Should We Work And Go To School?!?

TexasCCRN · Jun 3, 2006

hey guys! i hope that everyone is just super, and excelling in whatever nursing education or job you are pursuing at the moment. i wnated to know would anyone recommend not working and going to crna school at the same time. i mean, is this realistic? i have friends who attend bsn school with me and they can't manage to work doing that. i work f/t and manage, but i am worn out! the bills have to be paid though. being a crna is the ultimate goal that i have. attending the school is very important to me. other crna's have told me that is is like two years of medical school. who could possibly work while doing that? is there anyone who worked f/t while going to crna school, or plan to. i figure since that most have their bsn degree already, they have to be working. any crna students or crna's have any advice? help!!!!

you will not be able to work full time and go to school. it's not like you just have class once a week. cut bills and concentrate on school. you owe it to your future patients that you know the material being presented. i know afew people who tried to work 1-2 days on the weekend and their grades suffered for it and they were a nervous wreck going into the end of the semester. it is alright it seems to work now and then, you just have to be smart about when to do it. i personally chose not to. before school, i saved up, paid of cars, debt, etc. all the stress is not worth the little bit you may bring in every month trying to work here and there. i think people forget how big a sacrifice school is both emotionally and financially. remember, you don't have to drive a lexus, if you are leasing turn that car in for a corolla. also, remember it's not always the right time to go back to school. if you have a ton of debt, too many kids in the house that you need to deal with, unsupportive spouse/people in your life....you have a hard enough time with school stress, just wait a few years till things get straight. good luck and i hope this helps some.

Spritenurse1210, BSN, RN · Jan 3, 2008

I wouldn't recomend it; if you are able to take time off then do it. If not, then try to only stick to 20 hours a week. this may offset any bills and if you stick to weekends you should be ok. Best of luck to you!

californianurse · Jan 4, 2008

Your CRNA degree is an investment in you and your family's future. Things may be tight while you're in school, but you will come out making a lot of money to pay off your debt. Many lending companies will loan you money while you're in school, which doesn't accrue interest and where you don't need to begin paying them back until you're 6 months out of school. I've spoken with several other RNs who want to be a CRNA but say they can't afford to take time off of work. So then they will be stuck doing the same nursing job, making the same amount of money and having the same bills for years to come. If you really want to become a CRNA, you will find a way to make it happen. Many programs I've looked into STRONGLY suggest that you not attempt to work. Put yourself and your career first, take care of yourself and don't work yourself to death. You will be a much more pleasant mother, wife, friend and student. And, not only will you be more successful, you will be happier. As nurses, we need to remember to take care of ourselves.

Like TexasCCRN said, you owe it to your patients to know as much as you possibly can.

Aside from the financial benefits to becoming a CRNA, I think that you really have to want it on a more intimate level, where it's a personal career goal because you desire for the in-depth knowledge CRNAs possess. I'm not saying that this isn't you, just more as a reminder.

louloubell1 · Jan 5, 2008

I wouldn't recomend it; if you are able to take time off then do it. If not, then try to only stick to 20 hours a week. this may offset any bills and if you stick to weekends you should be ok. Best of luck to you!

Jess, please look at what forum you are posting in. No offense, but as a CNA I doubt that you have any idea about what kind of workload a student registered nurse anesthetist can tolerate.

To the OP, not only will it be nearly impossible to work very much at all while attending anesthesia school, many schools have policies in place that strictly prohibit you from working in the 8 hours preceding the start of your clinical or didactic day (meaning you could not try pulling night shifts and then head off to clinicals in the morning). Anesthesia school is a full time endeavor, with a mountain of information to study and learn. FT work outside of this is just impossible.

Lou, CRNA

armynse · Jan 5, 2008

I know of someone who got kicked out of CRNA school because he was caught working. There's no way you can work and keep up with the volume of material being taught. I know for sure that one Louisiana program mandates that all students sign a "no-work" contract. Anyone caught violating that policy is immediately dismissed from the program...no questions asked, you're outta there. Rest assured, with the competition being so stiff, there are plenty of people willing to rat you out.

Think you can squeeze in an occasional weekend shift?? That's a negative!! Weekends will be spent trying to keep up with the reading assignments.