subject: Nursing Students, Here's How To Go To Nursing School And Work Full-Time Too [print this page] Nursing Students, Here's How To Go To Nursing School And Work Full-Time Too
Going without a paycheck for several years while finishing a nursing degree is perhaps one of the greatest challenges that will face an aspiring nurse. It's a little easier for students who have just graduated from high school and still have financial support from their parents, but for older nursing students who may have a family, a mortgage or rent, car payments, and grocery bills...surviving for three or four years without a paycheck is a huge financial burden.
Going to nursing school also translates to intensive memorization and the study of difficult subjects such as science and mathematics. This is certainly no joke and is doubly harder if one has to deal with a full time job. Even those who are only working part-time are in danger of flunking out because of the rigorous training they go through in traditional nursing schools.
This is why online nursing schools are a good option to consider. They allow students to progress at their own pace, and students can stretch out the length of the program and simply take less classes each semester, so that they can work part or full-time and still have enough time to take their nursing classes online, study, and take tests.
It must be noted however, that in addition to the course fees, an additional fee is charged for every year that the student stays with the program. This is not a very big amount though and if you think about it, it's in fact worth every penny considering that you can still give enough time for both work and school, rather than juggling impossible schedules and flunking in the end.
Also online nursing students can take classes at a time that fits in their schedule; they can generally check in on their classroom modules at whatever time is convenient for them. As long as they complete their coursework and take their tests and quizzes within the time frame required by the instructor, they can do this at whatever time of day or night works for them, including weekends.
And another benefit - if the online nursing school student flunks a class, they can retake it. And, while failing a class is unpleasant and expensive, because the student will have to pay to retake the class, at least they will know where their strengths and weakness are in that class, and they can seek tutoring or help from an online study group. In traditional nursing schools, a student who fails a class could face automatic expulsion from the program !
One important note: to get an Associate's Degree in Nursing, you will have to already be a Licensed Practical Nurse or a Paramedic, or, in some states, respiratory therapists are permitted to participate in these programs. However, to become licensed as an LPN, paramedic, or respiratory therapist generally only takes about a year. It would then be only a matter of taking an online "bridge program, i.e. LPN to RN or paramedic to RN, according to the rules of the State Board of Nursing in your state.
If the above arguments have not convinced you altogether to take the online route, maybe this one will: many hospitals and health care facilities are willing to pay for the continued education (e.g. earning an RN degree from LPN) of their employees.
