Working During NP School - How to Decide

Working during NP school – Can you do it? Should you do it? How many hours should you work?

These questions are frequently asked by students who are about to start their program. Before you’re in the thick of NP school, it’s hard to know what you may be able to handle work-wise. We all know NP school is demanding. So then adding work and other personal commitments on top can be very daunting.

While there is no straightforward way to figure out whether working during NP school is right for you, I hope that by sharing some questions and considerations, you will have an organized way to think through your own situation and make a decision. I asked for guidance from many of my colleagues who had already gone through this experience. It was helpful to hear what others who were previously in my shoes did so I will also be sharing my personal experience as well.

Let’s start off by saying that this decision is so personal as everyone’s situation is unique. What you decide depends on many different factors and your own personal preferences. Today we’re going to chat about some considerations and questions to ask yourself. I’d also recommend sitting down and discussing these questions with partners, family and friends who are part of your support team.

The questions are grouped into 4 categories:

Personal responsibilities, values and priorities
Your NP program and requirements
Personal finances
Your current job

Questions to ask yourself – personal responsibilities, values and priorities:

How do you handle stress?
What are your other responsibilities? Do you have a partner, kids, or other family members you care for?
Who are your biggest supporters? What kind of help might you need from them when you’re stressed or busy?
Are you interested in minimizing disruption to your current daily life and powering through school? Or, are you more interested in keeping stress low and having more balance in work, school and personal responsibilities?
When and how will you prioritize self-care?

Questions to ask yourself – NP school and requirements:

Are you in school full-time or part-time?
When will you be able to have dedicated time to complete coursework? Especially if you have kids or family members you care for on a daily basis.
How would you feel if your evenings and weekends were dedicated to doing school work? Or would you prefer to get everything done during the day on weekdays so you can maintain a “regular” schedule?
What are your educational priorities and goals during your NP program?
How many days a week are you required to be on campus? Does this increase as you go through the program?
Once you start clinical rotations, how many days per week will you be in clinical?

Questions to ask yourself – personal finances:

How are you paying for school and living expenses? Are you using student loans, savings, or are you relying on your income as you work?
Are you able to cut back on living expenses while in school to save money?
Do you have someone (a partner or family) that could or does support you financially?
Do you have an emergency fund?
Are you comfortable with having student loan debt?

Questions to ask yourself – your current job:

How flexible is your job? As time demands change throughout the program, especially once clinical rotations start, will you be able to switch from full-time to part-time or per diem?
Will your job be able to accommodate needing specific days off every week to attend class or clinicals?
How much notice do you need to provide if you want to change how many hours you work?
Do you get benefits, specifically health insurance, through work? How many hours do you need to work per month to maintain your benefits?
If you were to lose your work-based benefits by cutting back on your hours, how will you obtain health insurance? Can you be added to your partner’s or parent’s plan? Are you eligible for state-based Medicaid?
Do you work nights, weekends, holidays?
How many hours do you work in a shift? How will this impact your ability to get school work done if you need to do it after work?
What is your commute like?
Could you work more during school breaks (summer time, winter break, etc.) if desired?

Working during NP school: What I did throughout my DNP program

Prior to starting school, I worked as a RN at a local community health center. I worked regular business hours, full-time, Monday through Friday so 5 x 8 hours shifts. Once I started school and for the first 5 months of my program, I continued with this same position but with reduced hours. The other important piece of information to give you context is that I did not have a family or children to care for.

Year 1

Commitment: 1 day on campus each week

What I did: For the first half of this year, I worked 60% of a full-time equivalent (FTE) or 24 hours per week at my RN job at the community health center. For the second half of the year, I took a per diem position at my university’s student health center. I again worked an average of 3 days per week or 24 hours weekly.

If I could do it all over again: I would have worked 80% of full-time (32 hours) instead of 60%. I did not need 2 days off per week and would have appreciated the extra income. Having just one day off per week would have allowed me to attend classes and complete the required coursework after work and on weekends while still having balance with my personal life.

Year 2

Commitment: 2 days on campus per week plus 1 day of clinical at the very end of this 2nd year

What I did: I worked 2-3 days per week, averaging 20 hours per week through the first ⅔ of this year. Once clinical rotations started, I worked 1-2 days per week which felt very manageable.

If I could do it all over again: I would work 2 days per week (16 hours) maximum. I often felt overwhelmed managing my heavy course load and all the studying required for health assessment, pathophysiology, pharmacology and other challenging courses.

Year 3

Commitment: 1 day on campus per week plus 2-3 days of clinical per week

What I did: I worked an average of 8-12 hours per week until my final quarter clinical practicum started during which I alternated one week working 1 day (8 hours) and the next week not working at all.

If I could do it all over again: This felt manageable for me. Especially during my last quarter and with the high number of hours to complete in the final clinical practicum, I was grateful to have such a light work schedule. My last quarter I was also juggling finishing my DNP project and job searching.

One important thing I want to share is this – you will be successful no matter what you decide. Between my classmates and friends, there was a huge range of how much people worked. There were some who did not work at all. There were women who had babies during the program and continued to work part-time. Others worked full-time on night shift while some worked very occasionally in per diem positions. Whatever your situation is, you’ll find a way to make it work and still do well in school. If you’ve already made it to NP school, you’ll be successful no matter what you have to juggle.

Summary

Having a plan for working during NP school and how many hours you’re going to work will help set you up for success. Thinking through and considering how your current responsibilities, priorities, finances and job will mesh with school is the best way to decide whether you can and should work during NP school. The best decision for you is going to be different than what worked for your friend or colleague. NP school is a busy and stress-filled time, but you got this!!

There are many other aspects to consider about working during NP school that I hope to dive into in a future post. Comment below and let me know if you’d like to see a post about what type of RN positions help prepare you best for NP school and what questions you have.

Make sure to check out other recent posts and visit the resource page:

Resources

This is another great resource to check out regarding working during NP school by Nurse Liz: WORKING DURING NP SCHOOL | Can you? Should you?

Working During NP School – How to Decide