Nursing School- talk me down from the ledge :P!

[merky]

Hi all:

I don't know if you can relate to this, but I've been accepted to Nursing School, haven't even started yet, and am already stressed out beyond belief. I am a single working mother. I asked my advisor today for my schedule for the upcoming fall. She told me, blunt as day "we don't make arrangements around your childcare or work issues, and I won't know until the freshman sign up for their labs and clinicals what days you will be doing yours." So basically, I have to wait until the end of August to know what days I will be able to work, if at all, and am given no consideration for clinical sites based on where I live.

Basically, it looks like I'll be traveling 1.5-2.5 hours each way to school and clinicals, and it's pretty much impossible to request that my clinicals and labs are scheduled to minimize campus trips and the burden on my family of me being away.

Is this just the beginning of the huge pain-in-the-rear that is Nursing school? I'm wondering if my family and I will be able to bear this burden. I've heard of nurses eating their young, but it appears that Nursing instructors eat their young too! I need advice from those of you who've been there!

Thanks so much:up:

[Justanotherday]

I've adopted the motto of the Navy SEALs.

"The only easy day was yesterday."

Sorry, no advice, I am not in nursing school yet, just prereqs, juggling a part time job, homeschooling, classes and baseball practice. It will be worth it in the end!!

[vegas2009]

Not necessarily the instructors who 'eat their young,' there are some faculty members who are pretty decent with their students. It's their nursing policies that will kill ya. They are not exactly fair. They're set up for one thing and that is to weed people out. To be fair though, they do let their students know what they're in for, before they even start the program.

If you like to work hard, lose a lot of sleep, become a coffee addict, forced to eat junk food and take lots of tests --- then nursing is for ya! Then one day, they'll just pull the rug under ya (yup, exactly the ONE you're standing ON) ... make ya fall down and hit yer head, nice huh?

NEVER make a slight mistake, pass everything. A small oops, can mean a YEAR that you have to pay for. Goodluck.

[moma8gma1]

Is there any way you can move closer to the campus to cut down on that commute?

I'm not even in a nursing program, yet but this is what I'm moving forward with, and maybe it will help you: keep going until I hit an absolutely immovable wall. I'm afraid of the grueling schedule, too, and how it will affect my family. I also suspect that this fear is already sabotaging my efforts in A&P.

So, my advice: just push forward and see how it goes. You may have to make some sacrifices while in school, but until you're really there and in the midst of it, you can't know what the situation will be like.

If I were in your shoes, I'd give both my child care, work and family a heads up about what is coming, then after you are able to get your schedule, let everyone know and see how it shakes out. Some tweaking may be needed, maybe a change in work (probably shouldn't work at all during nursing school), but just don't let the fear of the unknown undermine your determination and confidence.

Go forth proudly, knowing you "got in" and hope for the best! Good luck to you, and major congrats on getting in! :)

[merky]

Thanks so much walomom! I could move closer, but it would hugely change the quality of my family's life. I'll just hafta see how it shakes out, like you said. No way to tell ahead of time. I just hope nursing school is worth the investment!

Does anyone think I should bug my advisor about clinical and lab scheduling? She originally told me it would be only 3 days per week, now Im being told it will take up five days a week of time away.

[guiltysins]

I don't think you should bug her. Majority of nursing schools do not let you pick your clinical sites. I registered for all of my classes and even though I know the clinical time and day, we won't find out what hospital we're going to be at until Septmeber, that's just the way it works. They can't really give anything special to one student or they'd have to do it for everyone. While I'm praying I get the hospital across the street from the school, I could very well be put in the hospital that is 1.5 hours away.

Class scheduling goes by what classes you need, how many you're willing to take a day and how early or late you want to be at school. I have classes 4 days a week, I could have done three but I didn't want to be at school past 4pm. Nursing classes are long, usually because they are only once a week for 2-3 hours so you can't fit as many in a day.

[jennylouwho]

I wouldn't bug her either.

I'd suggest trying to move. I know that you said it would disrupt the quality of your family's life, but how is that quality going to be when you're driving an 1.5 to 2 hours each way, 3-5 days per week?

[merky]

Points well taken. Thanks again allnurses! All definitely things to chew over before August.