Working while attending UHM nursing school

U.S.A. Hawaii

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I will be entering the UHM nursing program in the Fall and am curious about the amount of time that current UHM students are putting into school. Is it difficult to balance the study load and a part-time job? I have a litter of kids, which is the primary reason why I am hesitant to make such a commitment during the school year. In addition, I need to maintain a good GPA because it will impact my future employment prospects. Family and GPA are my top two priorities. However, I know that having my foot in the door at a hospital will be of the utmost importance if my Plan A employment prospects implode.

Can anyone give me an idea of how much time they are committing to their studies outside of class? Any info about amount of reading, papers, studying, etc. would be helpful. Also, about how many hours a week are you able to commit to work? Thanks in advance.

I like the scrub-source link a lot. I think I'll start buying my stuff from them. I've previously bought from allheart.com. They have a great selection, but their prices fluctuate way too much. You really have to be attentive to pricing on that site. scrub-source.com appears to offer an overall better bargain for Dickies stuff and the prices seem to be much more stable.

I do like the Dickies scrubs. I have a Generation Flex top and am fond of the sturdy material from which it's made. Although the material is thick and rather stiff, I think it will last a long time. Otherwise, for the school uniform, I bought cheapo generic hunter green pants. Can't see myself wearing hunter green voluntarily after I graduate.

As far as the stethoscope goes, I think I'll hold off on a Littmann. I'd like to try other brands if possible. Maybe I'll find I don't have to dish out so much cash? My current cheapo stethoscope works fine for BP, but I'm not so sure about auscultation. Opinions are so varied on this topic.

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just found out the "free shipping on orders over $100" actually applies for Hawaii!

awesome.

http://www.scrub-source.com

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I'm not on the Facebook page, but I have checked it out.

Can't wait for school to start! I'm sure at some point in the near future, I'll start hating life because of school...but for now, I'm pretty excited. Have you started getting your supplies together? Most of our books are listed at the bookstore website. I was going to order them from Amazon, but decided to hold off for a bit. After I saw the total of my cart, I did this ===> :eek:. But I did have a bunch of NCLEX study guides in there, too, which added lots of extra dollahs. When I find some extra money (and courage), I'll pull the trigger. How about you? Having fun shopping for supplies?

The only thing I have bought so far is 2 polos and 1 scrub top. I did order 2 paricing irs of pants from the sno order form along with bp cuff and things. I haven't ordered a scope yet though. I did go through the bookstore and start pricing books but haven't ordered any yet. I still have to order shoes and go buy khakis, another scrub top and whatever else LOL. The list never ends! I will probably order some other pants from that scrub website since the other company fades quickly. I'm really thinking about getting an ipad and getting ebooks for some things but I'm not sure. I have a tiny netbook, and an Android so I can use apps to help. I think there's even an nclex one.

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The only thing I have bought so far is 2 polos and 1 scrub top. I did order 2 paricing irs of pants from the sno order form along with bp cuff and things. I haven't ordered a scope yet though. I did go through the bookstore and start pricing books but haven't ordered any yet. I still have to order shoes and go buy khakis, another scrub top and whatever else LOL. The list never ends! I will probably order some other pants from that scrub website since the other company fades quickly. I'm really thinking about getting an ipad and getting ebooks for some things but I'm not sure. I have a tiny netbook, and an Android so I can use apps to help. I think there's even an nclex one.

nursing central by unbound is pretty awesome. i haven't used the android version, but i have it on my ipod touch. it basically replaces a bunch of textbooks. you can get an electronic version of davis's drug guide which is wayyyyy faster to use than a regular book. once you start looking up every single med on each of your patients during precare, it will be a godsend. checkout the mobiile computing forum for more info. having an entire drug guide, medical encyclopedia, etc in your pocket is amazing. i really don't understand why people continue to lug around an entire bag full of books to clinicals everyday.

i really don't see an ipad ever being useful for nursing school. in class you'd use your netbook. in clinicals an ipad is too big to carry around. getting nursing apps for your smartphone is a much better route imo.

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I read some posts about Nursing Central. The $160 price tag is initially shocking, but I guess when I'm in the heat of clinicals, I'll find that it was totally worth it? Speed + convenience - steps to the nurses station to look up stuff in hard copy books = better time management? Have you found it's helped you in this way and will I be using it as much in the first year as I will in the third year of school?

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nursing central by unbound is pretty awesome. i haven't used the android version, but i have it on my ipod touch. it basically replaces a bunch of textbooks. you can get an electronic version of davis's drug guide which is wayyyyy faster to use than a regular book. once you start looking up every single med on each of your patients during precare, it will be a godsend. checkout the mobiile computing forum for more info. having an entire drug guide, medical encyclopedia, etc in your pocket is amazing. i really don't understand why people continue to lug around an entire bag full of books to clinicals everyday.

i really don't see an ipad ever being useful for nursing school. in class you'd use your netbook. in clinicals an ipad is too big to carry around. getting nursing apps for your smartphone is a much better route imo.

Sweet! Thanks for your help! I may invest just in an ipod touch so there's no contamination with the phone, unless they let us use them. I definitely don't want it ringing LOL. I did look at the mobile computing forum. I definitely would like to cut back on the amount of books/weight to lug around. Yeah I think I will save a couple hundred and got with the ipod! It seems like the way to go! :yeah: Thanks!

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