Working while in nursing school...

[elenita_2007]

I'm having trouble deciding whether to quit my job or stay on. My boss suggested I work weekends only when I start nursing school in January. My shifts would be Saturday 3-9pm & Sunday 9-9pm. The next weekend would be Saturday to Sunday 9-9pm & this schedule would alternate every weekend. I work at a small hotel with a front desk position. I was told that if I get my daily duties done, I would be allwed to study. Its just that we're heading into season & I'm anticipating that it might get busy & maybe I won't have that time to study while i'm working. I was told by my future instructor I should put in about 20-25 hours of study every week. I have co workers & even my boss questiong if I can handle. It sucks even more that my boss is kinda my friend & I gave her my word that it would be do able. Would this work schedule work with school? I would like someone's opinion. I already know I won't have a social life...HELP!

[NightNerd, MSN, RN]

This sounds like too many hours, to me. I will need to work during school as well, but I would only take on maybe ONE shift. Even if you don't fill the time you'll get at home with studying, you do need a certain "Sabbath" period each week, even if it's only a few hours, to relax and take care of yourself. With this schedule, I figure you'll be in class/clinicals 4-5 days per week, working 2 days per week, with maybe one day every week to catch up on studying. That doesn't give you much room to rest at all.

If it's unrealistic for you to only work one day per weekend, maybe see if you could work every other weekend for both days and have the other weekend totally off. It's nice that they will let you study when things get slow, but you cannot count on that.

[elenita_2007]

Yes I'm starting to doubt that I can really work these shifts. I just really hate having to tell my boss this since all my co workers were basically expecting me to work these shifts. ( I guess it may be because they were going to get every weekends off). I just don't know how to approach them about this without getting upsetting them.

[Lolita34]

Only you know what you are capable of handling. Maybe you could try it out and see if its doable. I wouldn't tell them you can't do it until you at least start school and try out the work schedule.