What would you do?

[jschut, BSN, RN]

Finals are coming up next week, and I work 12 hour shifts on the weekends

(6a-6p).

Here's my delimma....

I could really use the study time, since I lost alot of concentration before the doc put me on medication, and I really need the time to boost my finals grades. Not that I am failing, but a couple are rather close...too close if you ask me (all my grades are C's).

(Doc thinks I am ADHD and depression and stress exacerbated it to the point where I couldn't study at all...been on meds for a couple of weeks now, and feel 100% better already!) I've actually been able to read my textbooks and notes and retain information! I haven't felt llike this in a long time! :studyowl:

But IF I call off work, (have tried to find coverage..no one wants to), I'm afraid I will lose my job, and insurance, and surely can't afford to do that! Because if I lose my insurance, I can't go to the doctor to fix what's wrong with me, and it will all be a vicious circle that I'll fall into again.

That's on one hand, and on the other is all the loans I have already taken out for my education and I hate to see it go down the drain and be forced to stay in a piddly job the rest of my life to pay for it all, when I barely make enough to feed my children!

Help! Help! Anyone?

[TallGirlAni]

Work one shift and maybe call in sick for the other. That way it is a compromise. After all, don't you have sick time? It truly sounds like you have been sick, anyway. There is only so much studying that you can do anyway in one weekend, before you are no longer able to retain as much. Make sure you get plenty of rest, eat, and drink, as you do not want to get worn down. Also, take the bus to work and study on the bus there and back, or have someone drive you. Study while you eat at work. There are lots of things you can do to improve your situation, at least by a little, and sometimes, that is all you need. Good Luck.

Oh, by the way, if you are trying to get someone to cover you, maybe make the deal for the switch a deal they can not resist. Maybe agree to work their upcoming holidays. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and I find that usually, where there is a will, there is a way.

[APP]

Talk to your school as see if you can get a 1 ir 2 week delay in your exams for medical reasons.

[NurseyBaby'05, BSN, RN]

When I was in school and w/o insurance the PCPs office stocked me up w/samples of Lexapro and Prevacid. All I had to pay for was an office visit. ($50, I think) If there's a chance of you not passing, I would call off.