Working in nursing school.

SDifalco86 · Mar 20, 2013

I'm graduating in December with my BSN and i have been able to work Saturdays and Sundays only. I make it a point not to work the night before an exam so I can study and keep things fresh in my head. My grades are great and I don't slack... So just because I work doesn't mean I'm passing with the bare minimum. :) it is possible!!

soxgirl2008 · Mar 20, 2013

It really depends on your study habits, outside obligations, what type of job you have, etc. Do you have kids? Other outside obligations? How are your study habits? I know people who worked 32-40 hours a week and did nursing school full time and made it through. I also know people who only worked 8 hours a week and that was all they could manage. Do you need free time away from school and work? The people I know who worked 32 hours +, all they did was school and work. They literally had time for nothing else. Personally, I need at least a little bit of free time and that would drive me crazy.

I work 24 hours a week as an ED tech at the hospital and it's manageable, but granted I'm only in my 1st semester! You have to have very good time management skills. If I have to work the day before an exam, I need to make sure I've studied ahead of time and can't leave it to the last minute. My managers are luckily pretty understanding about school.

Many hospitals offer weekend programs which work out well for a lot of students I know. Some offer student nurse intern programs you can qualify for after your 1st or 2nd semester where you often only need to work 8 hours a week.

Racer15, BSN, RN · Mar 20, 2013

I worked a retail job all through RN school. I was able to work 40 hours a week my first two semesters because my job was flexible, but my last two semesters I was forced to cut back to around 20 hours a week. It is completely doable as long as your employer is willing to work with you.

Swellz · Mar 20, 2013

I worked full time hours my first couple of months of school, and that was a mistake. That being said, I have classmates who work fulltime and raise children. I can't imagine. Now I keep myself down to below 20hrs/wk. Usually. That is plenty, considering I have 12 hr clinicals this rotation.

In terms of scheduling, it can be done, I assure you! I worked 3 part-time jobs for 6 months, all of which had to be coordinated around clinical/class. I was up front with my employers. My externship only requires me to work 16 hours every 2 weeks, and they of course schedule pretty far in advance. My school waits until the last possible second to release clinical schedules, so they had to completely redo my work schedule when I found out I had weekend clinicals. But they knew the deal and were prepared to work with me.

The best thing I did was save all my PTO from my full-time job for the entire year and use it when school started. Once I actually stopped working the full hours, I was able to supplement my part-time hours with PTO and earn the same amount while working less. I ultimately had to drop off to a part-time employee, but I didn't need the benefits so it was no big deal for me.

LuciaHernandez · Mar 20, 2013

I was working 40 hours prior to my acceptance to RN program. Once I got my schedule for first semester, my hours were cut back to about 10-12 hours a week (no evening hours available). I am a single mother of two kids and working those 10-12 hours were plenty for me. After about a month or so into the program, I was let go. The "extra" time I now use to either study or spend time with kids if they are not in school. For me, as a single mother, I found that I would rather spend that time studying, than working.

mclennan, BSN, RN · Mar 20, 2013

Try really hard to figure out a way to set your life up so you won't have to work - or only work very, VERY part time.

Nursing programs have waiting lists miles long and will happily boot you to the curb if you start having trouble.

There are those mythical students who work full time and raise kids. I, for one, don't buy it. They are either lying, or have vast support systems of family available for child care or are UNICORNS.

When I was in school I watched the students who tried to be Superwoman drop out, fail, withdraw and go on academic probation.

I worked every other weekend as an EMT or CNA, and that was it. I wish more Nursing schools would be realistic with their students and just say, straight up: you will not have a life. Family, friends and work are all on the back burner until graduation. PERIOD.

hodgieRN · Mar 20, 2013

There are those mythical students who work full time and raise kids. I, for one, don't buy it. They are either lying, or have vast support systems of family available for child care or are UNICORNS.

I can't wait to see the responses on this one....

MendedHeart · Mar 20, 2013

I have worked FULL time/36hrs per week the WHOLE way thru nursing school but I dont have kids just a hubby and puppies which I have supported for 2 of the 4 years.

NursingN.C · Mar 21, 2013

Lol unicorns

soxgirl2008 · Mar 21, 2013

Try really hard to figure out a way to set your life up so you won't have to work - or only work very, VERY part time.
Nursing programs have waiting lists miles long and will happily boot you to the curb if you start having trouble.
There are those mythical students who work full time and raise kids. I, for one, don't buy it. They are either lying, or have vast support systems of family available for child care or are UNICORNS.
When I was in school I watched the students who tried to be Superwoman drop out, fail, withdraw and go on academic probation.
I worked every other weekend as an EMT or CNA, and that was it. I wish more Nursing schools would be realistic with their students and just say, straight up: you will not have a life. Family, friends and work are all on the back burner until graduation. PERIOD.

Not everyone can just "set up" their life so they don't have to work or only work very part time. Must be nice though! Our nursing school does stress "you won't have a life, it's going to be very hard to work, no free time, etc." but where I live most people don't have the option to just set up their life to not have to work at least part time.

No one is denying that the people who work full time and raise kids probably do have a big support system and good child care options. And no one is saying that working full time is the norm. I can think of two people I know who worked full time and made it through without failing anything. The majority of students I know who had a job worked 16-24 hours a week. There are always going to be those exceptions to the rule, and one or two "unicorns" that somehow found a way to make it work, but I don't think anyone here is saying it's a piece of cake.

crossfitnurse · Mar 21, 2013

I dont understand how you guys think it's so hard to do this? Lol - sorry. I am a mother, I run/own my own Crossfit gym, workout daily, work 15-18 hours a week, and have all As in nursing school currently!

It's not hard, you just need a consistent system. Focus. Get er' done.