Can You Work During Nursing School? Should You? (RN)

00:01 Working while in nursing school depends on so many things.

00:06 Almost all of your schools will probably let you know that they want you to, like, cool it on the whole job department and also consider something, if you have to, that's going to be really, really part-time so that you can focus all your energy on school.

00:19 But let's be super clear, that is not an option that is available to everyone. And in this section, I'll give you some tips, being someone who did work throughout their entire nursing and NP school process, on what I found helpful when it came to working.

00:34 But please know there is absolutely no right answer here.

00:38 I had to work.

00:39 It was not negotiable.

00:40 I didn't have enough loan money to have a place to live without working.

00:44 Many of you will also be in that situation, and a bunch of you also won't.

00:49 This is a really dependent thing on what is... What your life looks like and what is going to be best for you in the situation that you are in. And you're just going to want to make it work the best you can.

01:02 So first things first? If you have to work, find a job that will best fit into this new school life and schedule.

01:10 This will likely be something that is nights and weekends, which doesn't sound great, but it's reality. I was a waitress and a bartender during my accelerated nursing school program, and I essentially did school Monday through Thursday, and then I worked doubles Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

01:24 There were no days off, and it totally sucked, but it wasn't forever.

01:28 Restaurant jobs are really great for nursing school because they are super-duper flexible, low stress, and they usually pay quite well.

01:35 And if you want to work in the healthcare setting specifically to get more experience? That totally makes sense. Get your foot in the door, look into Per Diem work and fill in your schedule as much as you possibly can.

01:47 Healthcare jobs are usually not super flexible, but if you work per diem, it introduces a lot more choice in terms of what shifts you are working because you can just pick them up here and there with what works for you.

01:59 Your job should ideally not add stress.

02:03 Which sounds idealistic, but it's just something that you can kind of...

02:06 You want something you can clock into, clock out of, and know that they know you're a student. So they know that sometimes you're going to have to have time off so that you can kind of move things around finals and all your other school things.

02:19 Now, if you are not working because you need a roof over your head, rather you just want some spending money and some resume boosting experience, a less intense PRN or two weekend a month job in a healthcare setting would be perfect. Many nursing students get jobs as nursing assistants in hospitals, and they work, like, two weekends a month and then here and there a little bit more during school breaks if they want to.

02:43 And this gets people oriented to the hospital setting, familiar with a unit in the hospital, and it gets your foot in the door to potential jobs. Nursing school is in itself a full time job, and you need to give it the time that it requires.

02:59 So can you work? Yeah. Should you? I'd recommend working as little as you possibly can manage, and do it at a job that will work with you and not against you.

03:10 Flexibility and low keyness, those are huge here.

03:13 And next, I want to take a closer look at the different types of common jobs that people have in nursing school, starting with being a CNA.

03:22 Should you be one? Pros, cons, all that good stuff.

03:25 Let's go.