Not working during nursing school?

BeachsideRN, ASN · Jul 5, 2015

Financial aid. Loans (responsibly). Scholarships. Grants.

BeachsideRN, ASN · Jul 5, 2015

Cut back anything that isn't necessary now. Set a tight budget and stick to it. Any bills you can pay off now - do it

vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN · Jul 5, 2015

For those of you that didn't work during nursing school and are single with no one to support you how did you pay for your bills and expenses?
I'm taking the prereqs now and applying and this is my biggest worry as everyone said I will have to significantly cut back.

I was single (going through a divorce) through Lvn school. I was on welfare for the first 3/4 of school and lived in various peoples homes rent free. I was kind of homeless. It sucked but I made it. Toward the end, I finally recvd child support and alimony which allowed me to rent an apartment. I kept my expenses super low after I graduated and even after I became a working nurse.

Now that I'm back in school for my bridge, my expenses are pretty low still and I may have to work 2 shifts per week. But I'm also going to qualify for a tax refund and I will appeal for financial aid so I can max out the undergrad cap and recv a few more thousands. I'm also planning to work as much as I can on our school breaks.

Most of my friends in Lvn school lived off loans or family help.

Jules A, MSN · Jul 5, 2015

I can't even begin to understand why someone with limited supports would consider quitting work while in school.

johsonmichelle · Jul 5, 2015

You can still work and go to school. The people in my cohort who are not working have spouses that are working full time. If you don't have someone to support you financially then keep working. It's definitely possible to work and go to nursing school but time management is key. Have your researched job availability and new grad pay area in your area? I think you should, jobs are not readily available and new grad pay can be very low. Acquiring a large some of debt because nursing school doesn't seem too wise so I'm against huge student loans.

vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN · Jul 6, 2015

I'm not trying to start a big debate, but it bugs me when people say that a person can work while in nursing school. I think people should consider that every program is set up differently.

For example, in my Lvn program, we went to school mon-fri for 8.5 hrs. All of our clinical sites were out of the area, meaning a 45 minute to 3 hr commute from campus. We also had homework that was busy work-eg Dittos and worksheets with fill in the blanks.

On the other hand, I've recently started the Lvn to rn bridge and we only have school 4 days per week. Later on it will only be 3 days I think. Plus our homework consists of studying, not random Dittos. But....our school has cautioned us not to work because they expect you to commit 9 hrs per night to studying.

Thus far, in my bridge, although I didn't work for the first 4 weeks, I think I can manage to work a couple shifts per week at this point since I have my study system down.

But to me, in my humble opinion, for some of us, working as a nurse will be a way to not only support our families by keeping a roof over their head, but also the income will allow us to provide a comfortable lifestyle.

For this reason, for my situation, I was not and am not willing to let anything get in the way of my finishing it. Because the reward, the pay off will be life changing for me and my son.

I hope this makes sense and does not offend. ðŸ˜Š

ahosoda · Jul 6, 2015

I disagree with people who say it is possible to work and do nursing school. I worked 40+ hrs a week as a CNA throughout my pre-reqs without any issues. It was stressful at times, but always manageable. Nursing school is a totally different ball game. I went on-call as soon as I started nursing school. Even working 1 shift a week was very emotionally taxing. I HAD to quit. Working while doing nursing school is a great way to burn out, fast. Please make your mental health a priority and don't work while in nursing school unless you are 110% sure you can handle it! I found that my 3rd semester (OB/Peds) was easier than my first two, so I did start working again TEMPORARILY without issues.

Talk to your advisor about what scholarships are available. Apply for as many as you can. Generally you can write one essay and tweak it a little for each scholarship. I get about $3000 per semester in scholarships.

Another thing I would HIGHLY recommend is making friends with someone in the class above you. Ask them which books are truly essential, then check to see if your school library has those books. (Hint: Google has the same information as your textbooks - just be careful about reliable sources). Don't buy books from the bookstore - try Amazon, Craigslist, or even torrenting sites for books. Heck, most people will share their books with you! That has saved me about $500-1000 each semester.

There is also no shame in food assistance programs. I usually get ~$500/month that I can only use toward food. It rolls over if I don't use it all. It's nice because then all of my scholarship money can go toward rent and bills and I don't have to worry about going hungry.

Jules A, MSN · Jul 7, 2015

There is also no shame in food assistance programs. I usually get ~$500/month that I can only use toward food. It rolls over if I don't use it all. It's nice because then all of my scholarship money can go toward rent and bills and I don't have to worry about going hungry.

There isn't any shame in food assistance programs although I personally would prefer my tax dollars go to those who aren't able to work and need to feed their families not just to those who want a lower stress college experience.

ahosoda · Jul 7, 2015

JulesA, I think you should reflect on your priorities. People who don't value mental health should not be in the medical field. Period.

Stress affects health in so many ways. I would rather increase your taxes by $0.0001 cents/year and become a great nurse than half-a** the nursing program and kill myself of stress. When I was working and doing nursing school simultaneously, my BP shot up to the 160/100 range from stress. I'm normally in the 90/60 range. If you think about it long-term, that has so many negative health implications that I am saving you tax money. Because when people get diabetes, heart disease, mental/psychiatric disorders, etc... guess who has to pay for it. That's right. Taxpayers.

Let's hope you care about your patients more than you care about your fellow nurses.

Red Kryptonite · Jul 7, 2015

There isn't any shame in food assistance programs although I personally would prefer my tax dollars go to those who aren't able to work and need to feed their families not just to those who want a lower stress college experience.

This. I have no problem with supporting those who can't take care of themselves. The able-bodied and perfectly capable? Not so much.

No one else pays my family's food bill while I'm in school.... I don't have a choice but to work full time.

CocoaLoverFNP · Jul 7, 2015

JulesA, I think you should reflect on your priorities. People who don't value mental health should not be in the medical field. Period.
Stress affects health in so many ways. I would rather increase your taxes by $0.0001 cents/year and become a great nurse than half-a** the nursing program and kill myself of stress. When I was working and doing nursing school simultaneously, my BP shot up to the 160/100 range from stress. I'm normally in the 90/60 range. If you think about it long-term, that has so many negative health implications that I am saving you tax money. Because when people get diabetes, heart disease, mental/psychiatric disorders, etc... guess who has to pay for it. That's right. Taxpayers.
Let's hope you care about your patients more than you care about your fellow nurses.

I agree with your "stress" arguement.

However, i do not like the idea of increasing my taxes (or anyone's taxes) for anyone at all. I worked hard for my money. I went to school, passed boards, and succeed in life all on my OWN. Therefore, I deserve the money I earn. If i have to work while in school, or take out loans, etc., I will do it just to finish school and be able to say I did it all on my own. As much as possible, I don't want my burden to be other people's burden....!

Since taxes exist, I rather have those people who honestly need it benefit from it.