Working in nursing school

waterdrifter · Mar 23, 2017

I would take the first week or two of school to gain a perspective on how much work you could handle. From my standpoint, nursing school is the hardest thing I've ever undertaken and I couldn't imagine working. I am lucky enough to have a husband that is an RN and has been through nursing school before. He will not allow me to work while in school. All of my time is dedicated to studying and digesting the material so that I can become the best nurse possible and have a decent grasp on information to better care for my clients.

I am not saying that it isn't possible to attend nursing school and work at the same time as there are a few people in my program who manage working full-time just fine however, I would suggest adjusting your schedule as necessary to promote the best learning experience as possible when needed. It may be difficult to find a job which allows you to self-schedule based on course work-load but if you can find an employer that can work with you, I suggest doing just that.

Good luck on your journey and I wish you the best!

Aarceneaux94 · Mar 23, 2017

Thank you! I know a couple of people that work anc go to school and while they say it's hard they also say it's doable. Unfortunately, with having bills, not working is not an option for me.

Simplistic · Mar 23, 2017

Almost everyone in my nursing class works, even if its just part time. The goal is how you manage your time. It IS possible to work and be successful in nursing school.

Gangsteroids · Mar 24, 2017

I know a lot of people (including me) have done Patient Access in the ED during nursing school or while getting through pre-reqs. If you luck out you might be able to do a PRN position and pick up shifts as you can handle. This is what I plan on doing again. Night shifts in ED can be good for studying when/if you have a little downtime. :) That way you get a little experience working in healthcare too, if you don't have any yet.

Aarceneaux94 · Mar 24, 2017

I know a lot of people (including me) have done Patient Access in the ED during nursing school or while getting through pre-reqs. If you luck out you might be able to do a PRN position and pick up shifts as you can handle. This is what I plan on doing again. Night shifts in ED can be good for studying when/if you have a little downtime. :) That way you get a little experience working in healthcare too, if you don't have any yet.

What is ED? í ½í¸…

gere7404, BSN, RN · Mar 24, 2017

Ed is the emergency department.

I'm 2/3rds done with my first year and have worked full time with school. I work the overnight shift then go to school and sleep in the afternoon. It's not easy, especially trying to keep my wife and kids happy, but it will pay off in the end.

jtboy29 · Mar 24, 2017

Maybe a part-time job would be best. Nursing school requires you to have a full commitment and exceptional time management skills. When I started my LVN program back in October 2015 I made sure that my employer was flexible with my schedule. Luckily, they were flexible enough by having me only working 3 days a week which was fine by me because Nursing school was going to assume priority over anything. If you can manage your time wisely and get your readings and studying done without having to procrastinate, working along with being in nursing school you will be fine. Many students find it no problem to working during nursing school because they are able to find an employer that is flexible with scheduling and/or they have good time management skills. Good luck with you choose to do.

uncloudyday · Mar 24, 2017

I was a pharmacy technician up until my last 2 weeks of nursing school. I worked 15-32 hours per week. It was very doable if your manager works well with your schedule. My pharmacy technician experience is what I believe got me many more interviews than my friends who I graduated with. You could sign up for pharmacy technician in training, go ahead and start working in the pharmacy, and take your licensure exam before nursing school begins. My pharmacy experience also helped me tremendously with the medications on the nursing exams and even on NCLEX.

Another option, at least in Texas, is to become a patient care technician in a hospital after your first semester of nursing school. So many PCTs had job offers before they even graduated from nursing school at the hospitals where they worked. The only reason I did not go this route was because I would have had to take about a $4-5/hour pay cut to do this.

Aarceneaux94 · Mar 24, 2017

I was a pharmacy technician up until my last 2 weeks of nursing school. I worked 15-32 hours per week. It was very doable if your manager works well with your schedule. My pharmacy technician experience is what I believe got me many more interviews than my friends who I graduated with. You could sign up for pharmacy technician in training, go ahead and start working in the pharmacy, and take your licensure exam before nursing school begins. My pharmacy experience also helped me tremendously with the medications on the nursing exams and even on NCLEX.
Another option, at least in Texas, is to become a patient care technician in a hospital after your first semester of nursing school. So many PCTs had job offers before they even graduated from nursing school at the hospitals where they worked. The only reason I did not go this route was because I would have had to take about a $4-5/hour pay cut to do this.

I wanted to to look into doing PCT but my problem right now is I sell cars and there is no way I will be able to stay here and be in school. So I wanted to get a hospital job so that I wasn't switching so many time. I didn't even think about doing pharmacy tech. Thank you!