jpaul

Heh, I am a fourth semester student about to graduate in May '12. I have 4 children (18, 17, 13 and 7) and a husband; two of my children are headed to college this year! My plate has been very full for the past couple of years. I attended a diploma school of nursing and it has been very rewarding. I am not "super" smart, I guess just a little above average, and I am finishing school with great confidence. Nursing school has been challenging (as it should be) and there were times that I wanted to quit, to be quite honest. If this is a career that you really want, then you have to be prepared to work for it. Not only did I attend school full time and still have to participate in my family, but I also worked part time. I am not going to say that my grades have been all A's (there have been some C's but I will tell you that I also wasn't willing to caste my family to the side completely to get A's (you make compromises when you have a family). Anyway, I have passed all of my courses and it is the most rewarding feeling ever! You can do this, you just need to stay motivated (i.e., FOCUSED) and understand that this time will go by quickly. Anything worth having is worth working for and nursing is worth it (at least to me, I LOVE clinicals!). I plan to continue on to MSN but at least I can do that portion online. I say all of this to say, you can make it through this but you have to BRING IT and do not let anyone tell you different.

I am currently enrolled in nursing school and will complete in 5 months. There are many different financial stories for my classmates and myself; everything from totally depending on spouses to working 4 nights a week bartending (which seems to pay well for those students). We have a student who takes out a private loan to cover living expenses while in school; I myself work part time (20 hours a week maximum). During our school breaks, most students work as many hours as they can to make up for the hours they cannot work during the school week. It is difficult, and it is a sacrifice and you need to research the hiring rate of new grad respiratory therapists. You may also want to look to relocating after if the opportunities are not available where you are.