Authors: Connie Jozwiak-Shields, PhD, ANP-BC, APRN and Abigail Mitchell , MSN, RN, CNE, FHERDSA
It has been a common practice, internationally that college and university- based nursing programs encourage undergraduate nursing students not to obtain either part time or full time employment during a nursing program semester due to the high intensity and demands of these programs. Limited literature is available on this topic, a few studies suggested that it does have detrimental impact in the performance of nursing students and other studies showed only a minimal effect. The purpose of the study was to identify if a nursing student working part time or more influences their overall GPA in a nursing program and determine the amount of stress they experience. Results showed that 65% of students do work, with 40% working in healthcare settings. While a student’s academic performance may not be impacted by their working, 47% of these students report feeling overwhelmed with the challenge of balancing their academic performance with their work responsibilities. Faculty need to be challenged and to be innovative in thinking of ways to allow the student to be successful in school and still be able to maintain a job.
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