¶ Reflections on Nursing School and Parenting
Nursing school is a wild ride , but that doesn't mean you have to run and hide when the going gets tough . Don't leave your stress undiagnosed . You gotta call the nursing student coach . Real-life tips from a registered nurse , in school and out . She's seen the worst . Now , without further ado , yeah , here is your host . It's the nursing student coach .
Welcome to the nursing school . Today we have a special episode with Amanda Innis . She is a recent graduate of Manhattanville College's Accelerated Second Degree Nursing Program and she just passed the NCLEX , which is fabulous . So she has made it to the other side and she is here to tell us all about it .
So , without further ado , I would like to welcome Amanda Innis . Amanda , welcome to the show . Thank you so much for being here . Thank you for having me , I'm so happy that you're here and congratulations on passing your NCLEX . Swoop , swoop . Same to you . Thank you . You are Amanda Innis R-N . How does that feel ?
It feels a little bit surreal . I can't believe that it's here and it's done , but I'm happy that it's done .
Yes , you did it . That is so exciting , and Amanda and I were in nursing school together , and you are just one of those special people that I just love being around . You have such great energy , you're so positive , and I just want to thank you for making my nursing school experience Just a little brighter just by being there . So let's get into it .
What got you interested in nursing and why do you want to be a nurse ?
I got into nursing because of my pregnancy and I always had an interest in birth and the whole process of birth and I wanted to become a midwife .
That's fabulous . I think anybody who has you as part of their delivery experience Is so blessed and will be in great hands . That's just awesome . I love that you want to do that . It's such a wonderful path . Yeah , it's such a wonderful path , and I so see that for you . So where do you see your career path heading in the next few years ?
Well , what I'd like to do is gain some experience on a med-surg unit or a labor and delivery unit , and from there I would like to go back to school , maybe in two to three years , and start doing my NP in midwifery .
That's so cool , that's just awesome , I mean , and that's what's so great about nursing ? I mean I talked to Professor Kiblehane last week Just about how many opportunities and paths there really are , especially if you keep an open mind . You can just do about anything in nursing and it's great . So you're done . You're done nursing school .
You made it through this roller coaster and you've had some time to reflect . If you could , as Amanda the RN today , if you could go back in time and speak to Amanda , the nursing student On day one , knowing everything you know now , what would you say to her ?
I would tell her that you got this , you got this and you're gonna get this done . That's what I would tell my old self . Going in , I was so nervous . Going back to school I second guessed myself can you do this , are you going to be successful ?
And it all worked out at the end and all that anxiety built up and I should have just told myself you got this , you're going to do this , have some confidence in yourself and you're going to cope out Everything worked out , everything did work out , and I think that's one of the things that I would tell myself , too , is try to chill out a little bit and
enjoy this , because we were coming into this as a second career and I think we were so worked up and nervous because there is so much pressure . There's so much pressure in nursing school and just to say we wanted to be here . We are becoming who we wanted to be .
So let's enjoy it a little bit more and know that if you're working really hard , it will work out . It is going to be okay . It does end . There is a whole other side to it that's so bright and that's what you don't realize until it's over that it does end , because it feels like it's never going to end . Sometimes it just feels so all-encompassing .
I agree .
So we have a lot in common , and something that we have in common is we are both parents and we were parents during nursing school , which is just a whole other level of challenge . So what challenges did you face as a parent in nursing school ?
And on that same question , what if there is a parent that's out there listening who maybe wants to go back to school for nursing or really for anything , but maybe he's a little scared ? What would you tell them ?
I would tell them one thing If you can set yourself up in a way that you do not have to work working , being a parent and trying to complete nursing school it's so many layers and it makes the job even harder .
So if they can set themselves up in a way that they don't have to work and they can just parent and go to school , it would make everything so much better .
I agree with all of that . And people I'm sure people ask you all the time in nursing school how do you do this ? As a mom , I can't imagine doing this with kids . And I always say my first answer was well , I'm not doing it alone . I have an amazing partner , we have support . We had a whole team of babysitters that would come , and you know how it is .
There is the mom guilt , there is the oh my gosh , I have a paper , I have an exam and you're going to miss things . You're going to miss pickups and drop offs and things like that , but it does end . And then you see things like your kids are playing and they're pretending to be nurses and you just realize , okay , it was worth it .
You know it really truly . It truly is so congratulations to you on that .
The idea of working three days a week and having four days off that's also awesome . Yes , the flexibility , it all pays off .
Yes , and that's what so many nurses that are , moms that are out there , and parents , dads too , that just say it is so flexible , you can shift around your schedule as needed for different things . Did you have any challenges that came up for you that you can remember ? Were there moments where you kind of questioned am I doing the right thing here ?
Were there any challenges that you faced , and what were those ?
For me , the main challenge was time not having time , and I did have to take my daughter out of some of her activities just because I couldn't afford it , and then also I didn't have time to commit to bring her to these activities on the set days .
Yeah , I mean , that is such a reality . I relate to that so hard and anybody who's listening , who's a parent , that is going to happen , but it's temporary . And I remember things like there was a birthday party and I had to hire somebody .
I had to hire a babysitter to take her to this birthday party because I had to study , it was finals , my husband was working or something was going on . So it's little things like that , but it is such a drop in the bucket compared to the opportunities that you're , yeah , the outcome exactly . So that's amazing .
And we did it , you did it , we did it , we did it . It's awesome , it's just great Together . Yes , I wouldn't have it any other way . Oh , totally . And I remember you telling me Amanda is just such an awesome person . I just want to share this quick story .
I remember one day I think it was a Friday we were having lunch and I said , oh , what are you doing tonight ? And you said , oh , I'm just hosting I think it was eight kids sleeping over at my house to just give these other moms a break . And I said Are you serious ? That is just unbelievable that you just just did that for these other moms .
You said , yeah , I'll give those other moms a break , and they do it for me too , but I just love that you have such a good community around you , which is everything , can I tell you , lauren ?
Yes , I love that story . On Saturday at 3pm till Monday , whoever wants to stay , whoever wants to leave their kids , I'm hosting another . Oh my gosh , sleepover .
You are a superhero angel on earth . That is amazing . I love that , because parents help each other out . That's what we do . I have that relationship with a lot of other parents or a few close friends where it's just like , if you're in a bind , just drop them here and I can do the same with them . It's just what we do to help each other .
And , especially as a student , just oh my gosh , you have to organize your time too , because other people that were in the cohort with us , they would leave class and they would have just the rest of the day .
They would have to go take a nap if they wanted to and then study whenever they wanted to , and we had to go pick up our kids and then we didn't have any free time until they were in bed . So you , just you have to be a master organizer of time . I so agree with you . Yeah , I would .
I mean in nursing school in general , but as a parent it's like 2.0 .
I have to be tight schedule . I remember studying in the library till the last hour and you're just looking and I'm looking at the GPS and I'm checking out the traffic and I'm like , okay , I have just the nick of time to get there , to get her off the bus , and then it's like mommy mode , like you said .
Yeah .
You have to do dinner , you have to do bath time , we have to read , and then I remember like I'm like , okay , I need like an hour nap and then get back up and studying till 2 . The night shift the night shift of studying .
That happens because that's the time that you have , or sometimes you have to crash early in the morning . It's just whenever you can fit it in . It's just what it . That's what it is . That's our reality .
That is the reality and but , as you said , it is temporary . And know for anyone going into nursing school , know that you can do it and know that it's only going to be temporary . Don't ever feel ashamed to ask for help , mm . Hmm , I don't want to get my mom's , don't get fed , yeah .
And and persevere yeah , persevere , and know that you are not alone . You are not the only one that has been through this .
People have been through it and your kids are so resilient and they're gonna look up to you and they're gonna look back and they're gonna have a parent who is Fulfilled and happy , and that's the kind of parent that you should strive to be . You know so it's . It's so worth it , yeah .
So one last question if you could pick One thing that if you could go back in nursing school let's , let's just pretend that you had to do the whole thing over again . If you can imagine that , if you had to do it all over again and you could just pick one thing that you would do differently , if anything , what would that one thing be ?
So , lauren , I am a procrastinator . Okay we are all guilty of that at some point or another . Yes , I am a procrastinator . I I wish that I had allowed myself a little bit more time sometimes to study , because I would have I felt like I would have gotten better grades sometimes had I allowed myself to study more . I did well , I am not gonna complain .
But if I could have just added a little bit more time or prepared a little bit better , I Would have been on top , had excellent scores . A little bit every day helps , and then it's not so stressful Towards the exact timing . Yeah , you can't even if you don't stick to the schedule , you know where you went wrong .
That is so smart . That is exactly right . I love that . Well , amanda , I just want to thank you so much for joining us today and for giving all the parents out there a little encouragement and strength , and I wish you luck . I know you are on the job search and you're just gonna find the most perfect thing for you and you .
You could be successful in literally any career , but the career of nursing is so fortunate to have you because you are going to be an amazing nurse and I love you . I appreciate you having me on . Thank you Absolutely , and we were just so grateful to have you and have a great rest of your day and we'll see you soon . You too , thank you . Okay , bye .
Well , that is going to do it for today
¶ Promoting Nurses and Connecting With Audience
. Amanda , thank you so much for coming on the show . That was so much fun and for all of you listening . Thank you for joining us today . It is my personal mission to help put more great nurses into the world . Thank you for helping me to do that by liking , subscribing , rating , reviewing and sharing .
Follow us on social media at nursing student coach and subscribe to our mailing list , which you can find on nursing student coach comm . Until next time , I love you all . Make it an awesome day . Thank you , bye , bye .
Thanks for tuning in to the nursing student coach podcast .