Work During Nursing School

NurseEmmy · Mar 25, 2016

Well, when you have grown up bills and responsibilities and you want to further your career, you do what you have to do.
I too worked during school-I worked 30+ hours per week while going to school at night and on the weekends; I usually worked 9-10 hours, then went to school for three hours for classes and had 8-12 hour clinicals during the weekend.

Exactly. You do what you have to. I will be working 12hr shifts and sometimes having class after. Whatever it takes to get it done and keep my family fed/lights on/roof over our head.

springchick1, ADN, RN · Mar 25, 2016

I worked full time and had a study group. There were three of us and that was it. We were quick to call each other out if things got off topic. Our time was too valuable to waste it chit chatting.

frenchtoastwaffles, BSN, RN · Mar 25, 2016

It completely depends on you. Some people don't work and can't bring their grades above just straddling the pass/fail line while others work 40+ hours a week and are on the dean's list. If you can manage to work and go to school, do it. If you don't have a choice but to work, then there's your answer. If you can't balance the two and don't need to work, then focus on school.

Do what's best for you.

nurseflip26, CRNA · Mar 26, 2016

One of my professors asked me once. "How long does it take a grad student to write a paper?" The answer, "However long he/she has." This sounds kind of stupid but the point is true. Just recently I was working on a project for my BSN that just was not getting done. I had all kinds of excuses, "this project is stupid, blah blah blah!" Then I realized that I needed to have this project done in a little over a week or I'd miss my tuition reimbursement through work (about $1500 worth). Needless to say I cranked out a 20 page paper in literally 4 days. Most of us don't lack time, we lack motivation!

I personally averaged about 32-40 hrs working during my entire associates degree RN program. The weeks I did work less it seemed the number of hours studying stayed the same and the number of hours on YouTube went up. Sure there were weeks where large projects were due quickly and I worked less but generally speaking I feel students could/should work.

NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN · Mar 26, 2016

I worked full time when I was in my LPN program. The program was on ground, days, 7A-2P M-TH for 16 months. I worked thursday evening, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It sucked but I had to do it. My grades were great and I passed my boards...I did not do study groups. I tried them out and while it's good for support, it seemed to consume too much time that I could spend focusing where I needed to focus.

For my RN program, I'm older and had have a young child and a husband that travels a lot for his job. I took an online theory program so that I only had to go in for labs and clinicals. I worked two 12 hour shifts in home health on the weekend when my husband was able to watch the baby. Again, not easy but it paid the bills and got the school work done. I also refrained from study groups during that program and graduated last week.

So, yes, working is definitely doable with school. You just need to know how to manage your time. If you see your grades are beginning to suffer and you have the luxury of not needing to work, then I would scale back so that you don't miss out on a quality education that you have to have a good understanding of when it comes time to take the big test after you graduate. Study groups are helpful to some and not so much to others, you will learn what method of studying works best for you. I will say that I had an instructor tell me years ago when I was taking A&P for the lab, 'can you teach it to someone else? If the answer is 'yes', then you've learned the material and are ready for the test. If not, you are only memorizing tid bits and the test may bite you'...Going to lab to study with a buddy was helpful. The theory I was better off on my own.

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Apr 6, 2016

If you still live with family or are married and circumstances allow you to not work, great. If you have to work, it's a bad idea NOT to. I see a lot on here people thinking working during school is a bad idea...but you do what you have to.

I worked 24 hrs a week as a CNA, and picked up lots of extra shifts during breaks from school. I got married and had a baby during my program. My DH had at the time just recently graduated with a BS in finance, and was basically unemployable in his field until he got his MBA. We were on WIC and Badger Care (state health ins. for those who also qualified for WIC)... so guess what, I had to work. I couldn't in good conscience take govt assistance without an effort to provide for myself, even if we could have lived on DH's retail job wages plus GA.

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Apr 6, 2016

Oh, and I was never one for study groups. I don't mind meeting with someone if they need help (actually I did tutor some students in Micro and Patho before my baby was born). But as for my own learning? I'd prefer to go it alone. I'm more efficient on my own, and it can happen on my schedule.

I went to a coffee shop or bookstore if I felt like I was getting distracted/lazy at home. For some reason, studying in libraries is difficult for me. I think in relatively silent environments my thoughts are harder to control; with some noise/activity around me, I make that effort to focus.