To think obtaining a nursing degree as a single mum...

If you think your 16yo can get themselves up, get the others up and out of bed for school then I guess so. Can the 16yo then cook dinner for all of them and make sure homework gets done?

It does seem a lot to put on them.

But it’s 50/50 placement and theory. So when you’re in theory it will be fine. Some placements may be clinic type placements with better hours. When on wards and doing shifts if you do long shifts or nights it’s normally only 3 shifts a week.

I think you should go for it ( I was a single parent but I did have help).
Depending on your pathway there may not be many nights.
Lots of academic work / assignments etc.
I find the unis and placements now quite helpful.
Good luck 🤞🏼

I teach nurses at Uni OP and I think with good problem solving skills and high levels of organisation it's doable! The shifts will be the issue, earlies and lates aren't too bad, it's the nights. However community placements are A LOT more flexible. A lot of unis have support for students in this position, financial/practical. You don't have to spend 40% of your time with your mentor anymore so there's less rigidity there. A lot of the theory will stay blended learning now so some F2F some online which is helpful for everyone.

Wishing you all the best... Where there's a will there's a way! Not exactly the same but I managed a clinical role with young children in my own, husband working away, no family support and sometimes quite unpredictable occurrences at work. It's tough but it can be done, and once qualified most places have flexible working policies and will offer part time etc.

My friend managed with similar aged children she had good neighbours/friends and paid for childcare for the youngest. When the oldest was 16 she did paid babysitting for her Mum but she still used paid childcare too.

With no support it won’t be possible. You need someone either paid or unpaid who is committed to looking after you DC overnight and early mornings/late evenings when you are on placement which could be anywhere.

Your 15 year old is not appropriate. It’s not fair on them at all.

Yes it will be hard work but doable. I did my midwifery training as a single parent, and my 3 were much younger when I started. You could look at if there are any nanny agencies locally or childminders that cater for shift work, particularly for the younger one to male it easier on your eldest. You will be able to claim the childcare grant. There is the new training bursary which means you will be able to access more funds than when I trained. If you do end up relying on your eldest for the night shifts, then you should be able to afford to pay them.
You and your children will have go work together to .ake it happen, but will be worth it for all of you. Good luck!

Ah sorry, cross posted about your maximum placement area. That's great, wish that had been my university's policy too!

Do it, you'll work the logistics out, people do, good luck xx

Just a word of caution, as I think someone else has already alluded to; it's not just the hours for night shifts (usually but not always 19:00-07:30), but the travel to and from. As a student (again, university-dependent), you can be sent pretty far away for placement, much further than many people would chose to commute once qualified.

I've recently mentored a lovely student nurse who had to travel almost 2 hours each way, every day. I know it's for a limited time, but you will be expected to be alert and professional on shift, even if arriving already tired. And sometimes shifts (assuming at least one placement will be on a 24/7 ward) are on concurrent days.

However! There were many single Mums in my cohort when I trained, and the vast majority qualified and are now in a much better position, because they have so much more choice over their working base and hours. It is doable, but needs a lot of serious thought. Which to be fair, is why you're asking here, after all!

Please don't put childcare on the 16yo. So unfair.

You really will need flexible childcare that includes overnight and weekends.

I was a single mum when I did my nursing. But, I had my grandparents who went above and beyond with childcare and support. It would have been impossible otherwise tbh.

I couldn't do a course (not nursing) because of the shifts and placements could potentially be quite far away. I ended up doing something else. Hope you can manage it though, your kids are older than mine was. Good luck. Also I would go ahead and do the access course, might give you other options as well as nursing anyway?

How often would night shifts be?

How would the youngest get to school if you are in earlies and your oldest goes to college?

It sounds really, really difficult but families make all kinds of things work. I worry it is asking a lot of your eldest, have you spoken to them about it?

I work at a uni that offers nursing and my advice is to get the lowdown on placements asap and to also fully cost everything.

I'm not sure how manageable it is to be honest. I've wanted to do it but even with a partner, I can't. Dh works shifts so no way of being able to rely on him - shifts are only planned a week in advance and if as a student I don't get enough notice of what shifts I've got to do, then he can't get annual leave to cover - he has to give a few months' notice when he wants leave. Very difficult. Basically the only way of doing nursing training is pre or post-children these days.

You may be able to access a childcare grant from your uni? Ask them.
If you start when the oldest is 16 will that be OK for overnights, a big responsibility for the oldest teen.

It is doable, imo. Hard work but doable.

Good luck.

Go for it. You have 20-30 years of working life ahead of you, so a good career is something you need for the future and your sanity.

Your nights are covered by having a 16 year old in the house. And as you specialise there is the opportunity not to do nights... really depends on the job you have.

You need to look at where placements are. Students at my local uni are placed at a hospital over an hour away. They have to leave home at 5:30 am to get to handover for the day shift, they do a 13 hour shift and get home about 9pm. Then repeat the next day after not enough sleep. Would a childminder start at 5:30am, doubt it.

Think you need to wait until the youngest can be left for those sort of times.

Live in au pair

Get on with it! My friend was a single mum a s managed - in many way getting 3x 12 hours covered was easier than juggling a 5 day office job.
She lives her job, moved up the pay scales and as the kids get older it is much easier. She now works contract/ bank only so chooses how/ when she works .