Work and going to school???

[nursebrittany12]

I just recently graduated with my BSN in May 2015 and have started a job in the CCU on nights from 7pm-7am. I am wanting to go back to school for Nurse Practitioner(6 credit hours a semester). I would not even start classes until August of 2016 so I would have over a full year of work. Is it possible to work nights and do nurse practitioner school? Has anyone done this? All advice and comments are appreciated!! Thank you!!

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

While I didn't work nights and my MSN specialization is in education, I was able to work full time plus take on a lot of call hours (the joys of working in the OR) while still maintaining a 4.0 GPA. I used to work with a nurse who did continue working full time days while attending an NP program- she did have to use vacation time for some of her clinical attendances but the facility was willing to work with her schedule for the most part; the days the facility wasn't able to accommodate she was able to get help from other staff to switch days off.

It's really going to boil down more to your support system. Being single and childless, I didn't have to worry about a lot of family commitments. I also enlisted the help of some companies for a fee- a cleaning company that came to my house once a month for the in-depth cleaning I neglected and a meal service that provided a month's worth of meals that were thaw and cook without the need to do a lot of prep work and healthier than take-out/convenience foods.

Do you have family who would be able to take on a greater share of household duties? If not, do you have the resources to get some assistance like I did? Are you yourself capable of maintaining such a rigorous schedule? Some people require more time for school work and have to drop to full time while others don't.

[cnmbfa]

I worked half-time and spread out grad school (nurse midwifery) over three years. Even so, it was a killer. The amount and level of content you will need to master is far more challenging than undergrad. You will do a lot of writing, and it will need to be evidence-based and written using APA and cited perfectly. Your clinicals will vary, but the last one will be near full-time.

I would spend the next year making double payments on any debt, cutting expenses, etc. so that you will not be forced to work full-time. when you start, cut down to 32 hours and see how it goes; if you feel swamped, go down to 24 hours, etc. Think of it this way: It's only a few years with less money, but the stress of trying to do it all is not worth damaging your relationships and health. And, don't you want to get the most you can out of it?

If it turns out to be a piece of cake, you can always work more.

For what it's worth: none of my peers who worked full-time passed the comprehensive exam on the first try.