe me when I tell you that nursing school will eat up all your time.

SCRN1 · May 3, 2004

I would recommend that if you don't have to work while in school, don't...until towards the end. What I did was work an evening shift every other Friday my last year of nursing school. Things I got to see helped make what I learned about in school make more sense...even more so than while doing clinicals. While working, I was actually working with the nurses instead of only seeing what my clinical instructors chose for me to see, so this allowed me to see even more & listen to them talking about how nursing REALLY is.

srhdaw · May 3, 2004

Thanks so much for replying!, as far as work goes, if i was gunna work during my first year of school it wouldnt be hospital based i dont think.i deffinately do at some point during school work in a hospital, when i am "experienced" enough to do something other then work in the gift shop (hehehe) i just dont think that babysitting or working in retail was gunna be good to do, considering the hrs suck and id like a lot of time to study and be as knowledgeable as possible!,

im going to school for 2 years, and associates degree (RN) everyone tells me the program at the school im going to is REALLY challenging, but im up for that, and now that i have heard all of your responses im not so psychotic about not having a Job! for a little bit!

Again thank you!!!

Chibi Baka · May 4, 2004

Feh, work is over rated

I work now and im out of the house from 7:00 a.m until 8:30 p.m

And im still in highschool

Im gonna leach off my parents for atleast one more year

I really dont want to live w/ them for 4 yrs though!

SO im just not gonna work the 1st year.

eh ill move out when i get married.. hah watch that be when im 43.

foreverhope · May 4, 2004

hello all! my name is Sara!
im starting nursing school in the fall, and im OVERLY stressing myself about a question that i have, and dont know how to answer..
"do i work while going to school , or do i not"
i guess the questions i need to ask to determine that are, how hard is it?...i dont REALLY have to work, but i guess it would be nice to, im 18 yrs old streight out of high school , it isnt like i have bills or rent to pay or anything.
im also the type of person, that when in school, and in a "learning process" like to do just that, and dont like to get side tracked..i think that being a nurse, you should be as full of knowledge about your career and things you need to know to be a good nurse. i could totally see myself just really taking int seriously, is it important to do really well in nursing school?
Thanks to all who answer! it would be nice to stop stressing!

If you don't have to work while going to school then I would recommend you just focus on school. It just may be the most challenging thing you've ever attempted to complete. I am 38 and it is for me.

Good luck to you!!

srhdaw · May 4, 2004

If you don't have to work while going to school then I would recommend you just focus on school. It just may be the most challenging thing you've ever attempted to complete. I am 38 and it is for me.
Good luck to you!!

Yes, i think it would be best for me to focus on school, or atleast plan on doing that until i know what its all gunna be like!

hearing all of the suggestions/opinions i got are helping me realize a lot about myself, and making me think a lot about knowing what im getting into before i overload myself!

Thankx!

Tweety, BSN, RN · May 4, 2004

Don't work if you don't have to. Get a feel for how it is and if you can fit work in and could use the extra cash then work then.

Fresh out of high school there's a lot of courses to take and you are going to be busy.

Good luck.

THAT SAID, I worked all through school and made it. But took extra time to get my degree. Depends on how quickly you want to get through as well. :)

srhdaw · May 7, 2004

Don't work if you don't have to. Get a feel for how it is and if you can fit work in and could use the extra cash then work then.
Fresh out of high school there's a lot of courses to take and you are going to be busy.
Good luck.
THAT SAID, I worked all through school and made it. But took extra time to get my degree. Depends on how quickly you want to get through as well. :)

Thanks all for the wonderful replys, i registered for classes today, and the first one is "inorganic chem"... after i heard that i decided ill take it easy, and ease my way in and just as 3rdshiftguy said, if i have the room for work, i will work, if not then i will concentrate on school. with thew classes that i have now, if i do really go i will be done in exactly 2 years, and if im capable of doing that i would like to do that. so im not gunna be such a psycho about working anymore hehehehhe

Thanks to all of you!

hope we all become friends, im sure ill be posting 5billion posts from here on in.

Sara