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If you’re thinking about becoming a nurse, but you need to (or want to) continue working full time, don’t worry. You’re not alone.
Thousands of Galen College of Nursing students and graduates across the country have accomplished this same feat. These students live busy lives between work, family, and everything in between. But they’ve proven that working full time while attending nursing school isn’t just possible — it’s life changing.
The journey isn’t easy. You’ll have to work hard and make some sacrifices during your nursing education journey. But you’ll also discover an inner strength you didn’t know you had, and the payoff at the end is worth it: earning your nursing degree and leveling up your career.
Here are 5 crucial tools to help you achieve your goals while working full time.
The number 1 tip for students is to be organized with your time. Nursing school is hard, and it requires a lot of hours to attend classes, clinical rotations and study. Balancing that with a full time job, and in some cases a family, takes a lot of planning.
“Your time management has to be on point. You need to have a calendar where you’re planning what you’re going to do and when,” Vocational Nurse Program Director at Galen’s San Antonio campus, Wendi Myers, MSN-Ed., RN, said.
“While you’re in school, you’re not going to be able to do everything you did before. You have to make sacrifices to be successful.”
The San Antonio campus’ Interim Dean Alicia Mendiola, MSN, RN, said that she literally scheduled out work time, study time, me time, and family time during nursing school. It helped keep her on track so she could stay on top of her job and school work.
Laura White, Director of Academic Program Management at Galen, said she relies on two organizational tools: a paper planner and smartphone reminders. “I use reminders on my phone all the time,” she said. ‘Hey, Siri, remind me to turn in this paper at 3 p.m. on Wednesday.’ I used reminders as a student, and now as a faculty member. When I teach Galen’s student success courses, that’s something that I really encourage students to lean into.”
When you sign up for courses at Galen, you’ll work with a faculty advisor who can help build a schedule that works for your life. While some courses are set in stone, others may offer flexibility.
“If you’re in a degree-granting program, like an associate’s or BSN program, you’ll have some flexibility to rearrange your schedule a little bit and stretch your program to balance the time you need to be successful in nursing school with your outside responsibilities,” White said. “If you have transfer credit, it can lighten the load of courses you’ll need to take.”
During your academic journey, emergencies may arise. You may fall behind on an assignment or have a worse-than-expected grade on a test. But if you do run into an issue, you don’t have to suffer in silence. Reach out!
“Planning is a skill nurses need to have. We must plan for the unexpected,” White said. “That means working ahead of your due dates so you have some cushion in your schedule. That way, if something goes wrong like having a sick child at home, you can step away for a day and take care of your family without missing important deadlines.”
At Galen, every faculty member was once a student, so they’ve been in your shoes before. And many of them worked full time while going to nursing school. So the faculty members — and program leadership — can help students stay on track if they run into any issues.
Additionally, Galen students have access to numerous resources, such as:
One of the challenges within nursing school is that the way students learn has to change over the course of the program. Galen Pathway to Success (GPS 1200), our student success course, helps new students start college with a strong understanding of studying and organizational skills.
“One of the things that we talk about early in GPS 1200 is time management and how you’re going to balance what you have going on in your work, in your life, and in school, and the study techniques that you can use to be successful in the program,” White said. “We focus on teaching study techniques that help you study smarter and not harder. You’ll learn tips to retain more information and learn faster as your classes progress.”
Our Fundamentals of Nursing course lays the foundation that every nurse builds upon, and courses become more advanced and challenging by the time you get to the end.
“Not everybody learns the same way, and how they learn will change over the duration of the program,” Myers said. “Students may think they can study the same way in Quarter 2 as Quarter 1, but it’s more advanced — they have to re figure out how to study.”
Mendiola also recommends that students come to class prepared. Do the assigned reading and complete any homework assignments, and you’ll be better prepared to stay on top of your coursework.
All the hard studying is worth it in the end, as it prepares students to pass the NCLEX®. Galen’s NCLEX pass rates match or exceed that of the national average, setting up students for success as a professional nurse.
When you’re trying to balance school and work, it can be easy for one to bleed into another. That’s why it’s important for your education, job and health to set clear boundaries.
“Set aside time on a regular basis to take care of your physical and mental health,” White urged. “That’s such an important part of the balance when you’re in a nursing program. You need to be able to take care of yourself as well as the people in your life.”
Choosing a flexible job is key to being able to set these boundaries. And if the job is in a healthcare center, that adds a bonus — additional exposure to the medical field.
“We encourage Galen students that need a job during nursing school to apply for a position at one of our clinical partners,” White said. “The more exposure you can have to the medical environment, the better. It’s a great way to familiarize yourself with the work that you’re going to be doing when you graduate.”
Another bonus of having a healthcare job during nursing school? Some employers offer tuition reimbursement for working students.
Prioritize getting good sleep, exercise, nutrition and hydration to help maintain your physical health during the rigors of nursing school. Galen offers mental health counselors on some campuses who you can speak with — at no charge — about school, life and everything in between.
“Our faculty want our students to be successful,” said White. “We want to make sure that students have support systems in place.”
No one will understand your quest for school-work-life balance as well as the peers in your cohort — the students you’ll graduate with. You can all help each other by sharing notes, ideas and resources together.
“A study group can just be you and one other person,” Mendiola said. “If you find your person, stick to them.”
Your peer group is also a great starting point to bust some of the myths about nursing school. You’ll meet people at Galen from all walks of life who are facing similar challenges to you — and you can succeed together.
Consider joining a student organization to meet new people. Nearly every campus has a Galen Student Nurses Association and student ambassadors, and some campuses have veterans’ groups. Joining a student organization is a great way to network, get in touch with potential employers, and build a peer group who may be willing to serve as a reference for future job applications.
We spoke with Louisville students Rebecca Milliron, who served as Vice President of the Louisville GSNA, and Tiffany Askren, about what it’s like to work while going to Galen. Here’s their advice to current and future students.
Rebecca:
Tiffany:
Thinking about starting your nursing education? Now is the time to apply. Galen offers three pre-licensure programs:
If you’re looking to level up your nursing career, take a look at our online degree programs. Completing courses online gives you flexibility to continue your career.
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