Often times nursing programs will highly "suggest" that a student not work while in school. However, this is not always possible. Sometimes students have to work to pay bills other times students enjoy working to gain life experiences.
I was one of the students that had to work to pay the bills. Things like; rent, electric, gas, water, internet, cat necessities, tuition, groceries, car fuel, textbooks, school supplies, etc. I was told several times to "stop working while in school or else [my] grades will suffer." Well thanks for the vote of confidence but I don't have an option...at that point I was already over 100k in school loan debt and I did NOT want to rely on my parents to help me out, that just wasn't realistic or fair to them in my mind. They had already done SO much and to make me feel more guilty, would have immediately said yes to helping me. 1) They have their own life and I do not need to be taking from their emergency fund (because what the heck happens in the event of an emergency then). 2) I needed the life experience 3) NETWORKING opportunities outside of clinical.
So... I worked on average 32 hours a week while attending school full time and here I stand with a combined GPA from every college course taken of well over a 3.0, working at the #1 hospital in the country, survived nursing school, and still have family, friends, & a boyfriend who lived to tell the tale. Was it is easy? No... let me say that a little louder for those of you in the back... it was NOT easy to do BUT I did it! And so can you! All it takes a little extra prep time and a whole lot of balance.
What do I mean by balance? I mean all through school and especially last 2 years when I was in strictly nursing classes, I planned and anticipated EVERYTHING. Down to the point when I was going to pee... okay MAYBE that's a little drastic but it makes my point. There is a reason schools suggest not working during the times classes are in session because it is some hard effing work. This is why I want to share with you my "balancing act" I did to ensure I had enough money to survive and enough time to not let school suffer.
1. Plan. Plan. PLAN!This is critical for your success in doing this and your mental well-being. I used both a paper planner AND google calendar. I did this because having the paper planner with me in my bag or on my desk open and writing the dates down helped me remember things easier. Google was mainly for use of the notification function. From there I would take all of my class syllabi and put in the important dates I knew; exams, exam reviews, projects, papers, clinical times, class times (anything school related was one color) and set alarms on google. Once I had all of this down I then knew the days I needed to have off of work and could create that schedule request. Once that request went through I wrote down all of my hours of work in a separate color. This then helped me visualize any other open space I had so I could plan out things like studying, grocery shopping, working out, and building my online business. I was half kidding when I said I planned my days down to when I was going to pee...I always had to be prepared for my plans to awry BUT I had a plan none the less and there was always scheduled "free time" during the week for when things needed to be pushed due to unforeseen circumstances.
Hint: Planning went as far as meal planning so all I had to do was grab and go or grab and microwave
2. Reassess Weekly
To go along with number 1 which plans out months at a time. I would spend my Sunday's reevaluating my schedule. Making sure my study times, times for life related things, and work were still up to date and effectively helping me through school. What I mean by this is, if you have an exam coming up on Friday on three different topics and you initially planned out your schedule for equal parts of studying those topics, however, you are struggling with one and breezing through another. You are going to want to reassess and make sure you plan your studying accordingly so that you get more time with the area you struggle with than the area you are breezing through.
3. Find a support system
Whether it's other students in your nursing class, your family, your significant other, or your new found friends on Instagram... make sure you have a support system for when things get tough. Nursing school without working is hard AF, nursing school with working is especially challenging, and we all know that sometimes plans don't go accordingly. Maybe you had an awful shift at work, maybe you got a C on an exam you were confident you got an A on, maybe clinical made you cry, whatever it is.... find a group or someone that can help you off that figurative ledge and let you vent to them. This balancing act won't work well if you're trying to push away all of your stress and emotion. It's OKAY to feel stressed, sad, disappointed, happy, excited, nervous, and all the other emotions in between. It's even MORE okay to want to lean on someone and talk about it. Mental health is important too!
4. Find a job that's flexible (if you can)
I was lucky enough that all the jobs I held while in school were pretty flexible and understanding when it came to school. Even the 2 jobs I held that were in hospitals were amazing and working with me. I scribed in the ER and I was a nurse intern in the ICU. I was able to work 8 or 12 hour shifts and generally created my own schedule around what worked for me and met shift requirements. I also started my own online fitness business which allowed me to make some extra money from home or even on a study break while at school. This allowed me to cut down on some hours at the hospital and give me more hours studying.
Peek into: I generally worked weekend 12 hour days. My sleep schedule wasn't wacky, I got weekend differential, and 4 hours of night differential. My online business helped me stay healthy, accountable, gave me a support system, and helped me avoid driving back and forth to work more than necessary which allowed for extra time studying.
5. Prioritize
If you haven't gotten the hint yet... most of the balance comes from scheduling and sticking to it. Prioritizing what you have each week is important. List your deadlines and projects in order from most important to least important and then allot a couple hours of time each day to work on those projects. Breaking them up into smaller chunks during the week vs doing it all the night before really helped with stress reduction. You have care plan due on such and such date you best believe I started that bad boy 2 or 3 weeks ahead of time if it was possible (i.e. answering questions that did not require patient information). That way all that was needed was filling in patient information that I obtained during clinical. For me my top 3 priorities included; nursing school, my own health, and work. I would then break down the tasks necessary within each of those categories. It's important to figure out what is most important for you so you can plan your day and to do list out accordingly.
6. Manage your stress
Nursing school is important, but so is your health. You should take some time to exercise and have some fun. If you let school and work consume all of your free time you will see that you are only sub-par in both areas. This is why I would schedule the way I would... I made sure I would schedule in time to exercise, to have at least 30 minutes a day to myself to relax and not worry about anything else (it also helps that I workout from home). I would schedule at least one day or 1/2 day a week to go out with friends or my boyfriend. I also was sure to wake up at the same time every day (430-5am) and try to go bed and shut off my brain at a reasonable hour. This re calibrated my mind and body and helped my performance in both school and work.
7. Focus on the goal
I know this is overwhelming, it sucks, most people don't want to wake up early, or have a bunch of their time consumed by class, clinical, studying, and work. However, focus on the end goal. Remember that this is temporary it's a couple years of your life where you have to balance things so meticulously and it's 100% worth it. In the end you will be a nurse, on a unit you love, taking care of patients like your heart and passion want you to!
8. Learn to say NO!
One of the hardest things for me was learning to say "no!" I am a people pleaser by nature... as I think most nurses and future nurses are. However, YOUR health, YOUR education, YOUR life, YOUR well-being are allowed to come first. If you risk your responsibilities and health by always saying yes... in the end there won't be a "you"
While this could mean not doing things you want to do it is important to avoid distractions if you have responsibilities on the schedule. It also means that it's okay to say "no" to that person who wants you to pick up their shift, or your manager who is looking to fill a shift, or a friend who needs help studying a topic that isn't the same one you're studying currently. It's hard, it can hurt, it sucks, and you probably feel guilty but remember the benefits you gain by successfully obtaining your degree far outweigh at disappointment now.
There are SO many things one can do to balance working and studying... these are some of my top suggestions that I used when working 32-36 hours a week and going to school full time. I hope these help you figure out a plan for yourself. As always please let me know any suggestions you have and I will be happy to include them!
Happy studying!