Tips for Nursing Students also working full time jobs (40hrs/week)

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I have been accepted in my nursing program that I've been working towards for a couple years. I currently work full-time and unfortunately this cannot change, as I am my family's only income/health insurance. I would said my non-healthcare employer is being very supportive with letting me set my own schedule to fit work around school.

I have gladly accepted the fact that I will not have time for anything else besides school and work; my wife is coming to terms with this fact as well. My few close friends and family know that I will taking a long hiatus for the next few years.

Lately, everyone I speak to about this issue (school vs. work) is consistently telling me it's virtually impossible and that most students working more than 8-10 hrs/week tend to fail or drop out. I'm getting really tired of hearing this. I'm confident I can do it. I'm a decent student and strong test taker. I certainly acknowledge it's going to be tough, but I know people have been able to do this.

Overall, I'm looking for people who have been able to manage both nursing school and full-time work. What did it take? Tips? Do's? Do not's? I'll take ANYTHING at this point. Help set me (and other students in this situation) up for success. Thank you for your time and attention!

-ICT

Specializes in Pediatrics.
Most people are not saying the job's they held while in nursing school.

During LPN school, class went M-F from 7:30am-3:00pm (or 6:30am-3:30pm if it was a clinical day). From 5pm-7pm Mon-Thurs, I worked as a sitter at a nursing home. Friday from 4pm-11pm, Sat 11am-11pm and Sun 11am-11pm, I worked at a very, very busy Disney restaurant as a front-of-house coordinator.

Now that I'm in regular college classes, I go to school two days a week (while doing the 18 credit hour thing), work four 12-hour LPN shifts, and my day off is spent at school studying, tutoring and doing co-curriculars/special activities required for my honors program. I also show up an hour early to science classes to tutor. I've got a 4.0, and I'm damned proud of it.

I'll sleep when I'm dead!

Edit: I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYONE. By the end of the semester, I am punching myself in the face and wanting to die.

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Most people are not saying the job's they held while in nursing school.

I work as a disability specialist case manager for social security. I work 6-2:30 M-F. When I was in school, I had class from 6p-10p 3x week and had clinicals e/o weekend from 6-3. My last semester we did clincials during the week from 2-10 on Mon & Tues and class from 6-10 on Th so I used PTO to take off on those days

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It isn't easy, but very do-able. I did it, and am thinking about doing it again. You MUST be organized and MUST be willing to put everything else on hold. I worked full time when I was in my LPN program. I still managed to go out here and there. I spent any free time studying or working on upcoming papers. Good luck!!

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Oncology, Neurology, Rehab.
Do all your studies on school days while on campus. I couldn't even touch homework on workdays, because I work twelve hour shifts with hour commute. Get into that groove and stick to it. Also make sure to take a little time for you and your family to enjoy each other, like eating together when you can. Say your prayers every night and every morning. Ask God for guidance, assistance, protection and discernment. And Holy Ghost to help you to study what you need and retain it! Best Wishes!

Happy-- AMEN!!What sound advice!!

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Specializes in Long-term/Geriatrics, Home Health.

It is possible. In nursing school, I worked full-time, went to school full-time, managed a home, and was a single mother to a 4 year old. School was Mon-Wed 8am-3pm some days and Thurs was 12 hour clinicals. I worked Sat and Sun from 11am-11pm every week. It sucked! But if nursing is really what want to do, you will make a way to make it work. I was at the top of my class and made A's in every class just because I'm very competitive and wanted to be a good role model for my child. I was determined to succeed and EXCEL because, like you, people had told me it was impossible and tried to crush my dreams.

How I did it:

1. I wrote down all my assignments and deadlines and completed the assignments way before the deadline. You never know what will come up in life and you don't want to be stressing at the last minute.

2. I also tried to review the material throughout the week and would bring my notes to study during breaks or downtime during work.

3. I did most assignments during school hours or in the classroom so if I had questions I had a room full of classmates and my instructor to help me.

4. I also kept a checklist of what information I needed to find so my care plans were done quickly and efficiently. I also typed all my care plans and medication lists so I could access important information easily.

5. Also, find some time for you and your family. Go out to dinner, get a haircut, or get that elusive 8 hours of sleep.

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record your lectures so you can listen to them in car on way to/from school and work, and laying in bed at night,,, in never read the books but hit my notes hard, just headline the books. I would drop a work day if i were you and put a few things on credit or something till you get out of school,, u need about two hours a day study plus all day sunday and the night before a test. the recorded lectures saved me alot. send me your email and i'll send you a self made document on how to get thru clinicals without pulling all your hair out and how to do care plans.

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I work full time (40 hours a week) in a geotechnical lab (testing soil, which has nothing to do with health care. lol), have 3 children and I'm looking forward to entering my last semester of the program. I was told the same thing. I didn't like hearing it from so many people and even seeing doubt on the faces of people that were too polite to say it. I actually transferred school because the first school I was at wasn't supportive and when I told them my situation, the nursing program advisor laughed and said it's not possible. I transferred schools before entering a nursing program. Since I've entered the program I'm currently in, they've changed the wording on the application to state that students should not work more than 20 hours a week. I'm normally an 'A' student, however nursing courses are more difficult that previous classes and the tests are completely different. I've completely 3 semesters of a full course load making B's in theory and A's in clinical and other extra nursing courses. I graduate in 131 days. (Yes, I have a countdown) Here's what has worked for me:

-Be extremely organized. I have an excel file for each semester. I have a tab for keeping track of grades (I have everything calculated down to how much each class quiz, exam, lab, etc., is worth towards the final course grade). I keep track of assignments and when things are due.

- Again with the organization- In my excel file, I create a calendar right after semester orientation. I put on there class times, topics, lab times, and then add in my clinical dates and times. Then I share it with my classmates so they'll have it also. Then I take my personal one and add things that I need to remember for work and home. I've made it a priority that an A in class is not worth the sacrifice of never seeing my 3 children or attending their school functions. So I'd add those in. If the event was during class or clinical or if I knew I had an exam coming up that I need to study for, then I skip it and ask my husband to take pictures for me. Basically, I put my life on a calendar.

- Make time for studying but be flexible. That's one thing I've learned through this whole thing. Even when you have studying on the chart to do at a certain time, you might have days when you just need a break. I know I did. I tried to stick to my schedule and the stress mounted so I skipped studying one night and the rest was definitely worth it.

- I record the lectures and listen to them while I'm driving or walking.

- I have a study group and instead of finding a time for everyone to meet and a place, we video chat. That way, we have everything we need at our fingertips without having to drag our entire home library out with us. Also, I do mine from home so if something comes up with my kids, I can go take care of it and then come right back (it's about the same time as taking a bathroom break if you meet in person).

- I use my lunch time for homework, reading texts, studying, or working on care plans.

- Everyone learns differently and studies differently. It's not a popular thing to be told, but you'll just have to play around and figure out what works best for you.

I hope I was able to help a bit. It CAN be done. I've always worked while in school so I don't know how much more difficult it is than not working, but I understand being in a situation where the only choices are to do it or to drop school. If being a nurse is that important to you, you'll find a way to do it while still feeding your family. Good luck in school and I look forward to seeing you post with R.N. behind your name in a few years. :)

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Specializes in Emergency Department.

I'm currently knee-deep in the "full-time work and go to school full-time" weeds myself. You have to be very organized to make it all work. Part of that is prioritization. I live and breathe by the calendar. While my program puts out a calendar every semester, I modify it so that I have everything up to date on my calendar. I also heavily use Google's Calendar to block out time for work, school, and whatever else I have coming down the pike. For that calendar, I don't necessarily put down exactly what is due, I use it to ensure that I do not have any time conflicts with anything.

Also, I rarely am able to get studying done at home, unless it's fairly late at night. My employer is generally able to be flexible and they understand that I need to study quite a bit, so the allow me to study while at work, as long as it doesn't impact my job performance. It's not uncommon for me to do most of my care plans at work. This upcoming (and last) semester will be the hardest I'll have to deal with because we've got a preceptorship coming up where I must work the same shifts as my preceptor. That means I'll have to take up to a month off from work to do that preceptorship.

Oh, and like others have alluded: I have no 4.0 GPA illusions. Given that I have to deal with a family, work, and school, I'm quite happy that I'm able to maintain the grades I've earned!

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I can't express enough my appreciation to all the posts! Thank you, everyone! Definitely feeling better about this upcoming adventure. Seems like I'm taking the right steps and doing the right things to set myself up for success. Again, thank you so much!

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Specializes in CCM, PHN.

Have contingency plans for everything. Have crisis plans for kid stuff, car or family issues, health problems, catastrophes. Even if nothing bad happens, it's good to have some things in place ahead of time, just to cut down on stress. Just knowing you have some safety nets set up can be incredibly helpful in focusing on what you need to.

Don't be a cocky Superman. I'm all for a little justified arrogance toward administration if it gets you through the bureaucracy of nursing school, but if you cross the line into a chest-beating, muscle-flexing, I-can-do-anything-and-do-it-better-than-you sort of mentality, and DEMONSTRATE it towards others, you will quickly find yourself in a world of poop.

Don't forget to hang out with YOURSELF once in a while. Go to dinner and a movie alone once a month, with no studying, family or constant checking of your phone. Just check in with yourself here and there.

Good luck!

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Specializes in tbi.

ur welcome

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Specializes in NICU.

There is a guy in my FT program that works Friday, Saturday, Sunday in order to get his 40 hours in every week. Granted he doesn't have children (just a wife) but he has still managed to never miss a day and maintain great grades. Our program only runs Monday-Thursday with lectures and 1 day (12 hrs) of clinical per week. I believe he studies during those days and during his breaks at work. As with all things, you can do whatever you set your mind to and everyone will have an opinion on whether you can do this or not. It seems like the most important thing is to really have your wife on board and you two working as a team to make this work... as well as time management and all the other great tips offered. Good luck!

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