young mom, nursing school, job can i do it?

Burlshoe114 · Jan 19, 2011

I am one of those people who believes that anything is possible if you want it bad enough and work hard enought at it.

I will be honest - You have a lot on your plate right now. I have a 19-month-old, and simply sitting down at a computer to check my emails is a challenge.

When I went to nirsing school, I had time for nothing. I am not exagerating. School started at 8am and ended sometimes at 8pm after classes, clinicals, study groups, etc. And then I had homework. Nursing school for your ADN is 5-days a week, M-F at most places.

I also worked as a CNA while I went to school, but could usually only work 1 day a week at most, and this one day often caused me to have lower scores on my tests and papers compared to my classmates who didn't work.

My husband also was supposed to watch our son while I worked, but then he found he hated being stuck at home doing "women's work." Many times I would come home from a long day of working to find the house a mess, my son sleeping in his clothes, and nothing done.

My honest suggestion? Get your CNA job and work as a CNA until you are older, your child is older, and you are more financially secure. Then once you have a stable living relationship and things settled between you and your BF, then tackle the bigger job of getting the RN.

Malefocker, BSN, RN · Jan 19, 2011

I am not sure where you are so you will need to check with your state but.... I know that in California once you are a nursing student you can work as a CNA even if you haven't been previously certified. So that would save you a lot of money because I have looked into those 4 week CNA classes and yes they are short but they can be pretty pricey. I was going to do the same thing you were until someone mentioned that I could work as a CNA once I was in school. Hopefully wherever you are the same holds true. I wish I could be of more help but I am actually not in nursing school yet but will be starting in the fall. Good luck with your journey.

lillymom · Jan 19, 2011

If I were you I would wait until your child is in school. Until then I would suggest you get your CNA and work hard to save your money. I would also take one required non-nursing class per semester if possible so you will be ready to start the program. You can then go to nursing school while your child is at school with some help from your guy.

I'm not a nurse but I'm going to school and will hopefully be accepted in this fall but the advisors really discourage anyone from working while taking classes. They also make sure nursing applicants try to get all the science, math, and other classes out of the way. That's what I have been doing and at least you can work through those classes if you only take one per semester.

As far as paying for school you can get scholarships and financial aid and your school can help you out with that. They may even be able to help out with child care expenses like my school does. Good luck!

happy6 · Jan 19, 2011

Realistically, you could either: 1) Work as a CNA for a few years, until your daughter is of school age (5 or 6 or even a bit older). 2)Work as CNA until your daughter is 3 or 4, and then stop and just attend school. Use all of your resources available to you (financial aid, work study, student loans, etc). However, it will not really be possible for you to work when you actually start nursing school. It is real demanding. Even people without children or families find it difficult to work. If you do work, it will be very limited like a day or two per week at most. Not much at all.

st4rl4dy · Jan 19, 2011

where are the moms coming in on this? have you talk to either of them about your plan? Also would it be cheaper to possibly keep staying with them until you get done? Either you or your BF considered the military as an option?

latonyad34 · Jan 20, 2011

I am a 13 year veteran of the navy and a single mother. I do not recommend the military. Contrary to popular belief, whilst the military offers a bit of stability concerning pay and benefits, the life is much more difficult and less welcoming to parents. Especially if those parents aren't married. And there certainly is no guarantee that you will be together in the future. Also, many goals are put on hold because the military's goals come before self and family.

I agree with the people who recommended working as a CNA for some time. Out of my clinical group during my first semester of school, only 3 of the 7 passed. The other 4 had to work during school. We started out with 220 students and ended up with 57. The majority who failed, worked. I do believe that anything is possible as well. But I am a realist. I know that it is VERY difficult to do well and work during school. But can most definitely be done.

Maybe take your pre-requisites and work as a CNA over the next couple of years. Don't be fearful. I would recommend completing the courses that you can and see where your life is in a couple of years. Circumstances could open up and allow you to achieve your goal of nursing school. That is very admirable that you are heading in the right direction to attain a CNA cert. You may be able to provide for yourself and your daughter. If you have your mother for support, then consider maybe that is a feasible option if you are ultimately accepted to nursing school. She may be a great resource.

MrWarmHearted · Jan 20, 2011

that's a great idea to work as a cna prior/during nursing school - it will really give you good experience working in the medical environment and patients - plus, it will give you personal experience as to whether the field is really what you want to go into.

as for nursing school, job and being a mom concurrently, I can tell you that several of my fellow nursing students are doing it (and most of them work/worked as a cna). Assuming you get into nursing school, check with the financial aid department regarding funding programs/scholarships for working adults/moms, etc.

ktliz · Jan 20, 2011

Have you tried looking into child care assistance from your state? If it were me, I would figure out some sort of childcare while I was in school and my child's father worked. Then he would be able to take care of her when I needed to study. If the two of you need to work opposite shifts, there's no way you will be able to study.

Also, I would recommend staying in your parents' houses as long as possible. Paying bills is the WORST! I can imagine how much you must want to live with your boyfriend. I can remember when my boyfriend and I were still living with our parents; it was tough, and we didn't even have a child together. But as much as you want to share your lives together now, imagine how difficult it will be when you live together and are struggling to pay the bills because you didn't take the chance to further your education. Do whatever you have to do to get your education NOW, so that you and your family will have a secure future.

Good luck! :redpinkhe

armk · Jan 20, 2011

i'm not going to lie to you, if you start school now it's going to be a hard road. i started school when my son was a little younger than your daughter, his father wasn't around to help but my family was very supportive and i know i wouldn’t have succeeded without their help. that being said, it can be done just be sure you have a great support system! you’re going to need them because there will be times when you break down and cry and wonder if it’s worth it.

money is always going to be a factor whether you start school now or a few years from now. i would suggest if you start school now you put everything you have into it so you’re not wasting your time and putting yourself into debt. i worked full time through my generals and first three semesters of nursing and no, my grades were not as pretty as i would have liked them to be but i graduated and passed boards the first time i took them.

another suggestion to help with the financial burden is to enroll in a program where you first complete your lpn training and have the option to follow it with the rn program.

good luck with whatever decision you make!

anurseatlast · Jan 20, 2011

Getting your cna first is great. It will allow to see what nurses really do and if you like the intimate care that is part of being a cna or nurse. Better to find that out before you invest too much time and money. while you work as a can, you could work on taking pre-reqs. If you can take them at a community college and you qualify for a Pell grant (based on income), you should not have to pay anything out of pocket. While you are doing this, your child will get older (and maybe that will be easier).

I agree with others who recommended that you consider living at home for a while longer. I know you want to be out on your own but let me tell you, it is a lot harder supporting yourself and child than you expect (even with the dad involved). I work with teen moms and I have had several who moved out on their own and later told me that they would not do that if they had it to do over again (in spite of the problems of living with your parents when you are a parent). One of these moms is currently in nursing school and only works weekends and it is tough.

Perhaps you could look at either getting a LPN or ADN first (while living with your parents if possible) so you can get a job and support yourself. Then you could continue on with schooling, if you desire to, while working.

backatit2 · Jan 20, 2011

i'm surprised that most people are saying to wait. yes, it's HARD, but it CAN be done. you just have to really, really want it. i was a single mom when i first started college. i was living on my own with no help from my parents or my child's father, and i working as a waitress. i got a lot of "yeah right" looks when people asked what i was doing and i told them i was going to school and planned to graduate by X year (my degree was not nursing). anyhow, it just made me want to do it even more. i had to get my daughter up at 5am every morning, get us ready, take her to daycare, and then go to school. i had some down time between classes so i got a job on campus in between. after my last class, i went to work until about 4-5 and then picked my daughter up. it was dinner, bath, bed for her and then homework for me. i did that for a couple years and then i met my now husband.

i got pregnant again before i was finished (surprise!) and i continued to work and go to school while i was pregnant, and kept taking my daughter to daycare. i had horrible morning sickness. it was the hardest thing i've ever done. i was constantly stressed about bills and had to do some Macgyver type magic when daycare called bc my child was sick. school doesn't care about things like that and my job didn't really either. i remember the night before i was supposed to start my first day of interning, my daughter had a fever of 103 and it was almost midnight. i took her to the ER and at 3:30am told the nurse i HAD to leave by 4 because i had to start getting ready at 5. i managed to make it out of there, dropped her off with my mom (who normally wouldn't babysit, but knew i was desperate), and went home to get ready and start my first day with zero sleep. it's not for everyone - i was DETERMINED. i told myself i was going to graduate by the time she started school and i did that. i CAN see how some people can't do it. it took every ounce of everything in me many mornings not to turn the alarm off and say FORGET IT. sometimes i would wake up and just lie there nearly in tears and think "i can't do this." BUT i don't regret it for one minute. the way i saw it was that i would rather put in the time and get it over with while she was very young and wouldn't remember being poor and all the sacrifices it involved.

albeit, i wasn't working on a nursing degree, but the degree i got still took 4 years of getting up and going to school every day, holding down a job, paying bills, and juggling a child and then children. i recently decided to return to school to get my BSN through an accelerated program designed for people who already have a degree in another field. it takes 18 months and begins in May. I signed up for a CNA class also and will hopefully start working next month. i plan to work 2-3 twelve hour shifts once i start the program and i'm confident i can do it again. my kids are still young, and people say i'm crazy - but that's what they said when i was a 20 year old single mom, too. i'll have 2 bachelor's degrees before i turn 30 - so i'd say yes, it can definitely be done - even though statistics aren't on your side.

btw, i got a physical done at a walk in clinic (no insurance) and it was $70. i didn't even call around and price check - i just went to the first one i called that told me that price. don't let $50-$100 put your CNA class on hold.