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

Jram92 · Dec 31, 2013

It CAN be done. It isn't ideal, but we don't always have a choice. I work FT as a manager at a large retail store and I just finished my first semester as a nursing student. It's not without difficultly, but it's soooo worth it. You can do it!

Brown_eyed_girl72 · Dec 31, 2013

I worked 40+ hrs and will graduate in March of 2014. I am also the sole provider of health insurance. I have a saint for husband and he has been my strength through all this. There really is no magic formula. I have not had to repeat any classes and still don't know how did it. My grades are not top notch, but my GPA is enough to get into an RN-BSN program. Here's how I did it.1. I wrote due dates on anything and everything. Paper calendar, i phone, i pad, you name it, I did it!2. I allowed myself one day a week PRN to feel sorry for myself.3. I didn't forget to take care of myself. So eat well and get a good nights sleep when you can! Snack, snack, snack!4. I didn't see my job as getting in the way. I work with great people, who always made me laugh! I felt so much lighter after leaving work.5. Stay focused! You are your own worst enemy. 6. Take it day by day, don't overwhelm yourself with the little things! Know that you have friends and family who are willing to help in any way. Everybody learns differently! I'm a visual person, so I loved those memory notecards from Mosby's. You'll find the formula that is right for you. Congratulations on getting into nursing school! You did it! Enjoy every minute because it goes by unbelievably fast. Happy New Year :)

Tammitrubble · Jan 1, 2014

It's difficult but doable. I did it, working 40 hrs per week with a 2 year old child. Please don't let the naysayers put doubts in your mind. When I started nursing school in 09 my daughter was 2, I failed my first exam and when I went in to speak to my mentor she told me that I worked too many hours and I would not finish nursing school ( I was scared to tell her that I had a 2 year old child, she would have thought that I was nuts). Anyway, to make a long story short I graduated nursing school with high academic distinction and remember that *itch who told me that I wasn't going to make it? she was the one who pinned me. I don't think that she remembered because all nursing professors are cut from the same cloth and they are all mean and I am sure she has said that to numerous nursing students. I graduated in Dec 2013, took my boards in Feb and I have been working as a Perioperative nurse since April and I love it. Hang in there..you can do it.

Kris10Noel · Jan 2, 2014

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

I'm glad everybody is giving you such positive feedback about this. When I found out I was accepted into my nursing program I was faced with many of the same questions and fears you are expressing now. I was so nervous that I wouldn't be able to stay working full time and nobody gave me positive feedback regarding it. I decided to stick with my current employment and see it out and worse comes to worse I would leave my job if I had to. I just finished my first semester of nursing school full-time while working full-time 40 hours a week as a nursing assistant. I am employed at Stony Brook State University Hospital as a nursing assistant and attend nursing school at the university as well. (My commute from school to work is a breeze at least). It's not easy but it is doable like everyone else has said. I'm lucky enough that I have a job that offers me benefits and vacation time, sick days and personal time ... however it's still tough. I have a previous bachelor of science degree in biology ... so sciences aren't so hard for me and to me the nursing material was not that difficult either, it was just a lot of the busywork that was difficult to find time for and to keep up with. For instance: group projects ...trying to do group projects with other classmates when I had a full-time work schedule was very difficult to do. There were time consuming care plans and studying for test and research papers (oh my!) With my job there is very little downtime... there's literally no time to study there. But I did it, i made it through! I finished my first semester with a 3.8 GPA ... I got A's and A-'s and I couldn't be more proud of myself. And you will be just as proud of yourself when you accomplish it too! I intend to stay full-time for this next semester and/or until I can no longer hack it ... that's basically my plan. And hopefully I can continue to hack it ... I know I can!. Whatever study methods have worked for you when you took prerequisites and such up until this point I would say stick with them. I wish you much luck and just know that you can do it. Congratulations!!

shortey130 · Feb 14, 2014

Hi there nekozuki!

I have been following your posts about teco. I really , like that you put all of this info out here it really helps. Love your positive attitude! Wanted to know one question. HOw did you manage doing clinicals on the weekends while your worked . Im debating if should attend the part time or full time program. Please Help Thank you.

nekozuki, LPN · Feb 18, 2014

Hi there nekozuki!
I have been following your posts about teco. I really , like that you put all of this info out here it really helps. Love your positive attitude! Wanted to know one question. HOw did you manage doing clinicals on the weekends while your worked . Im debating if should attend the part time or full time program. Please Help Thank you.

I really does depend on who you are. Many of the students who worked eventually failed out of my program or went to part-time, but part-time was still a crazy workload. From what I understand, the PT evening class has always been more relaxed, but because clinicals ran every other weekend, it didn't fit in with my schedule (my boss would never allow me to take weekends off). I will say though, the director or nursing and main instructor are both gone now, so TECO may very well be easier. The former teachers were let go due to how difficult the course had become to pass, so I imagine it is a little easier now with more instructor support.

Clinicals for the full-time program ran during the regular schoolweek, so they didn't interfere with my weekend. That Friday was always the worst for me though, because we ran our butts off at clinicals, and having to trudge into work after running around from 6:30am-3:30pm sucked...but at the same time, it was nice to see other human beings who didn't live in scrubs. Kind of like being an alien on a foreign planet!

Anyhow, TECO is fantastic and the personal attention is phenomenal! You come out with really, REALLY strong clinical skills, and it's cheap as hell! SCC is pretty much the only other public LPN program left, so if you're not going straight for the RN, avoid the for-profits!

unicoRNurse · Feb 19, 2014

I am doing it, as are the majority of my 18 classmates. I work 40+ hours a week as a paralegal (standard business hours) and go to classes at night and clinical on the weekends. It's go go go 7 days a week, so staying organized is key, as is keeping my eyes on the prize, as they say. It also helps that I have an extremely supportive spouse. I was in the same boat as you -- friends, books about nursing school, and school administration all said it can't be done, or shouldn't be attempted, etc. Well, I have virtually no social life and I desperately need to get back to a state of good health (learning all about health, but I've never been less healthy in my life!), but I'm graduating in 81 days and I intend to maintain my 4.0 between now and then. It takes hard work and sacrifice, but so do most things worth having, so go for it! Best of luck to you.

hermione77 · Feb 21, 2014

It's not impossible. Several students in my program are working FT. I work FT and do school FT and so far I have a 4.0. That said, school is my priority and while I'm happy with any gpa above a 3.5, if work starts interfering with my goals and grades, I will quit my job and live off student loans.

The biggest thing for me is prioritizing. I know people don't like to hear this but I have actually skipped some of the "participation points" assignments because my time was limited and I had a test, a care plan, a project, etc that was worth a big chunk of my grade. I have NEVER been the type of student to skip assignments, but if it's worth 1 point and is going to take me 4 hours it just isn't worth it to me. Prioritization also applies to how I study for each class. If the lecture slides are terrible, and the book is good, I'll just read the book. If the ATI book covers the basics I need, I'll just read that. If the tests go off the lectures alone, I don't bother reading the books at all. I do feel like I could know the information better if I had time to read every assignment, study meticulous notes, etc, but I do not have time so I choose my study method based on the class. Most of my instructors don't allow audio recordings of the lectures so sometimes I will use my voice memo app on my phone and record myself reading my notes, then I can listen to it in the car.

I also take things day by day (or week by week when I can). I'd love to be able to look ahead and complete assignments early, but it just isn't possible. I keep a list in a word document of what is due when. That way I have the whole semester at a glance and can plan when to do things that way.

I agree with every single thing theantichick has said. She is spot on and this is basically how I have survived.

I also haven't told many people that I still work full-time because I don't like the incredulous "How are you doing it?" speeches. It just stresses me out to deal with that.

One thing I don't agree with necessarily is not doing schoolwork at home. If I didn't at least stay at home to do my schoolwork, I'd never see my family, my dog, my cat, my couch, etc. We arrange family time so that I can just be in the room studying, reading, writing care plans, etc while they are watching tv or whatever they need to do for the evening. It's not great time together, but at least I get to see their faces.

I get way behind on my favorite TV shows, but with the help of hulu or dvr, that's easily remedied.

You'll find little tips and tricks along the way. Good luck!

Mommy_RN1211 · Feb 21, 2014

Let me be the first to say I absoultly hate the negativity around nursing school and working! It is stupid to assume what another person can or cannot accomplish. Now that my rant is over :) I work 30 hours a week as well as attend school..(not full time but pretty close). I work in a call center enviroment in a complaints team so I do not get many calls a day..with that being said I am thankfully able to do most of my studying at work so by time I get home I still have time for my family.

I go to class two days a week including a clinical all day. The rest of the week I work. Once a week I get together with my study group from 7pm to about 10 pm and we try to do this again at some point during the weekend. I do have to go to the hospital the day before clinical to pick a patient and do my care plan which generally takes anywhere from 2-4 hours depending on how complicated the patient's condition is.

The moral of the story it really depends on time management and how flexible your job is. I have yet to lose friends or have no relationship with my family and so far have maintained an A-B average. It is all based on how you learn and study and how quickly you pick up the material! But it is absoulty doable! :) Good luck!

nekozuki, LPN · Feb 21, 2014

One thing I don't agree with necessarily is not doing schoolwork at home. If I didn't at least stay at home to do my schoolwork, I'd never see my family, my dog, my cat, my couch, etc. We arrange family time so that I can just be in the room studying, reading, writing care plans, etc while they are watching tv or whatever they need to do for the evening. It's not great time together, but at least I get to see their faces.

Ha, it's not for everyone, but it works like a charm for me! I think it definitely depends on what type of person you are. I am not naturally organized and methodical, and I am simply incapable of staying on task at home, as it always feels like there are a million things to do. I find public settings like libraries, cafes and restaurants very relaxing. I can slide on my headphones to block the world out, or use the blurbs of random conversation around me as pleasant backround music while I do tedious, repetitive tasks like making flashcards. To each their own, I suppose!

IanTeig1982 · Apr 2, 2014

Again, I can't express enough my appreciation to all of you who responded. It most certainly helped ease my anxiety and doubts.

UPDATE: It is possible! I've been working 36-40 hours a week and doing okay. Very true, that between work and school there is not much room for anything else, but it can be done.

If anyone is interested, I posted my latest nursing school struggle: https://allnurses.com/nursing-student-assistance/nursing-student-struggles-916106.html. If anyone has some helpful advice, I'm all ears! Again, thank you.

Sexilexi1997 · Apr 2, 2014

I had to work 40-60 hrs a week as a computer analyst while going to nursing school. It wouldn't have been my first choice but I am a single mom with a mortgage, car payment, and teenager. I had the following advantages without which I don't think I could have done it: 1. I can remember what I read only having read it once for the most part. 2. I am a technology addict, and used it to my best advantage (see tips below) 3. I had an AMAZING set of co-workers and bosses up 3 levels that even though they were going to lose me, wanted me to do what would make me happy. They let me work flex time, partially from home, weekends and nights... so long as I kept up my work load. 4. My kiddo was already a teenager and fairly self-sufficient. 5. I have an amazing set of friends who are my chosen family and they were there when I needed pinch-hitters for various things from house sitting to home cooked meals to adult nights where I could cut loose and let off some steam and didn't have to worry about driving home. Now, HOW did I do it? 1. Flashcards on my smartphone. There are a number of flash card programs, as well as sites where people put up their flash card sets. You can find sets already made for conversions, lab values, drugs, etc. 2. Took notes on my tablet computer from the PDF or Powerpoints distributed. This way I always had my notes for review. 3. Used e-books for all of my texts, again so I had the material anywhere I had downtime for reading/studying. 4. NCLEX practice question app on my smartphone 5. Frozen meals, both prepped by friends and from the supermarket. Also WAY too much pizza and take-away. (My teenager now only wants food that was made at home, I burned her out on frozen, pizza, and take-away.) 6. As when I had a new baby at home, I took every opportunity to sleep. There were days I could only get 4-5 hrs a night, and I'd schedule time off to make up for it. Not the healthiest maneuver, but it got me through. 7. I chose 12 hour clinicals (1 per week) as opposed to 2 8-hr clinicals a week. This meant 1/2 the paperwork (patient care plans SUCK) as well as blocking out the time for better scheduling. 8. I took online or hybrid classes whenever I could, again helping with the scheduling. 9. I used the energy of my teenager to help me study if I had problems with a topic - I'd explain it to her until she understood, and then I had it down. But the biggest thing? I let go of the idea I had to have a 4.0 in nursing school. I made mostly B's in lecture, A's in most of my clinicals, and a few C's that I had to just deal with. I graduated with a 3.36 which isn't terribly impressive, until I explain what kind of work load I had on top of it. If you are a person who just HAS to make A's, find a way to not work. I'm not saying A's aren't possible while working, but if you can let go of that expectation for yourself, you'll get through it with most of your sanity intact. Good luck!! ETA: Oh, and BTW, I graduated nursing school (ASN) at 43. I'll finish my bridge program in May with my BSN. It *CAN* be done.[/quote']
Very impressive for having to work a full time + job!!