What sacrifices have you made for your nursing education?

ArrowRN, BSN, RN · Sep 1, 2013

let's see..going on 3 years without cable tv. With all the garbage on tv I can't say I miss it though. That $120 bill every month is gone.

Pink Magnolia, BSN, RN · Sep 1, 2013

Quitting a full time job so I can get a super better one;)

IEDave, ASN, CNA, LVN · Sep 1, 2013

Let's see...friends, TV, any aspect of a normal life - waitaminute, I didn't have those BEFORE nursing school!

Nevermind... :cheeky:

LoriRNCM, ADN, ASN, RN · Sep 1, 2013

How about signing a deed in leiu of foreclosure on my house because I spend what little money I have on tuition instead of my mortgage? That's a pretty big sacrifice. But it's ok, I've made peace with it. My degree is what's important for my future, not some brick and mortar that may or not ever be worth anything again.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Sep 1, 2013

I lost all my size 14 clothes...trivial compared to a house, for sure, but at least you can always get another house someday! My 14s will never return. :)

dtaleton88 · Sep 1, 2013

I have lost family due to being unsupportive, tv not that I watched it much but 120 on tv and internet has gone down to 40, my wife she says that I have a better relationship with my books then her. I have to tell her at the end of the day once I have that degree in my hand then you will get the fulltime me back but right now Im in a part time relationship.

all4neuro · Sep 1, 2013

What I sacrificed 20 years ago :) just because, here are a few:

~ parties, wasn't worth the time or missing sleep from being up all night

~a nice car. Mine had a bungee cord that kept the passenger side door closed and one of the backseat windows madeout of duct-tape. The gas tank was rarely above 1/2 tank.

~Holiday shopping ... couldn't afford it, no time for it. Finals were ALWAYS right before them.

~invites from friends and family to "hang out"

WHAT I gained/learned

~mad skills at finding lost change $$. Buried in furniture, in the car, vending machine "leftovers", under drive thru windows

~time management and acuity in life as well as clinicals

~always have a back-up alarm clock & make sure both have good batteries in case of a power outage

~believe nothing you hear and half of what you see from fellow nursing students

~it IS worth it in the end!

lashley7891 · Sep 1, 2013

My life and sanity, family, friends, going out doing things, looking nice. But they say it's worth it. I hope to God they are right. I graduate with my RN in 5 weeks.

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Sep 2, 2013

I have sacrificed a lot of time with my family, my weekends, and much of my sanity. Actually, many times, while I'm at home, I'm not really socializing with the family because I'm studying, working on care plans, finding a quick snack, or sleeping (what little I sometimes get). Fortunately, I haven't had to sacrifice working or much else, simply because my work schedule dovetailed very nicely with my school and clinical schedule, except for one semester... that semester, I figure I got about 1/3 the normal amount of sleep. The upside of that whole experience is that I now know exactly how much sleep I need and at what point I start to become unsafe because of it. Although I wouldn't recommend being that sleep deprived, it was certainly a strong learning experience for me!

Despareux · Sep 2, 2013

Time...I sacrificed time with my family, and to me, with the exception of life, time is more precious than anything else in this world.

Idiosyncratic, BSN, RN · Sep 2, 2013

So far, and I'm only in prenursing, I've sacrificed time with my kids so I can study/go to school, working a job, having my own house, working, and acting my age. LOL