single mom. full time nursing student. full time job..

Pets to People · Jan 2, 2013

If you believe you can do it and you want it bad enough, it can be done. I have learned by experience that a person may be amazed by what they can handle when it comes down to it, sometimes you just don't know until you're in the middle of a situation and then you learn what you're made of!

Not to say that it is not going to be extremely difficult....the age of your kids can play a factor, whether or not you have some family to help and how much sleep you can go without lol. I have found that most of my homework can be done at night while my son is asleep, but then I will be up until 1am and have to be up by 530 to make the 45 min drive to school. Forget about watching TV, only make the simpliest meals that require the least amount of prep/cook time and make extra so you can have leftovers available. Use every free moment for study, then your kids and then sleep. I purchased a voice recorder and would record important info from my PP's as I studied them late at night, so I could listen to it on the long drive to and from school. I could have flash cards of meds in my pocket to scan over while cooking, while waiting for class to start if I got there a little early or while my son was distracted when playing out side. Basically it's all about what you can come up with that works for you, be inventive.

Be prepared to adapt, because some tricks may work one week or for one semester, but not the next. Sometimes I get exhausted and that's when I will curl around my son on the floor while he watches his favorite cartoon and catch a cat nap. Basically you do what you can to get through, enjoy every break from school that you get (spring break, fall break, etc) because it will help keep you sane lol and then dive back in when classes start back up.

You can do it lauraash! It's all about how bad you want it and just how tough you think you are. I think we are faced with challenges to our goals to see if we really want them, or if we just thought we did. I have a very persistant personality and when I want something, nothing will stand in my way. I graduate with my ADN June 2013 and it has been a long 3 yrs. My family has had to really struggle...we have been without food, without running water, without heat in the winter or AC in the summer, you name it, we have had to fight through it. But this new year is going to be such a dramatic change in our lives, when I think about it too much I almost want to break down in tears. Graduating is going to CHANGE my families life, completely. I need this for me, for my son and for my husband and I, and that is why I fight for it, day and night, tooth and nail.

Keep in mind why you want this, why you need it, because that is what you will have to pull out when things get hard, and they will. You will get so tired, so frustrated, doubt your decision, etc, but that is when you have to pull out that reason you have and it will center you, refresh you and get you back in the fight.

rumwynnieRN · Jan 2, 2013

You being a single mom to get through nursing school isn't new. I had a lot of classmates who were single moms and made it through the program (it took some of them a little longer though), but they still graduated. As for the full-load and full-time job, that's another issue all together; you might need to make some decisions there. A lot of my classmates who were single moms made use of a scholarship aimed at single parents to help get through school (I know it wasn't unique to my school, but I don't know if this scholarship was available nationally or just within the state where I live), and yes, some of my classmates WITH children graduated a semester early, but I think that's because of how my school was set up.

i won't say you can't -- one of my classmates (before she took on ridiculous loads of additional stress like becoming secretary or treasurer of the National Nursing Student Association or whatever it's called with an externship at the hospital where she was employed) worked for a bit as a nurse aide/unit clerk weekend nights full-time, but she had a lot of help through some scholarships, her mom paying for some of her bills, etc.

Good luck. Nursing school is ridiculous, with or without kids.

cflodeen · Jan 2, 2013

I would see if you could get some grants/scholarships or even take out a little extra in student loans so you are able to cut back in school. Some people may disagree but she if you are eligible for any sort of assistance so you can cut back. The small amount of time that you will receive help will be paid back with the money you will be making.

Schedule studying/school into your life. My kids go to bed/have quiet time starting at 7-730 almost every single night, then I study, study, study.

Take up every single offer people have ever given you to watch your kids. Have them watch your kiddos overnight sat-sun before a test and just review, listen to lectures, etc. Listen to lectures while you are in the car/cooking/hanging out with the kids, even having it in the background may help.

Don't overdue it, everyday you are going to have to wake up and say to yourself, something has got to give. You need to decide what that one thing is going to be for the day, are you going to: pay someone to watch your kids or let them watch an extra movie so you can study, use some PTO so you can study or are you going to put studying aside for the day so you can focus on work or kids. You just simply cant do everything every single day.

Im not a single mom but my husband works the most obnoxious hours. There is a lady with 6 kids, works full time and has entered her 4th semester of nursing school, another with twins and works full time. You can do it!

theantichick · Jan 2, 2013

Don't let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do. Only you know yourself - how easily do you absorb new information? How much time do you have to spend studying/reading to "get" something? How old are your kids and how self sufficient are they? How flexible is your job?

I was told by more people than I could count that there was ZERO way I could manage to work full time and go to nursing school. Much less be a single mom to boot.

I am a "non traditional" student going back to school in my early 40's to become a nurse. Scratch that, I'm no longer a student, I graduated in December. :)

I am a single mom of a teenager who's pretty self sufficient.

I have to work 40-50 hours a week as a computer programmer, however my company is very flexible with my hours with some work from home options and was willing to flex around my lecture/clinical schedule as long as I got in my hours and got my work done. Also, the nature of my job gives me repeated 10-20 minute stretches of time when I'm waiting on something to run, that I can use to study or go over flashcards or whatever.

I'm lucky that I have a background in medicine (was a Paramedic 20 years ago) so a lot of the content wasn't completely new, and I also learn new material quickly without having to read it more than once plus lecture and clinical.

In addition to all that, I was dealing with horrible symptoms my first semester that got diagnosed during my required summer session in nursing school as sleep apnea, then that fall had a massive exacerbation of my irritable bowel syndrome. Then in the Spring of my 2nd year in nursing school, I had an adverse reaction to a medication prescribed, which caused lesions to form in my heart causing 40+ PVC's a minute with malignant symptoms and I dealt with it for 8 weeks to get through the semester until I could have a heart procedure done during summer break.

Was it easy? Heck no. Would I take on all of this if I had any choice? Resoundingly heck no. Did I make it? Yep. I'm a GN waiting to take the NCLEX as soon as I can schedule it (they haven't released our ATT's yet). Now, I couldn't manage straight A's, even had to live with a couple of C's. But my overall GPA is 3.37 and I have my ASN. I'll be starting my online bridge program for my BSN in the fall.

I will say, if you have any options to cut back hours, take out **minimal** loans, apply for grants, get family to help out with kids, use EVERY advantage you can to lessen your load. Be VERY realistic about what you can and cannot do, and what your time constraints are.

But don't let someone else determine what you can and cannot do.

Best of luck to you!!

gatoraims RN · Jan 2, 2013

I will be entering my last semester of nursing school and there are a number of students who are single moms, working full time, and going to school full time. Their stress levels can be high at times (as any nursing students can be) but they are hanging strong. You can do it. It may take more dedication than others but it can be done.

Lauraash · Jan 2, 2013

Thank u all so much. :-)

Just_An_Illusion · Jan 3, 2013

Please just need some motivation. I just need to know that people do make it through nursing school as single moms. I have no doubt I will do it. But I can definitely feel the pressure that people think there's no way.

Lauraash-

I'm living breathing proof it can be done. You can do it too, however you have to be very disciplined and have a good support system. I graduated with my ADN and then BSN a couple years later while working full time as a single parent of a young child in pre-school. I'm not going to lie to you it was very challenging and there was a ton of pressure on my back, however I wanted it so bad that there was nothing that could have stood in my way.

I spoke with my manager at the time and he agreed to allow me to augment my schedule to accomodate class and clinical time. In addition, my former mom-in-law and babysitter would watch my daughter while I was in clinical or class. I was constantly studying and slept whenever I could, not to mention making time for my kid. It was difficult but doable. If you are determined, you will be successful.

Good luck to you!

Mslecia20 · Jan 3, 2013

I am in the same boat, 4 kids age 12,8,5 & 3. I had to move my sister in to babysit since I work full time nights as well as being a full time student. I'm still learning how to manage as I go! Good luck to you!!

whatdidigetmyselfin2 · Jan 3, 2013

I am a single mom that works/goes to school full-time. It's hard, but not impossible. I try to stay on top of my homework and I try to study while my son is playing. Also, I try to squeeze a few minutes of study time in my breaks at work. It's terrible to not be able to spend as much time with my son as I'd like but after graduation, it will all be worth it.

Dezy · Jan 3, 2013

I believe in you! I hope you will preserve and be a shining day of hope for all of us.I thi k you should try to document your school adventures and then some day share them with others.nthis will give you motivation as well.

atlnurse477 · Jan 3, 2013

I'm just like any other ordinary student when I enrolled and finish nursing so I salute all single moms who survived the nursing school..everybody knows how tough is it to finish the course!There's nothing impossible if we're determined to do so...A strong support system I guess would really be a great help!