Time spent studying while in NP school

meswaa · Apr 15, 2015

I'm interested in knowing as well.

Rocknurse, MSN, APRN, NP · Apr 15, 2015

I work Mon-Fri full time and I try to read through assignments and powerpoints during the week and formulate an idea of what I'm going to do, and then spend the day times during the weekend working on stuff. It sucks to give up weekends but when I get home from work I want to relax and have family time. I still manage to get to the gym every day and see my friends once a week. I also leave Friday and Saturday nights free and open as my sacred time for relaxation, BBQs, cooking etc. I'm averaging As in all my classes. When you work you have to work hard, but if you plan you can manage everything. Granted, I don't have kids. I couldn't imagine that extra stress.

Preparation is key. I don't want to get to Saturday morning and not have a clue what I may find when I open the assignment. I go in planned and prepared and then just work on what I have to do.

OBigdog26, MSN, RN, NP · Apr 15, 2015

My biggest concern is spending time with my family and having time for myself such as working out and training BJJ. I have heard some grad students put in about 30 hrs a week of study time. To me that is ridiculous. I'm praying for the best.

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bebbercorn · Apr 15, 2015

I am going part time - 6 hrs per term. I find that working full time with kids, the max I can get is 1-2 hours in per day. This depends on if I'm able to get up early, if I get a lunch break at work, and if the kids take a nap (or I use the dreaded T.V. babysitter... My daughter knows 'Finding Nemo' word-for-word). I agree that preparation is key. In the beginning of term, you have to list assignments week by week, so there are no surprises. 30 hours would be nice, just not feasible for most of us.

BirkieGirl · Apr 15, 2015

I also work 5 days a week, M-F 8-430. i take 7-8 credit hours per semester and have two semesters plus about 600 more clinical hours to go. i am fortunate that each semester, on whatever night my classes are on, i leave work around 2pm so i can go to school and read, prepare, review (for in-class tests) etc. my program is 1/2 online, 1/2 in class.

i spend at least three nights during the workweek reading, reviewing online, posting some thread online, responding to threads, etc. i also spend at least one of the two days each weekend working 4-6 hours on some major paper, project, presentation, or on my research thesis. i spend a good amount of time with my family. i have two kids, age 5 and 13 and neither seem to feel neglected. they understand that this is a temporary thing and will eventually be done. i make sure that i stay ahead with my reading and course work so i am never 'cramming'. i am maintaining a 3.8 GPA and over 1/2 done with the program. i LOVE the learning of it all, and wish i could keep going for my DNP, but i will stop at the MSN point and practice for a while first...it is completely do-able. good luck!

MikeFNPC, MSN · Apr 16, 2015

I may be the exception here but I only worked 5-6 days a month and spent a lot of time with the various schoolwork activities. My program was online for the first year then clinicals the last year. Ended up with a 4.0 and passed the AANP fairly easily, all was due to the amount of time I spent studying. Some of my classmates struggled significantly due to commitments and lack of participation so it may be just relative. If I had worked fulltime my stress level would have been through the roof. My advice would be to take as much time off as you can dependent upon your situation.

OBigdog26, MSN, RN, NP · Apr 16, 2015

Thank you all. The feedback I have received has helped me immensely.

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