i'm so happy i found you guys! what a wonderful resource for everybody! i didn't start nursing school yet, and still, after reading all your stories feel i know so much already!. thank you
i just received my letter of acceptance from the local adn program! :yeah:i start on august 20th! if you wouldn't mind i have a couple of questions for you:
1 for moms with young children - what do you do when your kids get sick? mine (age 5 and 9) get sick quite a bit, with high fevers and such. 104 or 105 is a common thing in my house during a flu season. until now i tried to manage my prereq's around them and so far when they were sick my instructors were very understanding. but nursing school is different. i do have somebody that will help me with taking care of them when they are home. it's not family, but it's a help. my question is how do you cope when they are really sick? i understand how important attendance for nursing school. but is there really no room for emergencies like these? how did you moms cope? what did you do in situations like this? moms, share your stories, please.
2. changing gears here - to how do you study. i've read on this board about enormous quantities of reading of material that you cover in short period of time. along with all the other important busy work of nursing school. many of you wrote that you make flashcards and rewrite your notes, something i've been doing myself in prereq's. what i was wondering about is - after you've done your reading (i'm a slow reader) and assigned work, how can you still find time for making flashcards and rewriting notes? what are your secrets?
thank you for everybody for sharing your stories. i feel a little bit better now. it is hard. i've always been there for my kids when they needed me. when i start nursing school, it is going to be major adjustment for my whole family. and if could do it, we'll have do it too. as one of you said nursing school is not for "sissy families". thank you again for being such great support network :redbeathe
My husband saved up his sick time; when I had class/clinicals and one of the kids was sick, he stayed home. Simple as that.
I'd been home for years, arranging my life around the kids; we all knew going into nursing school that there was going to be a huge shift in how our family was going to work. Everyone was aware and okay with that.
My husband is a high school teacher. There was one 6 week time period where he missed at least one, sometimes two days a week every week. He was a peach and never complained once about it (even though it was really stressful, because it meant he had to spend several hours each missed day working up sub plans, and work harder on the days he was there to get his kids back up to speed). He had the sick leave for it, and even though his principal gave him a hard time, his union rep defended him--he had the leave, so he could take it--so it worked out.
We'd planned for years for me going back to school; it was hard, but doable. Our family and friends were amazingly supportive. Just remember to give the love back when you have the opportunity.
I agree with Dee78...I would take an online version of the class. Our school lets us sit in on lectures, but we have the added flexibility of
1) four days instead of 1 to take an exam;
2)If we have sick kids, missing a lecture doesn't count against you.
3)Extra materials through the WebCt class (i.e. the exact same lecture other students are hearing - nice for studying)
4)I don't really have to rely on anyone to take care of the kids UNLESS it is a clinical day, so when and if it happens it is fairly rare and the person I ask is much more likely to step in and help out.
Specializes in Critical Care: Cardiac, VAD, Transplant.
I have 5 kids-2 have chronic conditions that require hospitalization and frequent sick days or doc. visits. I have never missed clinicals, although it has been close this semester, but I have been required to miss part of a class here and there. We have no family close by and haven't found anyone willing to deal with the kids-even for a short time-when they are having health issues. My husband has no personal days at his current job, but we've taken advantage of the Family Leave act on several occasions so that I can make it to clinicals.
Just try to work out possible issues ahead of time. Work out an agreement with your spouse that he'll cover days you have exams or clinicals, and you'll cover the rest. Nursing school doesn't pay the bills now, but in the end it will! In addition, I make sure my instructors are aware of my situation and bring in proof of their medical diagnoses before I need them.
I suggest tha that you never tell that you missed because your kid was sick, just say 'personal issue.' I found that moms with kids who got sick got labled because of it. there are services that will come and take care of your children last minute. google emergency daycare.
on the second point, make your own notes from your instructors power points then skim over the reading...but do the reading. sometimes the difference between a passing student and a failing one is the reading. focus on the reading that your instructor took the time make into a power point.
I agree with Dee78...I would take an online version of the class. Our school lets us sit in on lectures, but we have the added flexibility of
1) four days instead of 1 to take an exam;
2)If we have sick kids, missing a lecture doesn't count against you.
3)Extra materials through the WebCt class (i.e. the exact same lecture other students are hearing - nice for studying)
4)I don't really have to rely on anyone to take care of the kids UNLESS it is a clinical day, so when and if it happens it is fairly rare and the person I ask is much more likely to step in and help out.
I was told that in the program i got into, we would be doing Teleclasses (whatever that means). Initialy i took it as a negative for the program thinking i would rather be in the real class with real time connection with instructor. But I stand corrected! This long distance mode might be just what my family needs. I don't know yet all specifics. Our orientation is in July.
definatly have a back up plan to your origional as far as day care goes. If one daycare arrangement bails out on you then go to you backup arrangement.
Rally together your friends, family, and neighbors if possible. Have as much support as you can stand. Now is not the time to go it alone and try to do it all yourself. Use your resources:hpygrp:
My biggest worry is that the school's going to call me to say someone's sick, and I'm not going to be able to leave clinicals to get them. Thankfully I have a neighbor that works in the school system, close to where the kids go to school, and I know if I called her in an emergency, she'd go and get my kids- if my husband couldn't get them.
I actually had this happen & another time I had the babysitter fail to pick up my son. Both times I received a call to my clinical site. The first time I was able to leave clinical early, I only missed post clinical conference & the second time I ended up missing my 1 allotted day to miss clinical... it happened another time, babysitter related (we ended up getting rid of her) & my husband had to burn a day of vacation... he was not thrilled, but we both had to make sacrifices.
I also had my son end up in the hospital for a week, thankfully it happened during prereqs.
I didn't have family readily available for daycare & had to rely on numerous methods & people to enable me to attnd school, it always seemed to work out at the last minute, although the added stress I didn't need.
As far as studying, my son got used to me having minimal time to play... I would make a point of at least one day a week I would do no hoemwork & focus on him. I just remember spending alot of time up late & up early... I learned to live on little to no sleep. As someone else already wrote... where there is a will there is a way, and NS is not for the faint of heart.
On another note I graduated last Dec. & am currently at my job for almost 4 months & enjoying myself! Good Luck!!
This is a big reason I did a night/weekend program. My clinicals were on weekend so I knew that 99% of the time my husband would be with the kids. I do not have a lot of family to rely on so it was crucial that I knew I could rely on him in case the kids were sick. He does travel occassionally but it typically has worked out that when they are sick he has been around. And going to class in the evening makes it easier since he is home at night. I would really plan to have some backups in case of sick kids. I would not miss clinical at all if you can help it. I was forced to miss clinical for the first time this semester due to myself being sick. I actually went in in the AM and had to leave. Luckily I had not missed any days in the entire 2 years and my instructor knew that and could tell I was really sick. She let me make it up with another class. But don't miss clinical for a sick child, because you may need it for when you are sick sometime. Trust me, the instructors do not have sympathy for parents or anyone who has to miss. you are expected to be there, clinical time is very limited and that is where you learn everything. You are expected to arrange your schedule and life to be there. Ask for too many special considerations and they really will have their eye on you. It sounds harsh but if they think someone is not dedicated or putting in what they need to they really do look at you more closely and make sure you are truly serious about it. It will be very clearly spelled out as to how many days you can miss and there will be no exceptions. I am done with nursing school on May 12 and I have a 8 and 5 yr old. It can be done. It takes a lot of work, a little luck, and a lot of help. Good luck.
thank you to everybody again who replied with advice and experience. you made it very clear how important it is to be prepared for emergencies and not to rely on the understanding of instructors. point is taken. i have a sitter that agreed to stay with kids when they are sick. i also blessed with so many wonderful friends that offered their help if i would need it. also my mil is coming from overseas to stay with us whole month in the late october. i hope my mom, who is over seas too, would be able to come later too. unfortunately, husband won't help. we should be ok, i just worry if i can foresee as much as possible.
for now, we are getting ready for momy's nursing school. the kids have been hearing about this for the last three years so they know what to expect. i've already started them on my own survival boot camp so they would be more self-sustaining. at least for the next two years. they learning how to take care of bathrooms, laundry, dishes, lunch bugs....
thank you to everybody again who replied with advice and experience. you made it very clear how important it is to be prepared for emergencies and not to rely on the understanding of instructors. point is taken. i have a sitter that agreed to stay with kids when they are sick. i also blessed with so many wonderful friends that offered their help if i would need it. also my mil is coming from overseas to stay with us whole month in the late october. i hope my mom, who is over seas too, would be able to come later too. unfortunately, husband won't help. we should be ok, i just worry if i can foresee as much as possible.
for now, we are getting ready for mommy's nursing school. the kids have been hearing about this for the last three years so they know what to expect. i've already started them on my own survival boot camp so they would be more self-sustaining. at least for the next two years. they learning how to take care of bathrooms, laundry, dishes, lunch bags....
I'm about to graduate in May (Woot!) and I'll tell you what I have done when it comes to my three kids (ages 10, 7, and 3 now).
1) Try to do everything you can to keep your kids from getting sick. We're big fans of Airborn here.
2) Find someone who can watch your kids if they are sick. For me that was my MIL at times, and DH had to take off of work more than once. Yes it was hard when DH's paychecks were short but missing clinical or labs are not an option for me unless it's an emergency.
3) Studying; Make time. You will miss your kids. It sucks, but you have to juggle. It's funny because in all of my interviews I have been asked what the hardest thing about nursing school was and I have always answered "I have 3 children. The hardest thing for me was managing my time with them. But I did it and I have very good time management skills now!" lol
Set aside time to study and time to do family things. Unless it's an emergency, don't infringe on one for the other.
:yeah:i start on august 20th! if you wouldn't mind i have a couple of questions for you:
NN2BVE
31 Posts
thank you for everybody for sharing your stories. i feel a little bit better now. it is hard. i've always been there for my kids when they needed me. when i start nursing school, it is going to be major adjustment for my whole family. and if could do it, we'll have do it too. as one of you said nursing school is not for "sissy families". thank you again for being such great support network :redbeathe