Nursing school PLUS homeschool...is this crazy?

[Pretty in Pink]

Can I possibly do both?

 

I'm on track for an AA that will transfer to several in-state universities towards various Bachelor's degrees. I have kind of always imagined I was heading towards a History or Mathematics degree. Now I am seriously considering Nursing. I would be going ADN to BSN over the next three years.

 

Is the nursing field flexible enough to work around homeschooling? I've always thought that it was, especially if I would only want to work part-time and odd shifts.

 

Thoughts?

[TxMama]

Can I possibly do both?

 

I don't know. I'm trying to decide that myself because I plan on advancing my nursing degree.

 

Is the nursing field flexible enough to work around homeschooling? I've always thought that it was, especially if I would only want to work part-time and odd shifts.

 

Absolutely. Working as a nurse and homeschooling is totally doable and you have lots of options for schedules. Although as a new nurse you will probably work FT during a preceptorship that lasts 6+months depending on your specialty.

 

Thoughts?

 

Best of luck, mama!

[Hillary in KS]

Well, the women that I know who went through nursing school have all talked about how difficult that is, and how they basically had no life.

 

And they were all single or newleyweds!

 

I'd recommend asking some who are currently in the program, or recent graduates.

[phathui5]

I believe nursing as a profession is compatable with homeschooling. I don't know about the time spent in nursing school. You would need childcare and someone else to do most of the homeschooling then.

[ThatCyndiGirl]

I am planning on doing the same thing. The program I am applying to is only ten months long, it is a Bachelor's to ADN program.

 

I can then apply to a Bachelor's (any bachelor's degree is required, as long as the applicant has earned an RN) to MSN program at OU. Total time in intense coursework? 10 months. Even if it is horrible, it is only ten months. I keep telling myself that I can do ANYTHING for ten months....

 

 

.....right?

 

.....right?

 

My husband's mother-in-law lives with us, which, in some ways is a good thing, and in some ways means that I have a 67-year-old teenager in my house. :tongue_smilie:

 

I, also plan to work nights/weekends/holidays. I would ideally work three 12 hour shifts and/or Baylor. Our city offers nurses the Baylor plan which is VERY family-friendly.

 

You might want to check out www.allnurses.com for more info.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[Soyrizo]

I am working on pre-reqs for the local ADN program now, I am hoping to start next Fall (2010,) and my kids would be attending school as well. Afterwards, we will re-evaluate. :)

[johnandtinagilbert]

when my youngest was a baby. I couldn't do it. I felt that everything in life was getting 85% and for me, that wasn't good enough. I prefer to dedicate fully and not be so frantically spinning the plates.

 

You may be mentally stronger than I and be able to, but know, nursing school is one tough cookie and it takes a substantial amount of time to study.

 

Best wishes,

[islandmama]

I've been an RN for about 15 years... Honestly, I can't see anyone homeschooling an elementary age student while going through the program... You may be able to get away with it with an older, independent student though. Do you have anyone else to help? That would work, or if you enrolled them in outside classes or a co-op. Most full time programs I know of are a total of 4 semesters of nursing school (that doesn't include the prereqs). I was in school Mon-Thur. I did have a toddler and a newborn (she was born during summer break!) and I was exhausted!!! It was one of the hardest things I've ever done! My dh helped me through it, and I don't think I could have done it without his help. He watched the kids when I had to study and took responsibility for much of the household chores.

 

I've never heard of a 10 month program. I would imagine that to be even tougher! I'm planning on going back for my Master's one day (part time program)...but I can't seem to fit it in anywhere!

 

And yes, nursing is an excellent profession for a homeschooler! I work 2 nights (12 hr) a week and still manage to homeschool...But it is very hectic and exhausting, and I wouldn't work unless I absolutely had to!

 

I hope it works out for you!

Edited July 17, 2009 by islandmama

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I think being a homeschooling nurse and a homeschooling nursing student are two very different endeavors. I was considering nursing school and looked into a local two year BA to RN program. Woowee- the fulltime program was 25+ hours a week, not including my 90 minute round trip commute. Then there was reading, homework and whatnot. I tend to be a performance motivated overachiever and knew that I would dedicate at least 50-60 hours a week to nursing school.

 

After I received my course schedule I tried innumerable ways to include homeschooling. I couldn't do it. DS couldn't come with me to the nursing school and I couldn't be home during the day. His homeschooling would consist of late nights and weekends; not very fair to a 12yo. I knew that I would not be able to give DS 100% and that wasn't fair to him. If we were going to consider less than 100% from the teacher than why not leave him in ps? DS is a motivated, gifted learner and I considered choosing curricula that involved independent student work. Again, how was that beneficial to DS?

 

In the end I withdrew from nursing school. I will only be hsing DS for two years and I can go to nursing school once he is in high school.

 

--

This is my experience. There may be others who tried it and managed to succeed.

[Pretty in Pink]

Are most nursing programs held during the day? Has anyone heard of a night/weekend program?

 

I haven't even discussed this with my advisor yet.

[Dirtroad]

Reading a book now called The Relaxed Homeschooler..... she did PhD work and was homeschooling (has 5 kiddos).

 

You can do it.... but you must plan, prepare, & use time wisely!

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I am an RN. I obtained a B.S. Nursing in a 4 year program which really took all of my time. If the program is full time, then I think it would be difficult to homeschool at the same time. Do you have any supports to help you homeschool??

 

Once you obtain and R.N. degree then many jobs are very flexible for homeschooling:) In my last job, I worked 3-11 shift on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday every other week and all Mondays and every other Thursdays 3-11. I was able to do homeschooling with that. I also have done 12 hour shifts in the past and have heard of people doing 16 hour shifts on weekends as well. There are many flexible options in nursing:)

[at the beach]

We have a program locally that is evening/weekends. It is four consecutive semesters. With prerequisites done, it involves nursing courses and clinicals (not saying this wouldn't be intense, just saying there are no other courses on top of it). It involves 1/2 evenings a week and clinicals are on Saturday and Sunday for about 8 hours each of those days.

[KnightMaiden]

thanks for this question. I too am considering going back to school to be a nurse. I have wondered the same thing..lots of good information.

[TCoppock]

I'm not sure I could have managed nursing school and homeschooling at the same time. Nursing school involves so many extras that aren't included on your class schedule. It is very different than other college courses. You need to take into account study time, lab time, clinicals, etc. It was hard for me to even keep a part-time job. That being said, nursing is an amazing career. I work two 12-hour weekend shifts and my hospital allows me to bring my son to classes if necessary. Is there any way that your DH can take over homeschooling while you are atending school?

[Pretty in Pink]

To answer a few Qs...

 

My dh won't be able to take over HSing. He is active duty Marine Corps so he works 5 days a week when he is home. He also spends time away on training exercises and deployments. He doesn't mind helping with their lessons in the evenings and/or on the weekends if we need to juggle their schedule a bit. He wants to see me succeed if I take this on.

 

We could afford to pay for some childcare if I needed to take some day courses but I don't want to be in class all day, 5 days a week. I can't afford that kind of childcare for four children and it wouldn't be fair to the kids anyway. If it came to that then I would just postpone this dream for a while longer.

 

We do not have family in this area.

 

I still need to get my pre-reqs done and the program is very competitive. You apply a year in advance so I think I'm looking at Fall 2010 or Spring 2011 before I would begin the actual nursing portion of the program. My kids will be 12, 7, 4 or 5, and 2.

 

Really to make it work I would need to take mostly night/weekend classes I think. I'm going to call and find out if that is even an option.

 

You all have given me much to think about.

[Joy at Home]

Yes, you can do it!! Life has many stages, lots of little bends in the road. If you're committed to homeschooling, you could adapt to those changes.

 

I went through nursing school while homeschooling. I graduated two years ago and it was the best thing I ever did! Yes, it was hard at times. Many of my classes were evening and weekend, but there were many, many days my mom came over while I did clinicals. We just went light on school, covered the basics around my school. Nothing wrong with being relaxed for a few years while you're working toward the betterment of your family. Keep looking at the big picture, and you'll get there.

 

I can't think of a better profession for a homeschooling mom. Completely flexibile schedule, lots of different options. I work float pool as little as I possibly can right now, but that's my choice.

 

Good luck to you. Remeber, you can do anything. Really!

 

Lisa

[islandmama]

I'm a military wife, and know what it's like not to have family around to help. That in itself presents another challenge... I thought about this a little more, and maybe if there was an evening/weekend program, you could do this. But you'd have to have childcare available, if dh deploys, etc... especially for study time (I needed a couple hours a day outside of class). I don't know what type of homeschooler you are, but having a really relaxed approach to homeschooling would be helpful....well, for me it would, because I'm such a perfectionist, I'd drive myself crazy if things weren't completed. Maybe consider some online classes to for the 2 older ones... or a friend/babysitter that would help with the school work??? When I work nights, the next day I send the younger girls over to my friends house, and she makes sure they do the work I send with them. Your youngers would be fine to do "school" a few days a week!

 

I hope I'm not sounding negative, just trying to be realistic...:) You may not know how it will work until you just dive in and try it!

[Lisa Kjeld...in CA]

I've been wanting to enter nursing school as well...I'm going to look and see if there's a BA to ADN locally; sounds like a great option! I feel like I could do anything for 10 months as well.

 

I wasn't the original poster but all of the comments were really helpful!

 

Thanks!

Lisa

[mama2girls]

Most of the local schools in my area offer night time options, I am not sure about weekend option. I don't know if this will help or not but for planning purposes nursing school (at least the program I attended and the other local schools are set up the same) took at least 16hours per week. Four hours of lecture, two hours in the skills labs, two hours of pre clinical and eight hours of clinical. This was not including any other classes or study time. It's tough but I agree with other posters that it is very worthwhile in the long run.:001_smile: