Single Mother, Working, and Nursing School

PatchyPu · May 28, 2012

Aww a toddler. You will be surprised to know that the majority of moms in nursing programs do VERY well. As moms we have have the expertise of juggling and multitasking and as single moms, improvising. From just my observations, studying efficiently for 2 hrs a day is good. Use that time to create study questions on index cards or cheat sheets. This way, you have studied and prepared test for yourseves which you can read while baby is in the tub or playing. As moms we have to study differently. Just make sure that your studying type is two fold. When you study, ask in the form of questions on papers that you can easily refer to when you have extra time (when baby naps, bathes, during your mani, pedi). I'm a mom of a 2 yr old and 8 month old and I start in 3 weeks.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · May 28, 2012

Welcome to AN! The largest online nursing community.

There will be sacrifices.......but in the long run which will be better for your baby? Moms in nursing school do very well.......they have excellent motivation and drive...their children.

I wish you both the best!!

ixchel · May 28, 2012

One bit of advice for studying: teach what you're learning to your little one. My kids eat this stuff up! I bet my son knows a&p better than the average lay person. Kids make excellent study partners! Also, find a way to get a completely kid-free day once a week so that you know you will reliably have quiet time at some point. I didn't do that my first year, but this past year both of my kids were in school full time and I had one free day to catch up each week. If you have a grandparent nearby you could make that Grandma's day, to keep the mom guilt away. :) There will be days when you have to tell the little one no when he wants to play with you. Those days are hard. Keep plenty of self-entertaining activities around. I'm finishing pre-reqs now and I'll be in the program in August. If there is any other precious wisdom I can lend, it would be to wait for the program until little guy is in full day kindergarten. I've experienced school life with my kids home and with kids in school and I can't tell you enough how much easier it is with them in school.

Katie71275 · May 29, 2012

I think you will do just fine! yes there will be sacrifices but I bet he won't remember most of it and once you have that RN, thinks will be much better financially esp as a single mom.

Im not a single mom but I feel like it some days(hubby works 2 jobs Mon-Fri 8-5 and several times a week from 530-930 and weekends 6-11), and we have 4 kids.

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · May 30, 2012

No one can tell you for sure what will work. But, there's one thing I see that some of my students do not do, that puts them in a bad situation: they do not dedicate time to study, they think they can multi-task it into their lives. Example, don't drag that book around with you while you have your child with you. Rather, give your son HIS time, then make sure YOU have time to study without him. You're only going to stress yourself out if you can't get anything done with him around. Invest in quality babysitting/childcare, and leave the house. If you're out of sight, you're out of mind. You'll get a lot more quality study time in.

vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN · May 30, 2012

I'm going to be in nursing school as a single mom sometime next year. My husband left us last year while I was taking prereqs. I almost quit becuase I thought I couldn't do this with 3 children. But...here I am! Working, taking nearly full time prereqs and doing it!

You can do it!

The only caveat I'd add is to make sure that your school allows you to work or that other students have worked. I say this because the RN programs near me tell students not to work. The clinicals may be scheduled last minute and may be as early as 6am and as late as 10pm. Clinicals may be 1-2 hours from the school, also.

For these reasons, I am preparing myself that I may not be able to work much when I begin nursing school. I am considering how I can live- like what are my most important expenses. (Gas in my car...food...)

I am considering what is most important to me and what I can sacrifice. I am considering the reliability of my car, who I can call in a pinch to drive my kids to school and practice, how I will handle emotionally being away from my kids 8-12 hours each day when I have school, clinicals and work.

When I went to the info sessions for the ADN and BSN programs in my area, they told us that some people have really sad situations that prevent them from completing nursing school. e.g. car break down, day care issues, etc. This served as a warning to me to get my stuff in order!

I realize that I may have to move in with my mom or dad. I haven't lived with parents since I was 16. I know though, that they'd be happy to help me finish school so I can support my kids.

metal_m0nk, BSN, RN · May 30, 2012

One bit of advice for studying: teach what you're learning to your little one. My kids eat this stuff up!

This has been true in my experience too. Even better if you let them try your stethoscope and penlight

DarkLotus · May 30, 2012

I was able to work full time while doing prerequisites but am just hoping to work one shift as a tech once I start school! I've heard horror stories about students who had 4.0's going in failing out or having to drop out because they had to work to make ends meet.

Also how can you schedule/afford all that child care if your in school 20-30 hours a week and working 20-30 hours a week? The cost of daycare would be more than I would be making!

KB1975 · May 30, 2012

[color=#ff6600]

shauntil07

i have not yet started clinical, but i will this fall. i am a divorced mom of three kids, ages 10, 8 and 7. it is very hard to "juggle" three kids and going to school full time, but it is not impossible. i just completed all of the pre classes that i needed, with a final gpa around 3.9 (can not recall all the numbers lol). i have taught my kids a lot of what i was learning in classes, not only to help myself but to merge my studies with my kids. they just ate it up and the loved calling their grandparents to share their new knowledge!

i did wait until my youngest was in school part time before i started with the full time classes. now that all of my kids are in school all day, i make sure i study every morning for 2-3 hours (minimum). use the time wisely when they are gone and make sure to use the time with them to meet their needs.

good luck!

Shauntil07, LVN · May 30, 2012

This helps ALOT! because I was so concerned with how I was going to make it trying to pay for a car at this time, take care of bills and things. My son will be hopefully be in a charter school this August so I pray that works out and he can possibly go to school all day! :) Yeah the study time is what's going to be crucial for me because I want to make sure I have time to study but make sure he doesn't feel neglected from his mom either.