Single Mom (w/no Help) And Nursing School? Daycare For My Infant?
what are the hours of nursing programs at the community colleges?
How about clinical/internship hours? I have an infant and most of the childcare is available M-F 6:30am ish til 6:30pm and no weekend care.
I really want to become an RN so I will be able to prove a better life for my baby. Any info apprecited.
This is a complex one, and I’ll tell you why.
First, hours–there are some schools that are exclusively day programs (most are). But occasionally, there are colleges that offer night courses and possibly may require this, but that would be unique. Clinicals, in turn, are almost always day time.
Next, weekends aren’t usually necessary unless you opt to take weekend courses. Again, there’s the occasional school that requires this, but it’s not common, and it’s usually offered as help to those who don’t want to take some classes during the week or can’t, because of other obligations.
Also, if you chose to go, even if it’s daytime, find an alternate care giver whom you can trust enough to watch your kids if you have evening courses. Again, most of your hours matter based upon which school you enroll in. The best option is to pick a school you’re interested in, and scour their website about it. You can also call their admissions recruiters (admissions dept or registrar) and ask them the same questions. They’ll be honest about it and will tell you hour requirements. And they often don’t vary year to year–nursing program courses and their rotations (clinicals) tend to be fairly consistent annually, with slight variances with regards to accreditation and such.
Lastly, and this is why it’s a tough answer–some of these schools have lotteries to get in. You can have a great GPA and good test scores, but they pool applicant names and draw enrollees from that pool. It sounds nuts, but schools do this because they try to keep things like race and sex out of the picture–and lotteries prove this (I can name 1 school absolutely that still does this, in south Texas).
So that may be a question to ask the admissions people, too. Once you’re in, you can find ways to deal with childcare–schools are filling up with returning adults and parents, so there’s bound to be many options available just from your school. All you have to do is ask them.
And remember that some days, you’ll be forced to miss when your child is ill and can’t go to daycare. Make sure to find out about this when you talk to admissions. Some schools are far more lenient than others when it comes to absences, which is why it is critical to choose a school that has a lot of adult returning students with similar issues. Not only will you have other students who will understand what you’re going through, but you’ll find the faculty and admin offices could have more experience here, too, and have more resources to help you achieve your education.
Good luck!!!