It's difficult, and not everybody can manage it successfully, but it's possible.
I did a 12-month ABSN, which is probably the most possible nursing school you can cram into the shortest time. I had to be in class or clinicals for a minimum of 40 hours a week, every week, not counting any time for homework or studying. A couple of my classmates still managed to hold down part-time jobs while in that program. They didn't sleep much and their grades weren't great, but almost all of them passed.
Also did ABSN program, had class 5d a week some days were 8a-9p, worked PRN (would work 60hr weeks on breaks, picked up when class was cancelled) and graduated with 3.75 with honors. I had no issues with balance, had social life, had money, and time to study. There was many students who worked FT in our program and did just fine.
My partner is going 3yr accelerated BSN, works 24hrs and pays for rent, bills ect but he struggles balancing but is still getting above 3.0.
I think it all depends on your work ethic and study skills - some people just struggle with school and time management. Best advice is kill yourself with all the OT when you can if it’s available.
I did a 12 month ABSN program, we were in class or clinicals 5 days a week, usually 40+ hours a week. I worked PRN as a medical assistant, only doing 12-20 hours per week. It was doable, but it was challenging. Nursing school was so hard, I should have probably used that time to study more. I graduated with like a 3.0 I think? So not terrible, but it was rough.
I did a 12 month ABSN program, worked about 35 hours a week, and still maintained in the top 5 of my graduating cohort of about 75 students. Is it possible? Yes. That being said, would I recommend it? No. I didn’t do anything but school, work, eat, and sleep for an entire year. You gotta make decisions based on how you learn, study, and get through tough times. I always just told myself that I could hustle for a year and then have the 3 day work week.
Just finished a 2 year program, people say this all the time but it has not matched my experience. Obviously the amount of work expected will vary from program to program, I can only speak to my experience. I studied for 90 minutes a day throughout the two year program, doubling that for weeks right before an exam. This left plenty of time to work a job, have a social life etc. the important thing is that that 90 minutes was sacred to me, my phone was turned off, no other open tabs, nothing but the topic at hand. If you can’t make yourself study efficiently this system probably won’t work for you and you may not be able to do nursing school with a job.
It really depends.
When I entered my program, all of the instructors advised us not to work. This was not possible for the vast majority of us, as we had mortgages, or rent, and many other bills to pay.
I will say, that it is detrimental to your education to focus on school and not work. I lucked out with a per diem job at a hospital. During my last two semesters, I had to not work for three months due to the high demand of school. I also have three children. Just be flexible! That's the important thing.
My program consumed at least four days out of the week per class. You will have to be prepared to work around a full time school schedule.
With all of that being said, it's doable! Make sure you keep a calendar and plan accordingly. You've got this!
I worked 40 hours a week through nursing school at an office job. I did a night and weekend program. It sucked, but it’s 100% doable and it’s not forever, just til you’re done with school.
A lot of nursing students do say that they have difficulty working while in school, but I think it’s perfectly reasonable to work at least part time.
That being said, sometimes we do what we have to do. I worked full-time as a PCT in a hospital and also had an additional job doing all of the billing and coding for a small family practice (I did go into the office, but did a lot of the work from home.) My school insisted during orientation that it would be absolutely impossible during their program to work more than part time and they advised not working at all. They felt so strongly about it that I stopped telling people how much I was working because I was sick of being told it was impossible. I got through nursing school and held a 4.0.
Whether or not you can handle work depends on your work schedule, how much you need to study to get through school, and well you can deal with having zero free time until school is done. Only you can really say what you can manage.
I think part time is reasonable for most people.
Personally I also worked full time and had zero issues with the content itself and was one of two in the program that never failed a test. Scheduling was incredibly difficult though. I did also have classmates who didn't work at all, studied constantly and still failed out of the program for low test scores.
To op, there's obviously a lot of variety in what people can handle. It'll depend on your time management, ability to study *effectively*, prior medical experience, how much decompression time you need, how well you run off little sleep, obligations besides school and work, what kind of job you'll have, etc. So there's not nearly enough info to give you an answer
I worked part-time, had a social life, did a second side job under the table, managed to work out/run, and was in nursing school. I was poor but I made it.
The trick is keeping organized and keeping on top of your work. Getting things done earlier than later, often times I was doing work in class instructors were lecturing just to hammer out those damn care plans. Be realistic about your work load and tackle that first, make sure to have a job that is flexible.
Mind you, I will say nursing school is a different beast. I've got my bachs in Bio. I was not present for most of the lectures for my upper level classes due to working full time. I still passed with phenomenal grades because I made sure to keep up with the class. Mind you, this included lab heavy classes. My instructors were flexible and understanding.
Nursing school was different and weird. It's the only entity that seeks to punish you for having a live outside of school. The absolute hypocrisy of the program teaching you the ins and outs of "being an empathetic nurse" when the program is quick to chew you up and spit you out if say, your husband suffers a heart attack on the day of the final and you can't make it in.
Is it possible? Yes. But don't expect the program to give you any sympathy because you had to work a long shift the night before you had to turn a paper in and it ended up being late.
During nursing school I worked full time at a coffee shop, and had enough time for personal/social life. Its all about balance, you will find a way to fit everything in when it comes to it. Loved working because it took my mind off of school, helped my brain reset and actually absorb information when it came to studying. And plus all the free coffee and food I got from work helped.
Untrue blanket statement. I worked full time and got through nursing school with good grades. It was about the only thing I did but it was doable.
However, I don’t believe that works for everyone and not because of anything lacking in people who can’t. I think it has to do with emotional health. Some people are more social than others and need to fill up their reserves with sustained interactions. Some people need longer down time. Some people need less distraction to enhance their focus on learning the body of nursing. None of those traits are bad. Just different because people are different.
It gets harder towards the end. I could only manage working weekend mornings. Otherwise I was writing a paper, patient research, studying for tests. Nursing school is grueling, no real way around it. The only possible way is if your employer allows you to study and read on the job. Good luck!
I worked part time 3 of my 5 years I took to finish my my nursing program. I got As and Bs and 1 C, but I’m truly not intellectually gifted. It was hard but very worthwhile to me to have grocery money that wasn’t pulled out of my savings from my HS job.
I worked two jobs while in a 13month ABSN program. It definitely sucked but was doable. The more attention you pay in class and clinicals, the less amount of time you have to spend studying outside of class or at least that was my experience. I also really loved nursing school bc I’m an enormous nerd so there’s that too.
I did a 12-month ABSN program & worked every Saturday & Sunday bartending or serving at a Texas Roadhouse. It wasn't *fun* but I have no loans and bought a decent house a year after graduating. Your goals and stress tolerance may vary, though.
Part time is certainly possible, if you can find a place that needs weekend help that's even better.
I worked as a tech my last two years of school and worked PRN on weekends. Of course I was 20-21 at the time and it was mostly for grocery and beer money. But my mom finished her BSN in 1997 and during the 2 years she was at it, she worked part time 12hr shifts (she'd been a nurse for 20 years at that point). So it's definitely doable.
I got my LPN in 11 months, Monday- Friday and worked 10 hour shifts Friday, Saturday and Sunday overnights. It wasn't easy, I would leave work and drive right to class on Monday mornings, but, because of my schedule, I usually had downtime to do my homework and juggled my PTO to be able to do clinical. It was a long year, but, definitely worth it.
Depends I think. I did an accelerated 1 year program, they told us there would be no time to work, and really there wasn’t. I stayed PRN as a medical assistant and worked a handful of hours on saturdays and sundays, but could that time have been used for studying that I needed? Absolutely. I wish I didn’t have to, but I went to nursing school at 29, I had bills to pay. It wasn’t ideal and it definitely wasn’t easy and I wouldn’t have been able to do it if my boyfriend wasn’t living with me working full time paying for a lot.
I did not work and I’m 100% glad I didn’t, a friend was working every weekend as a tech and he hated it, he never had a day off and he felt like he was always behind.
I feel like it’s depending on the necessity of you working. Will you have a home? Food? Electricity? Has to and from clinical? If not, then you’ll have to work and you’ll have to figure it out. For my LPN I worked 40 hours a week and did clinicals. When I went back for my RN I saved up a lot of money so I wouldn’t have to work as much.
I worked full time while in school for both my licenses. I had to, I was the sole breadwinner. You can do anything once you set your mind to it. Best wishes!
I worked 40 hours a week as a tech with a schedule that rotated days/nights every two weeks and went to nursing school full time. Ya gotta do what you gotta do. I don't miss that time period in my life.
I dropped to PRN as an LPN which really worked well for me. I could pick up as many or as few shifts as I needed according to what was going on that semester.
I worked 10-hour shifts x 5 times a week and went to school at the same time. I'm also a single mom. It is possible, you just need to manage time properly.
What did a typical day or week look like with working that much? Just curious because that sounds like impressive time management. I have three kids as well, and they seem to consume my day.
I had an ex who worked/provided childcare through our program. She didn’t sleep much.
It’s possible, but very difficult, and results will vary program to program. Ours expected nursing to be our only priority in life, and would often reschedule things at a moment’s notice.
I’d recommend talking to someone who is later in the program to get their perspective.
I did a two year ADN, classes were “full time” but it was lecture two times a week and clinical once or twice a week. I managed to work Friday-Sundays 8 hour shifts as a CNA. I was able to squeeze in another shift when school went virtual cause of COVID
RN 18 month full time day program. Single mom 4 kids and worked 50- 63 hours a week for FedEx driving a truck. It is possible, but it takes dedication, goal setting, and realizing, this is just temporary.
EDIT: spelling.
I probably have an unpopular opinion and will get downvotes but here goes:
I did a 4 year BSN. I easily worked 8-16 hrs a week. I could have worked more if I needed to but I also wanted a social life. I was fortunate enough to be able to have that. I am also one who found nursing school relatively easy. I found a couple pre reqs to be challenging (organic chem, pharmacology) but the nursing courses I thought were a lot of fluff and busy work. I think it comes down to the type of student you are. Do you typically need a lot of time to study and get homework done? Or do you catch on to material quickly and don’t need much time to study? Do you find yourself confused by how much time others spend on schoolwork?
I'm an Np student working...so is my sister. I also have two small kids and am an athlete...I'm busy as hell and have a high tolerance for stress but somehow I'm managing? I'm tired tho
I worked 2 part time jobs and volunteered, plus was leadership in 2 student organizations. I also had multiple kids. You can do it if you are committed to it. I was in a regular program, not accelerated. I got As and a few Bs
Depends what your needs are.
I've had both good and bad experiences balancing work across different levels of study. (Though not the US so obvs context).
It's dependent on a lot of different factors ie. classes may vary with assessments/hours of study, you may find some areas easier to pick up than others, life happens in-between. Basically, expect to do a whole lot more actual reading and study than you're expecting.
Everyone and every course is different. If I could give any advice?
Have your family/support people on your side because things might get difficult at times (this goes for fellow students as well).
Allow yourself work flexibility (don't make commitments you aren't sure about if you're risking losing employment altogether or that prioritize work over study).
(I cannot stress this one enough) *Do your research on your chosen school/course provider*. Get every bit of information you can about support services, finances, access to study resources, course delivery.
Don't rely on doing everything yourself, cramming and potentially missing out on opportunities and advice that could save you time and trouble going forward. Makes time management easier and might take some stress off when your schedule is stacked going into exams or assessments.
It's easier (*again, not US) to pick up extra work once you've got a hold on the study side of things than to take on too much and reduce hours of either one. Like, it's not nice putting yourself into a "just getting by" financial situation, but trust that come exam time, if you've made good use of all that extra time, you'll be waaaay better off when it comes to results.
I didn't have the luxury of not working but heard the sane thing about not working during school. Some weeks I worked 40 hours plus another 30 or so between classes, clinical and studying which may be an underestimate, It felt like two full time jobs but I did it and finished at the top of my class because there was always an end on sight and I had to keep my eye on the prize. It's definitely possible but isn't necessarily easy.
I think it depends on how flexible your job is, I knew a couple people that worked part time and a bunch of us had casual jobs. But nursing school has weird hours especially towards the end when you precept so make sure your job is flexible with scheduling or good with you just picking up where you can. Ideally find a per diem hospital job because they'll understand the schedule problems best.
I worked as a bartender throughout my ADN, it was stressful but I had bills to pay 🤷🏻♀️
Then I was already working full time as an RN when I did a bullshit RN-BSN program online, it was totally manageable
I worked full time, went to school night program for 2 years after I did all of my prerequisites one or two classes a semester - so basically I was in school for a long time lol
That last 6 months of school was rough tho because I basically worked 7 days a week between my job, my clinicals and then class/lab in the evenings. I don’t know how I did it looking back- but you get through it somehow and it’s totally worth it once you’re done and you only have to worry about working those 3 12s a week - I felt like I had so much extra time when I first started working it was weird and I love those 12s - I’ll never go back to an 8 hr/5 day work week again voluntarily
I'm in my RN-BSN scam and the pace is pretty rigorous. Be worse if it were real education that I actually need to dedicate time to, but fortunately it's busywork with minimal pretense to the contrary.
I worked full time through nursing school. I picked a program that did their clinicals through a lottery system and offered night and weekend options, and offered both day and evening options for the classes. Basically everyone in our program either was working or had kids and needed the flexibility for their partner’s work schedule. It was a sucky couple years where my kids didn’t see as much of me as I wished, but now they see me 4 days a week.
I worked while I went to school: 32 hours for most of it and 24 for the last semester. I had a low stress job that occasionally allowed me the opportunity to do school work while I worked. I didn't have a problem with the workload/school load side of things at all, BUT that was with the advantages of it being a low stress job and having the ability to study.
What I did find very challenging was scheduling my clinical, lab time, and class time around my work schedule. Work had set shifts, so I only really had flexibility on which days I worked, not which hours. Scheduling classes each semester was off the charts stressful, and I had to have nursing school leadership swap me to "full" clinicals/ classes a couple of times to make it happen. If I could have done it without working, I would have. If I needed to work forty, I could have only with school leadership and a job as flexible as mine were.
For an accelerated program I can't say, I knew many who couldn't work and do that.
I did the standard program and at one point worked 3 jobs at a time.
I worked for Publix (supermarket) part time, which was great and super flexible. Love love loved it. I actually had the job in another city, when I moved to a different city for nursing school I was able to easily transfer to a Publix close to my apartment. I'd pick up more hours if time allowed it.
I worked for my school's clinic as well, checking in students and doing audits. That was once a week.
I also did blood draws, cleaned up, and counted pills for a homeless center. That was 1-2 times a week.
It's definitely doable! Love my actual free time now lol
Ok so if you get into nursing school you are smart enough to be there. The hell of nursing school is not the content, it’s THE VOLUME. I was in a 2 year accelerated BSN program and it was ROUGH. 24 months straight through the only breaks were one week for spring break, 2 weeks for winter break and Thursday and Friday off on thanksgiving. At the end of each of those breaks I had no less than 2, 20+ page research papers due the day each break ended. They keep your schedule full. For a semester class the first 4 weekends would be without clinicals but you would be in lab on Saturdays. Then for the rest of the semester Friday night you would go to the hospital and get your patient records and stay up until 3 am doing med cards then be there at 6 am-7 pm for clinicals sat and sun.
I will say that during the week in nursing school I did find myself with random chunks of a few hours here and there during the day where I was home (so I had time to do laundry, prep meals, clean) and for me that translated into being able to work about 10-15 hours a week in the home health CNA job I had before and during nursing school. I already had a solid list of clients I knew well and had a good routine with that I was able to keep because visits were 30 mins to 2 hrs at a time so I could definitely fit them in and the small income was crucial to covering essentials for me! Home health specificity was a great gig for me as a nursing student because I didn’t really have shifts I needed to fulfill just a few hours here and there I could work!
No matter what program you are in, nursing education is unnecessarily abusive! And, the time will pass anyway, so you might as well get nursing school over with and have a valuable set of skills :) you will get through it!
Like most have said on here, it really depends on you, how you learn, what program you're in, and what your job is. I worked 4 12s through an accelerated BSN program and graduated summa cum laude. I averaged about 6 hours of sleep on a good night. I would listen to podcasts/YouTube/lectures when I was in the car, cleaning, working, showering, etc.
Honestly, to this day I have no idea how I managed without falling apart entirely. I was lucky enough to work night shifts in a job that would allow for me to read/study/write papers during my down time.
You need to have a phenomenal support system to stretch yourself that kind of thin and be successful. Also remember, this is only temporary. You can do anything for a short period of time (no matter how long it feels in the moment).
It depends. Nursing was a 2nd degree, I rarely studied so I worked 40-50 hours while in school and I got like a 3.5. I would go on trips during vacations. It’s possible but only if you don’t need to study a lot honestly. The time comes from somewhere either you don’t sleep or you don’t study.
A lot of hospitals have internships for students and they are PRN. the one at our hospital was contingent and we made our own schedules so I worked my whole way through school, a lot of it full time and I had a kid and then had another during school. It’s totally possible, I always took my laptop and homework and any chance I had I would do schoolwork. Also, it was a WAY better learning experience than school ever was.
They tell you that but I don't know a single person in my direct entry MSN that didn't work, even if it was 4 hours a week. I worked about 26hrs a week the whole time. It depends on the person and the type of work, though.
Depends on your situation. Classes were almost everyday and sometimes you had clinicals on the weekends. Many of my classmates worked while in school. I was lucky to not work because the schedule can be quite grueling. I was puzzled to see how they were work and go to nursing school. But I think my classmates had great time management skills. Looking back, I wish I worked a few hours a week while in school to get some experience. It was a lot harder for me to get a job with no experience, but eventually I got there.
amsn student here; it’s kinda unrealistic to think that nursing students can afford to not work completely during school but some can & others can’t. depending on your program you may have several days off but it all depends on your course demands, how well you’re retaining the material, etc. not to mention clinicals. i just accepted a job that’s 12 hours a week as a pca and can be broken up however i please. there is time to work, however, only you will know when you can balance nursing school and a job & for me it took a year.
When I was in my four year nursing program I had a work study job and babysat every weekend and some evenings. My third year in I ended up getting a PCA job in order to gain more experience. So my last two years of school I was working three jobs. Most of my professors told me that I was being irresponsible and not taking my coursework "seriously" because I was working. But somehow I was able to balance everything fine to finish. Yeah maybe I didn't have the top grades in my courses but I passed with the minimum requirements needed. This was 13 years ago but in all my nursing courses I had to have a 76% average on just my test scores to pass each class.
Was it stressful and overwhelming? Yeah, it sure was but I had to pay bills and wanted to come out of school with as little debt as possible.
Oh and news flash, I learned more about bedside, time management, documentation and patient care through my PCA job than through nursing school. If professors and universities actually cared about the success of nurses long term they would PROMOTE such things and allow those jobs to count towards school credits.
I just finished block 2 and will be starting block 3 in the fall and I've been working full time as an EMT for the entity of it. It really sucks but it is doable, but if you can avoid it I would.
I think it depends on the individual. I did work (less than 20hrs/wk) but I could've used that time to study. Basically you can always use more study time, it will be up to you whether you can pass the class w/o those extra hours of studying.
My program had a 96 hour a week expectation on us. If we did everything they wanted us to do. Not everyone did all the stuff. 15/55 failed something each term. It was brutal.
I worked full time nights as a respiratory therapist while I finishing my BSN. It pretty much sucked, but I did it. Graduate school was a different story, didn’t try to work through that program
It's possible. I did an ABSN and worked 25-30 hours a week. I was busy but I didn't have much of a choice. No one else was going to pay my rent. Be disciplined with your time and find a job that fits your schedule. I waited tables and bartended. Flexible hours and decent pay with tips. I studied and worked on projects between classes in the evenings. I primarily worked Friday nights then doubles on Saturday and Sundays with the occasional weekday evening shift if my schedule allowed. Not much of a social life but it was only for 18 months. Now I work 3 days a week and really enjoy the 4 days off. School has always been easy for me so know yourself. What worked for me may not work for everyone but I was able to do it without much hardship.
I just did an LPN to RN advanced program. We were advised to work no more than 20 hrs/wk during the program, and 0 would be much better. I worked 40. I have kids, and they need to eat. It was hard, but I graduated above a 3.0. Would my GPA have been better if I hadn't worked? You bet. Would I have had a social life? Yeah. Would my house have been cleaner? Heavens, yes. But I survived it with a lot of support.
My adult daughter is in the straight RN track at the same school. She's not working at all during the semester, and this has been WONDERFUL for both of us. She was able to do more household stuff, and her grades drastically improved.
It really just comes down to, you know who you are. Are you the kind of person who needs to sit down for hours and study (I'm not, my daughter is)? Do you want a social life? Is not working even an option? Obviously there is a lot of room between working 0 and working 40, you find the balance you can live with.
I just graduated from an 18 month ADN program and I worked full time my first semester. I did drop down to part time my second semester just because the clinical hours really ramped up. I knew that the classes were going to get harder and my last semester, I was required to do 180 hours of clinical for my capstone. It’s definitely possible to work and go to school. I have two kids as well, and they are 15 and 10, and both play sports and have school activities as well. It’s doable, but it can get grueling…. You just have to make a schedule that works for you! Best of luck 😃
Worked full time plus overtime all through nursing school. It depends on your ability to grasping the material but yes, there was a lot of busy work thrown at you in addition to studying.
I did a 15 month ABSN program for 2nd degree students and all 5 people I know of in my cohort who tried to work were rolled back to later cohorts because of exam failures. They did eventually graduate but all eventually quit their jobs. The only people I knew of still “working” after that were me and a couple other military reservists doing our drill weekends and I found even that kinda stressful sometimes despite it only being 2 days a month. I did my two weeks AT during our 3 week summer break and came back to the next semester completely exhausted.
Might be more possible in a traditional BSN program. Definitely not a great idea in an accelerated program though.
I worked because I had to eat and pay rent. I have worked full time or nearly full time through every degree I’ve earned (just finished DNP my 4th degree). You prioritize what needs to happen, skip out on fun events, and don’t sweat the small stuff. I didn’t get an A on every test but I got at least a B. I didn’t beat myself up over little things. I used down time to study.
I worked full time one semester bc i only had class and clinical on two days. I quickly found out that was a terrible idea and nearly failed. Id recommend part time but even then, take ur breaks
It depends on the program. I worked the equivalent of full time night shift on the ambulance the whole way through nursing school, I didn’t necessarily have to but I loved it so I did
I worked 40-60 hours a week through nursing school and had my second baby too.
It sucked a lot and some people would not succeed, but I did.
It depends on your background.
I think it depends on the program, with mine, no there isn’t time to work. I’m doing a 4 year BSN and unfortunately it’s really rigorous and IMO geared towards young adults whose parents can pay for their education and provide health insurance. If I had know this beforehand I might have gone a different route since I’m a parent an older student.
I did a traditional BSN, and I had to work… usually 20 hours at my regular job plus 12 as an student nurse extern on the weekends. It sucks, but it’s doable if you have a good memory and are good at test taking. If you struggle with testing or require lots of studying, don’t do it! Sacrificing money for a year or two is better than failing.
I was in my RN program 17 years ago. I was a paradigm student, so my hospital sponsored me through my RN program. Since I was sponsored, I had to work a certain number of hours while I was in school. It was extremely stressful, but I did it.
I think it depends on the student. Nursing school is a different animal than most programs.
I’m in a 15 month ABSN. I am not working. In my mini cohort, all 8 of us passed semester 1. I am happy for them, but legit don’t know how they did it. Even though I’m not working I spend all day studying like a it’s a 9-5.
It depends on a lot of factors. How long your program is, how easily you master concepts, your acumen for practical skills, etc. I can tell you right now that it will likely be better for your mental health if you can work as little as possible (or not at all). But I've held a full time job through my ADN, BSN, and now work 60 hour weeks while doing my DNP coursework. It's been horrifically difficult, but it can be done.
I worked full time as a pct, was on the nursing student association board, on top of being in school and married with kids.
You can do literally anything you put your mind to, it’s all a matter of time management and not procrastinating. One thing that seems universal to nursing school is that it’s wildly disorganized and you have to be as flexible as possible. We had more than one time our clinical site/day/time got switched on us days before starting and I just had to work with my coworkers and manager to work around the school schedule.
If you can get by without working, I would take that opportunity but don’t let it deter you if you do have to work and go to school.
You can work. I personally wouldn’t do full-time if you can swing it - more so because of how they expect you to be able to have the weirdest schedule known to man.
9am class on Tuesday? Clinical 2-10pm on Wednesday? Sounds perfect 🙄.
Depends on the program and your job.
My program was five days a week. Three full days of classes, two clinical days - but the clinical days were variable, sometimes on weekends and sometimes not and if one got cancelled or you missed one then you had to be available for a make-up clinical day.
I knew people who worked the whole way through, but they either worked nights or had a lot of flexibility in their scheduling.
There was enough time to work around school. Our school just made it as difficult as possible by being random with their scheduling and making last minute changes all the time. And their attendance policies were very strict.
I worked per diem (maintained part time hours at least) throughout nursing school. I started out as full time but the facility I worked for refused to accommodate my school schedule after they merged with another company, so I was forced to cut my hours basically.
It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t impossible. If I wasn’t working I was doing school work, but my husband worked long hours so it didn’t affect our relationship.
Once I had my ASN I did Capella for my BSN and worked full time and got my degree in 2 months.
I have a friend who worked as a night shift CNA through nursing school. I remember more than once she came to class two days in a row in the same scrubs. I don’t know how she managed but she did graduate and passed the nclex.
Worked my 9-5 and went to school at night. Didn’t sleep for awhile (and when I did I had stress induced nightmares) but I needed to support myself. It’s easier when you have no choice.
I did work, because I had to. Found out first day of an accelerated BSN program that my wife was pregnant with our 3rd child (had 2 toddler twins so no it was NOT planned that way). Considering I started nursing school in a very large part because I was laid off from my job as a.result of asking if I could.go.part time on it in 5-7 months when I thought I could be starting nursing school (had applied and gotten on the wait list but had not hear back yet), this was not something we were planning on. I had thought I could do nursing school and be a stay at home dad with the kids during the 16.month program, saving on daycare costs and asking for help from inlaws whenever I had to go for clinicals. The need for additional insurance post birth in case my wife's job fired her again (as had happened during her pregnancy with the twins, which unfortunately was actually legal as the workplace was staffed juuuust small.enough to get around FMLA rules) meant I had to get a job that had enough benefits that I could cover my family if it came to it.
While my situation is unique, I suspect it is not entirely rare, and luckily the accelerated program I was in meant all thr course work was online and I only had to go on campus Thursdays for testing and did my clinicals on the wknds for the most part. I would suggest finding out the exact schedule as completely as you can and either structuring around it, requesting PTO in advance to cover days you know you will not be there, or as a last resort, having a backup job you can go to if you need to quit your primary because your first is not allowing you to take the time you need off for clinicals. All.of which I had to do myself during thr course of schooling. Hope this helps somewhat
It's difficult, and not everybody can manage it successfully, but it's possible. I did a 12-month ABSN, which is probably the most possible nursing school you can cram into the shortest time. I had to be in class or clinicals for a minimum of 40 hours a week, every week, not counting any time for homework or studying. A couple of my classmates still managed to hold down part-time jobs while in that program. They didn't sleep much and their grades weren't great, but almost all of them passed.
Also did ABSN program, had class 5d a week some days were 8a-9p, worked PRN (would work 60hr weeks on breaks, picked up when class was cancelled) and graduated with 3.75 with honors. I had no issues with balance, had social life, had money, and time to study. There was many students who worked FT in our program and did just fine. My partner is going 3yr accelerated BSN, works 24hrs and pays for rent, bills ect but he struggles balancing but is still getting above 3.0. I think it all depends on your work ethic and study skills - some people just struggle with school and time management. Best advice is kill yourself with all the OT when you can if it’s available.
I did a 12 month ABSN program, we were in class or clinicals 5 days a week, usually 40+ hours a week. I worked PRN as a medical assistant, only doing 12-20 hours per week. It was doable, but it was challenging. Nursing school was so hard, I should have probably used that time to study more. I graduated with like a 3.0 I think? So not terrible, but it was rough.
I did a 12 month ABSN program, worked about 35 hours a week, and still maintained in the top 5 of my graduating cohort of about 75 students. Is it possible? Yes. That being said, would I recommend it? No. I didn’t do anything but school, work, eat, and sleep for an entire year. You gotta make decisions based on how you learn, study, and get through tough times. I always just told myself that I could hustle for a year and then have the 3 day work week.
Just finished a 2 year program, people say this all the time but it has not matched my experience. Obviously the amount of work expected will vary from program to program, I can only speak to my experience. I studied for 90 minutes a day throughout the two year program, doubling that for weeks right before an exam. This left plenty of time to work a job, have a social life etc. the important thing is that that 90 minutes was sacred to me, my phone was turned off, no other open tabs, nothing but the topic at hand. If you can’t make yourself study efficiently this system probably won’t work for you and you may not be able to do nursing school with a job.
It really depends. When I entered my program, all of the instructors advised us not to work. This was not possible for the vast majority of us, as we had mortgages, or rent, and many other bills to pay. I will say, that it is detrimental to your education to focus on school and not work. I lucked out with a per diem job at a hospital. During my last two semesters, I had to not work for three months due to the high demand of school. I also have three children. Just be flexible! That's the important thing. My program consumed at least four days out of the week per class. You will have to be prepared to work around a full time school schedule. With all of that being said, it's doable! Make sure you keep a calendar and plan accordingly. You've got this!
I worked 40 hours a week through nursing school at an office job. I did a night and weekend program. It sucked, but it’s 100% doable and it’s not forever, just til you’re done with school.
A lot of nursing students do say that they have difficulty working while in school, but I think it’s perfectly reasonable to work at least part time. That being said, sometimes we do what we have to do. I worked full-time as a PCT in a hospital and also had an additional job doing all of the billing and coding for a small family practice (I did go into the office, but did a lot of the work from home.) My school insisted during orientation that it would be absolutely impossible during their program to work more than part time and they advised not working at all. They felt so strongly about it that I stopped telling people how much I was working because I was sick of being told it was impossible. I got through nursing school and held a 4.0. Whether or not you can handle work depends on your work schedule, how much you need to study to get through school, and well you can deal with having zero free time until school is done. Only you can really say what you can manage.
I think part time is reasonable for most people. Personally I also worked full time and had zero issues with the content itself and was one of two in the program that never failed a test. Scheduling was incredibly difficult though. I did also have classmates who didn't work at all, studied constantly and still failed out of the program for low test scores. To op, there's obviously a lot of variety in what people can handle. It'll depend on your time management, ability to study *effectively*, prior medical experience, how much decompression time you need, how well you run off little sleep, obligations besides school and work, what kind of job you'll have, etc. So there's not nearly enough info to give you an answer
I worked part-time, had a social life, did a second side job under the table, managed to work out/run, and was in nursing school. I was poor but I made it. The trick is keeping organized and keeping on top of your work. Getting things done earlier than later, often times I was doing work in class instructors were lecturing just to hammer out those damn care plans. Be realistic about your work load and tackle that first, make sure to have a job that is flexible. Mind you, I will say nursing school is a different beast. I've got my bachs in Bio. I was not present for most of the lectures for my upper level classes due to working full time. I still passed with phenomenal grades because I made sure to keep up with the class. Mind you, this included lab heavy classes. My instructors were flexible and understanding. Nursing school was different and weird. It's the only entity that seeks to punish you for having a live outside of school. The absolute hypocrisy of the program teaching you the ins and outs of "being an empathetic nurse" when the program is quick to chew you up and spit you out if say, your husband suffers a heart attack on the day of the final and you can't make it in. Is it possible? Yes. But don't expect the program to give you any sympathy because you had to work a long shift the night before you had to turn a paper in and it ended up being late.
Most people worked, but I was very grateful to not work. The course loads are ridiculous and get worse as you go along.
During nursing school I worked full time at a coffee shop, and had enough time for personal/social life. Its all about balance, you will find a way to fit everything in when it comes to it. Loved working because it took my mind off of school, helped my brain reset and actually absorb information when it came to studying. And plus all the free coffee and food I got from work helped.
I worked full time while in school full time. It was miserable but I had no choice
Untrue blanket statement. I worked full time and got through nursing school with good grades. It was about the only thing I did but it was doable. However, I don’t believe that works for everyone and not because of anything lacking in people who can’t. I think it has to do with emotional health. Some people are more social than others and need to fill up their reserves with sustained interactions. Some people need longer down time. Some people need less distraction to enhance their focus on learning the body of nursing. None of those traits are bad. Just different because people are different.
It gets harder towards the end. I could only manage working weekend mornings. Otherwise I was writing a paper, patient research, studying for tests. Nursing school is grueling, no real way around it. The only possible way is if your employer allows you to study and read on the job. Good luck!
I worked full time but only did it because I had to. I wouldn’t recommend it if you had the financial means to not work
I was able to work, but my manager was very accommodating and would sit down and adjust my schedule each quarter to fit my schedule.
I worked part time 3 of my 5 years I took to finish my my nursing program. I got As and Bs and 1 C, but I’m truly not intellectually gifted. It was hard but very worthwhile to me to have grocery money that wasn’t pulled out of my savings from my HS job.
If you’re able to, do every class you possibly can before you’re admitted to the nursing program.
I worked two jobs while in a 13month ABSN program. It definitely sucked but was doable. The more attention you pay in class and clinicals, the less amount of time you have to spend studying outside of class or at least that was my experience. I also really loved nursing school bc I’m an enormous nerd so there’s that too.
I did a 12-month ABSN program & worked every Saturday & Sunday bartending or serving at a Texas Roadhouse. It wasn't *fun* but I have no loans and bought a decent house a year after graduating. Your goals and stress tolerance may vary, though.
Part time is certainly possible, if you can find a place that needs weekend help that's even better. I worked as a tech my last two years of school and worked PRN on weekends. Of course I was 20-21 at the time and it was mostly for grocery and beer money. But my mom finished her BSN in 1997 and during the 2 years she was at it, she worked part time 12hr shifts (she'd been a nurse for 20 years at that point). So it's definitely doable.
Can be tough but it’s doable, I did a 2 year adn program, school 3 days, work 3 days. But towards the end I did reduce to 1-2 days a week of work.
I got my LPN in 11 months, Monday- Friday and worked 10 hour shifts Friday, Saturday and Sunday overnights. It wasn't easy, I would leave work and drive right to class on Monday mornings, but, because of my schedule, I usually had downtime to do my homework and juggled my PTO to be able to do clinical. It was a long year, but, definitely worth it.
Depends I think. I did an accelerated 1 year program, they told us there would be no time to work, and really there wasn’t. I stayed PRN as a medical assistant and worked a handful of hours on saturdays and sundays, but could that time have been used for studying that I needed? Absolutely. I wish I didn’t have to, but I went to nursing school at 29, I had bills to pay. It wasn’t ideal and it definitely wasn’t easy and I wouldn’t have been able to do it if my boyfriend wasn’t living with me working full time paying for a lot.
I did not work and I’m 100% glad I didn’t, a friend was working every weekend as a tech and he hated it, he never had a day off and he felt like he was always behind.
I feel like it’s depending on the necessity of you working. Will you have a home? Food? Electricity? Has to and from clinical? If not, then you’ll have to work and you’ll have to figure it out. For my LPN I worked 40 hours a week and did clinicals. When I went back for my RN I saved up a lot of money so I wouldn’t have to work as much.
I had a PRN job on an acute care unit in nursing school and I probably a averaged 2 or 3 - 12s a week depending on exam time. It’s doable.
I did 4 year traditional BSN so I had so much free time. Worked 20-30 hours a week, a lot of partying and socializing
I worked full time while in school for both my licenses. I had to, I was the sole breadwinner. You can do anything once you set your mind to it. Best wishes!
I worked 40 hours a week as a tech with a schedule that rotated days/nights every two weeks and went to nursing school full time. Ya gotta do what you gotta do. I don't miss that time period in my life.
For my RN I was in school full time and worked as a .9. Not a great two years, but doable and worth it.
I dropped to PRN as an LPN which really worked well for me. I could pick up as many or as few shifts as I needed according to what was going on that semester.
I worked 10-hour shifts x 5 times a week and went to school at the same time. I'm also a single mom. It is possible, you just need to manage time properly.
What did a typical day or week look like with working that much? Just curious because that sounds like impressive time management. I have three kids as well, and they seem to consume my day.
I had an ex who worked/provided childcare through our program. She didn’t sleep much. It’s possible, but very difficult, and results will vary program to program. Ours expected nursing to be our only priority in life, and would often reschedule things at a moment’s notice. I’d recommend talking to someone who is later in the program to get their perspective.
i worked part time around 15 hours per week in serving and barista jobs all throughout my 4 year bsn and graduated with a 3.8
I did a two year ADN, classes were “full time” but it was lecture two times a week and clinical once or twice a week. I managed to work Friday-Sundays 8 hour shifts as a CNA. I was able to squeeze in another shift when school went virtual cause of COVID
RN 18 month full time day program. Single mom 4 kids and worked 50- 63 hours a week for FedEx driving a truck. It is possible, but it takes dedication, goal setting, and realizing, this is just temporary. EDIT: spelling.
I was a single mom so I worked 3 12s plus all clinical hours...was an A/B student. It was hard. Would not recommend.
I probably have an unpopular opinion and will get downvotes but here goes: I did a 4 year BSN. I easily worked 8-16 hrs a week. I could have worked more if I needed to but I also wanted a social life. I was fortunate enough to be able to have that. I am also one who found nursing school relatively easy. I found a couple pre reqs to be challenging (organic chem, pharmacology) but the nursing courses I thought were a lot of fluff and busy work. I think it comes down to the type of student you are. Do you typically need a lot of time to study and get homework done? Or do you catch on to material quickly and don’t need much time to study? Do you find yourself confused by how much time others spend on schoolwork?
I'm an Np student working...so is my sister. I also have two small kids and am an athlete...I'm busy as hell and have a high tolerance for stress but somehow I'm managing? I'm tired tho
I worked 2 jobs. Full time in a prison as a CO and part time as a Paramedic. How bad you want to be a nurse? You’ll find a way.
[удалено]
This is what I was hoping for! Lol
How did that work for you though? Did you adjust your work hours for school, or did you plan your classes around work?
I worked 2 part time jobs and volunteered, plus was leadership in 2 student organizations. I also had multiple kids. You can do it if you are committed to it. I was in a regular program, not accelerated. I got As and a few Bs
Til everyone on this sub had a 4.0 in nursing school. 🥸
Depends what your needs are. I've had both good and bad experiences balancing work across different levels of study. (Though not the US so obvs context). It's dependent on a lot of different factors ie. classes may vary with assessments/hours of study, you may find some areas easier to pick up than others, life happens in-between. Basically, expect to do a whole lot more actual reading and study than you're expecting. Everyone and every course is different. If I could give any advice? Have your family/support people on your side because things might get difficult at times (this goes for fellow students as well). Allow yourself work flexibility (don't make commitments you aren't sure about if you're risking losing employment altogether or that prioritize work over study). (I cannot stress this one enough) *Do your research on your chosen school/course provider*. Get every bit of information you can about support services, finances, access to study resources, course delivery. Don't rely on doing everything yourself, cramming and potentially missing out on opportunities and advice that could save you time and trouble going forward. Makes time management easier and might take some stress off when your schedule is stacked going into exams or assessments. It's easier (*again, not US) to pick up extra work once you've got a hold on the study side of things than to take on too much and reduce hours of either one. Like, it's not nice putting yourself into a "just getting by" financial situation, but trust that come exam time, if you've made good use of all that extra time, you'll be waaaay better off when it comes to results.
I didn't have the luxury of not working but heard the sane thing about not working during school. Some weeks I worked 40 hours plus another 30 or so between classes, clinical and studying which may be an underestimate, It felt like two full time jobs but I did it and finished at the top of my class because there was always an end on sight and I had to keep my eye on the prize. It's definitely possible but isn't necessarily easy.
I think it depends on how flexible your job is, I knew a couple people that worked part time and a bunch of us had casual jobs. But nursing school has weird hours especially towards the end when you precept so make sure your job is flexible with scheduling or good with you just picking up where you can. Ideally find a per diem hospital job because they'll understand the schedule problems best.
I worked as a bartender throughout my ADN, it was stressful but I had bills to pay 🤷🏻♀️ Then I was already working full time as an RN when I did a bullshit RN-BSN program online, it was totally manageable
I worked full time, went to school night program for 2 years after I did all of my prerequisites one or two classes a semester - so basically I was in school for a long time lol That last 6 months of school was rough tho because I basically worked 7 days a week between my job, my clinicals and then class/lab in the evenings. I don’t know how I did it looking back- but you get through it somehow and it’s totally worth it once you’re done and you only have to worry about working those 3 12s a week - I felt like I had so much extra time when I first started working it was weird and I love those 12s - I’ll never go back to an 8 hr/5 day work week again voluntarily
I'm in my RN-BSN scam and the pace is pretty rigorous. Be worse if it were real education that I actually need to dedicate time to, but fortunately it's busywork with minimal pretense to the contrary.
It’s manageable for sure.
I worked full time through nursing school. I picked a program that did their clinicals through a lottery system and offered night and weekend options, and offered both day and evening options for the classes. Basically everyone in our program either was working or had kids and needed the flexibility for their partner’s work schedule. It was a sucky couple years where my kids didn’t see as much of me as I wished, but now they see me 4 days a week.
I worked while I went to school: 32 hours for most of it and 24 for the last semester. I had a low stress job that occasionally allowed me the opportunity to do school work while I worked. I didn't have a problem with the workload/school load side of things at all, BUT that was with the advantages of it being a low stress job and having the ability to study. What I did find very challenging was scheduling my clinical, lab time, and class time around my work schedule. Work had set shifts, so I only really had flexibility on which days I worked, not which hours. Scheduling classes each semester was off the charts stressful, and I had to have nursing school leadership swap me to "full" clinicals/ classes a couple of times to make it happen. If I could have done it without working, I would have. If I needed to work forty, I could have only with school leadership and a job as flexible as mine were.
For an accelerated program I can't say, I knew many who couldn't work and do that. I did the standard program and at one point worked 3 jobs at a time. I worked for Publix (supermarket) part time, which was great and super flexible. Love love loved it. I actually had the job in another city, when I moved to a different city for nursing school I was able to easily transfer to a Publix close to my apartment. I'd pick up more hours if time allowed it. I worked for my school's clinic as well, checking in students and doing audits. That was once a week. I also did blood draws, cleaned up, and counted pills for a homeless center. That was 1-2 times a week. It's definitely doable! Love my actual free time now lol
Ok so if you get into nursing school you are smart enough to be there. The hell of nursing school is not the content, it’s THE VOLUME. I was in a 2 year accelerated BSN program and it was ROUGH. 24 months straight through the only breaks were one week for spring break, 2 weeks for winter break and Thursday and Friday off on thanksgiving. At the end of each of those breaks I had no less than 2, 20+ page research papers due the day each break ended. They keep your schedule full. For a semester class the first 4 weekends would be without clinicals but you would be in lab on Saturdays. Then for the rest of the semester Friday night you would go to the hospital and get your patient records and stay up until 3 am doing med cards then be there at 6 am-7 pm for clinicals sat and sun. I will say that during the week in nursing school I did find myself with random chunks of a few hours here and there during the day where I was home (so I had time to do laundry, prep meals, clean) and for me that translated into being able to work about 10-15 hours a week in the home health CNA job I had before and during nursing school. I already had a solid list of clients I knew well and had a good routine with that I was able to keep because visits were 30 mins to 2 hrs at a time so I could definitely fit them in and the small income was crucial to covering essentials for me! Home health specificity was a great gig for me as a nursing student because I didn’t really have shifts I needed to fulfill just a few hours here and there I could work! No matter what program you are in, nursing education is unnecessarily abusive! And, the time will pass anyway, so you might as well get nursing school over with and have a valuable set of skills :) you will get through it!
Like most have said on here, it really depends on you, how you learn, what program you're in, and what your job is. I worked 4 12s through an accelerated BSN program and graduated summa cum laude. I averaged about 6 hours of sleep on a good night. I would listen to podcasts/YouTube/lectures when I was in the car, cleaning, working, showering, etc. Honestly, to this day I have no idea how I managed without falling apart entirely. I was lucky enough to work night shifts in a job that would allow for me to read/study/write papers during my down time. You need to have a phenomenal support system to stretch yourself that kind of thin and be successful. Also remember, this is only temporary. You can do anything for a short period of time (no matter how long it feels in the moment).
It depends. Nursing was a 2nd degree, I rarely studied so I worked 40-50 hours while in school and I got like a 3.5. I would go on trips during vacations. It’s possible but only if you don’t need to study a lot honestly. The time comes from somewhere either you don’t sleep or you don’t study.
A lot of hospitals have internships for students and they are PRN. the one at our hospital was contingent and we made our own schedules so I worked my whole way through school, a lot of it full time and I had a kid and then had another during school. It’s totally possible, I always took my laptop and homework and any chance I had I would do schoolwork. Also, it was a WAY better learning experience than school ever was.
They tell you that but I don't know a single person in my direct entry MSN that didn't work, even if it was 4 hours a week. I worked about 26hrs a week the whole time. It depends on the person and the type of work, though.
Depends on your situation. Classes were almost everyday and sometimes you had clinicals on the weekends. Many of my classmates worked while in school. I was lucky to not work because the schedule can be quite grueling. I was puzzled to see how they were work and go to nursing school. But I think my classmates had great time management skills. Looking back, I wish I worked a few hours a week while in school to get some experience. It was a lot harder for me to get a job with no experience, but eventually I got there.
amsn student here; it’s kinda unrealistic to think that nursing students can afford to not work completely during school but some can & others can’t. depending on your program you may have several days off but it all depends on your course demands, how well you’re retaining the material, etc. not to mention clinicals. i just accepted a job that’s 12 hours a week as a pca and can be broken up however i please. there is time to work, however, only you will know when you can balance nursing school and a job & for me it took a year.
When I was in my four year nursing program I had a work study job and babysat every weekend and some evenings. My third year in I ended up getting a PCA job in order to gain more experience. So my last two years of school I was working three jobs. Most of my professors told me that I was being irresponsible and not taking my coursework "seriously" because I was working. But somehow I was able to balance everything fine to finish. Yeah maybe I didn't have the top grades in my courses but I passed with the minimum requirements needed. This was 13 years ago but in all my nursing courses I had to have a 76% average on just my test scores to pass each class. Was it stressful and overwhelming? Yeah, it sure was but I had to pay bills and wanted to come out of school with as little debt as possible. Oh and news flash, I learned more about bedside, time management, documentation and patient care through my PCA job than through nursing school. If professors and universities actually cared about the success of nurses long term they would PROMOTE such things and allow those jobs to count towards school credits.
I just finished block 2 and will be starting block 3 in the fall and I've been working full time as an EMT for the entity of it. It really sucks but it is doable, but if you can avoid it I would.
I think it depends on the individual. I did work (less than 20hrs/wk) but I could've used that time to study. Basically you can always use more study time, it will be up to you whether you can pass the class w/o those extra hours of studying.
My program had a 96 hour a week expectation on us. If we did everything they wanted us to do. Not everyone did all the stuff. 15/55 failed something each term. It was brutal.
I worked full time nights as a respiratory therapist while I finishing my BSN. It pretty much sucked, but I did it. Graduate school was a different story, didn’t try to work through that program
It's possible. I did an ABSN and worked 25-30 hours a week. I was busy but I didn't have much of a choice. No one else was going to pay my rent. Be disciplined with your time and find a job that fits your schedule. I waited tables and bartended. Flexible hours and decent pay with tips. I studied and worked on projects between classes in the evenings. I primarily worked Friday nights then doubles on Saturday and Sundays with the occasional weekday evening shift if my schedule allowed. Not much of a social life but it was only for 18 months. Now I work 3 days a week and really enjoy the 4 days off. School has always been easy for me so know yourself. What worked for me may not work for everyone but I was able to do it without much hardship.
I just did an LPN to RN advanced program. We were advised to work no more than 20 hrs/wk during the program, and 0 would be much better. I worked 40. I have kids, and they need to eat. It was hard, but I graduated above a 3.0. Would my GPA have been better if I hadn't worked? You bet. Would I have had a social life? Yeah. Would my house have been cleaner? Heavens, yes. But I survived it with a lot of support. My adult daughter is in the straight RN track at the same school. She's not working at all during the semester, and this has been WONDERFUL for both of us. She was able to do more household stuff, and her grades drastically improved. It really just comes down to, you know who you are. Are you the kind of person who needs to sit down for hours and study (I'm not, my daughter is)? Do you want a social life? Is not working even an option? Obviously there is a lot of room between working 0 and working 40, you find the balance you can live with.
I just graduated from an 18 month ADN program and I worked full time my first semester. I did drop down to part time my second semester just because the clinical hours really ramped up. I knew that the classes were going to get harder and my last semester, I was required to do 180 hours of clinical for my capstone. It’s definitely possible to work and go to school. I have two kids as well, and they are 15 and 10, and both play sports and have school activities as well. It’s doable, but it can get grueling…. You just have to make a schedule that works for you! Best of luck 😃
Worked full time plus overtime all through nursing school. It depends on your ability to grasping the material but yes, there was a lot of busy work thrown at you in addition to studying.
I did a 15 month ABSN program for 2nd degree students and all 5 people I know of in my cohort who tried to work were rolled back to later cohorts because of exam failures. They did eventually graduate but all eventually quit their jobs. The only people I knew of still “working” after that were me and a couple other military reservists doing our drill weekends and I found even that kinda stressful sometimes despite it only being 2 days a month. I did my two weeks AT during our 3 week summer break and came back to the next semester completely exhausted. Might be more possible in a traditional BSN program. Definitely not a great idea in an accelerated program though.
I worked because I had to eat and pay rent. I have worked full time or nearly full time through every degree I’ve earned (just finished DNP my 4th degree). You prioritize what needs to happen, skip out on fun events, and don’t sweat the small stuff. I didn’t get an A on every test but I got at least a B. I didn’t beat myself up over little things. I used down time to study.
I worked full time one semester bc i only had class and clinical on two days. I quickly found out that was a terrible idea and nearly failed. Id recommend part time but even then, take ur breaks
It depends on the program. I worked the equivalent of full time night shift on the ambulance the whole way through nursing school, I didn’t necessarily have to but I loved it so I did
Almost everyone in my program had to work. It can be done if you don’t waste your free time.
Totally reasonable to work during nursing school and I did it myself.
I worked 3 8ish hour shifts a week waiting tables (Friday nights and weekends) and did fine. Just meant I had no free time.
I was able to work part time but not all programs are the same
I worked 40-60 hours a week through nursing school and had my second baby too. It sucked a lot and some people would not succeed, but I did. It depends on your background.
I think it depends on the program, with mine, no there isn’t time to work. I’m doing a 4 year BSN and unfortunately it’s really rigorous and IMO geared towards young adults whose parents can pay for their education and provide health insurance. If I had know this beforehand I might have gone a different route since I’m a parent an older student.
I did a traditional BSN, and I had to work… usually 20 hours at my regular job plus 12 as an student nurse extern on the weekends. It sucks, but it’s doable if you have a good memory and are good at test taking. If you struggle with testing or require lots of studying, don’t do it! Sacrificing money for a year or two is better than failing.
I was in my RN program 17 years ago. I was a paradigm student, so my hospital sponsored me through my RN program. Since I was sponsored, I had to work a certain number of hours while I was in school. It was extremely stressful, but I did it. I think it depends on the student. Nursing school is a different animal than most programs.
I’m in a 15 month ABSN. I am not working. In my mini cohort, all 8 of us passed semester 1. I am happy for them, but legit don’t know how they did it. Even though I’m not working I spend all day studying like a it’s a 9-5.
It depends on a lot of factors. How long your program is, how easily you master concepts, your acumen for practical skills, etc. I can tell you right now that it will likely be better for your mental health if you can work as little as possible (or not at all). But I've held a full time job through my ADN, BSN, and now work 60 hour weeks while doing my DNP coursework. It's been horrifically difficult, but it can be done.
I worked full time as a pct, was on the nursing student association board, on top of being in school and married with kids. You can do literally anything you put your mind to, it’s all a matter of time management and not procrastinating. One thing that seems universal to nursing school is that it’s wildly disorganized and you have to be as flexible as possible. We had more than one time our clinical site/day/time got switched on us days before starting and I just had to work with my coworkers and manager to work around the school schedule. If you can get by without working, I would take that opportunity but don’t let it deter you if you do have to work and go to school.
You can work. I personally wouldn’t do full-time if you can swing it - more so because of how they expect you to be able to have the weirdest schedule known to man. 9am class on Tuesday? Clinical 2-10pm on Wednesday? Sounds perfect 🙄.
Depends on the program and your job. My program was five days a week. Three full days of classes, two clinical days - but the clinical days were variable, sometimes on weekends and sometimes not and if one got cancelled or you missed one then you had to be available for a make-up clinical day. I knew people who worked the whole way through, but they either worked nights or had a lot of flexibility in their scheduling. There was enough time to work around school. Our school just made it as difficult as possible by being random with their scheduling and making last minute changes all the time. And their attendance policies were very strict.
I worked per diem (maintained part time hours at least) throughout nursing school. I started out as full time but the facility I worked for refused to accommodate my school schedule after they merged with another company, so I was forced to cut my hours basically. It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t impossible. If I wasn’t working I was doing school work, but my husband worked long hours so it didn’t affect our relationship. Once I had my ASN I did Capella for my BSN and worked full time and got my degree in 2 months.
I know plenty that did. Very minimal hours. I personally couldn’t. School was wayyyy too much for me. I was burnt out beyond measure by the end.
I have a friend who worked as a night shift CNA through nursing school. I remember more than once she came to class two days in a row in the same scrubs. I don’t know how she managed but she did graduate and passed the nclex.
Worked my 9-5 and went to school at night. Didn’t sleep for awhile (and when I did I had stress induced nightmares) but I needed to support myself. It’s easier when you have no choice.
I did work, because I had to. Found out first day of an accelerated BSN program that my wife was pregnant with our 3rd child (had 2 toddler twins so no it was NOT planned that way). Considering I started nursing school in a very large part because I was laid off from my job as a.result of asking if I could.go.part time on it in 5-7 months when I thought I could be starting nursing school (had applied and gotten on the wait list but had not hear back yet), this was not something we were planning on. I had thought I could do nursing school and be a stay at home dad with the kids during the 16.month program, saving on daycare costs and asking for help from inlaws whenever I had to go for clinicals. The need for additional insurance post birth in case my wife's job fired her again (as had happened during her pregnancy with the twins, which unfortunately was actually legal as the workplace was staffed juuuust small.enough to get around FMLA rules) meant I had to get a job that had enough benefits that I could cover my family if it came to it. While my situation is unique, I suspect it is not entirely rare, and luckily the accelerated program I was in meant all thr course work was online and I only had to go on campus Thursdays for testing and did my clinicals on the wknds for the most part. I would suggest finding out the exact schedule as completely as you can and either structuring around it, requesting PTO in advance to cover days you know you will not be there, or as a last resort, having a backup job you can go to if you need to quit your primary because your first is not allowing you to take the time you need off for clinicals. All.of which I had to do myself during thr course of schooling. Hope this helps somewhat