Managing Nursing and Life While Pursuing an Advanced Degree

It can feel like an impossible task to get everything done in life that we hope to get done. I still remember how daunting it felt when I finally made the decision to go back to school for my master’s degree in nursing education. Different thoughts went through my mind: how was I going to complete all the assignments on time, and was I going to be able to complete the program along with everything else that I had to do on a regular basis?

At that time, I had a three-year-old and a husband at home and was also working full-time night shifts in a hectic hospital unit: a medical-surgical unit specializing in care for pre- or post-solid organ transplant patients. These patients are going to have or have had either a kidney, liver, or pancreas transplant or some combination of the three. These patients can be clinically complicated, and I believe that working with these patients prepared me for master’s degree-level schooling by assisting in my time management and research skills.

Time management is the No. 1 needed skill when attempting to juggle school, work, and family life.  Some people work out a written schedule and carve out time throughout the week to work on assignments. I was not that organized, but I made sure to put in time on multiple days of the week to work on that week's assignments. I found it helpful to work ahead when I had the free time, which made it more difficult to fall behind. I also only took one class at a time; more than one would have become too overwhelming. This meant it took me two years to complete my master’s degree, but that was OK by me. As long as I was eventually going to get that diploma, I was going to take as long as I needed to complete the program.

The second important trait needed when attempting to juggle different things in life is persistence. It is important not to let the little setbacks get to you and to keep powering through. Small steps can lead to bigger things; set small goals that lead up to the one larger goal you are working toward. I took completing my master's degree in steps, one discussion board and one assignment at a time.

That is similar to my working style, which is one shift at a time. Some shifts on the unit can seem overwhelming and almost too hectic. But one difficult shift doesn’t mean that all shifts will be like that. It’s important to view each shift as a fresh slate. 

When working toward major goals while also working full-time, it is important to remember to carve out time for yourself and your family. You can easily get caught up with work and class assignments and forget to spend time with the people who are supporting you throughout your journey. I attempted to complete most of my assignments for my master’s degree while my daughter was in preschool. There were times when I did have to work on assignments while she was doing gymnastics or other activities, but I did not want my schooling to get in the way of the time that we spent together. Now that I have completed the program, I can happily say I did accomplish that. No matter how busy school became, I always made sure to spend just as much time with her as I had before I started the program. The same goes for time spent with my husband. We still made sure to go out on our date nights and set aside time to spend together throughout the week.