Go back to NP School with balance!
Student Nurse - RN and APRN

How to Go Back to NP School

(Without Losing Your Balance)

Nurses continue to be one of the top trusted professions. Regardless if it is in an office or by the bedside, the art and act of nursing is a skill set that grows with time. Many nurses have decided they can best serve others by building on their current foundation of education and licensure, and go back to school to become an APRN. How do you know if going back to NP School is right for you? Here is an article to help you explore how RN school helped prepare you for NP school.

Go back to Nurse Practitioner School and keep your balance!

If you have given this question any thought, there are several other questions that are just waiting to fill your mind.

  • How much time will the program require for studying and understanding the materials
  • How will I juggle clinicals (or find a preceptor for clinicals!)
  • How do I know how to schedule my life around school requirements (or is that the other way around?)
  • How with the kids / spouse / fur babies survive
  • How will my family and I change, respond to stress, grow, and come out the other side?
  • How do I do this without losing my mind?

Fair questions. Every one of them.

And you know what — They deserve an answer.

Because going back to NP school isn’t just about you or your future patients. Going back to NP school is a journey that can lead to better balance professionally and personally. But, it is important that on your journey you are able to have some balance in the process.

So – Let’s start with the GOAL in mind.

Goal: Successfully navigate, graduate, certify and become an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), aka Nurse Practitioner (NP).

Sounds simple. But how do you want to arrive at the GOAL? Tired, burned out and barely hanging on? Full of life’s healing energy to be a wellness provider that knocks it out of the park? How about some other achievable state? What does that balance GOAL look like for you? And – here’s the big one – what are you willing to sacrifice to get there?

What is your limit?

Go back to the list of questions above. Is there someone you identified with there? A spouse, friend, kiddo, fur baby, social network, others? How do you want to arrive at the GOAL line with them? Because – they are part of your journey. They may even be your reason to go back to NP school. Don’t forget to consider how your choices impact their lives and their experiences.

Yes – there will be compromise, sacrifice, changes. There will be growth. There will be highs. There will be low. There will be life. How would you like that to look? How can you imagine that will look?

Now is the time to take inventory. The time to be honest. Now is the time to get those killer assessment skills out and assess the crap out of this situation and know the ins and outs and Type A this bad boy. Make your list. Do your Risk / Benefit Analysis. Find the facts and details to make an informed decision. Am I telling you not to go back to NP school? Nope. I am highly suggesting that you do your research, put pen to paper, figure out the steps and measure what needs to happen to make the GOAL. And write that down. On an actual piece of paper in your own handwriting. Write it down. Put it where you can see it. Add to the list, adjust the things that need updated, and give this some thought.

What you are about to step into is big. It’s different than nursing school. It’s different than PA school. It’s a different way of holistically approaching medical care from a nursing model. Nursing school helped prepare you, yes. But this is a different thing. To dive deeper into ways nursing school helped prepare you for NP school, click here.

So – first question before going back to NP School:

1. How much time will the NP School program require?

  • Many schools will have a sample schedule to review online
  • Consider how much time the classes, clinicals, study, test prep, test taking, driving, etc. will factor in
  • Make a plan for how that will work with your life (you should keep one!) while in school
  • Prepare yourself mentally for the changes and how they may look
  • Discuss these changes and commitments with those that will be most impacted by your decision to go back to NP school
  • Listen to the suggestions, concerns, and questions your stakeholders present – YOU ARE IN THIS TOGETHER!

2. How to find a preceptor and how to juggle clinicals?

  • Securing Preceptors may well be one of the most difficult parts of this journey
  • Join professional NP organizations on social media – establish relationships and positive exchanges with individuals on the boards, network!
  • Look at health organizations that may have multiple locations, campuses and providers – it can be easier to get in with a collogue for the next clinical when you have done a good job with the first preceptor
  • Put together a professional looking packet with your CV, listings of experience or hours needed, and simple steps to getting an agreement for precepting
  • If there is any per diem offered by your school, include that in the list
  • Understand that it can take time, patience and diligence to find preceptors
  • If you already have connections or options for preceptors, begin the discussions about clinicals as soon as you can
  • Preceptors often fill up quickly and are booked in advance
  • Review the requirements of your program for preceptors (do they have to have a certain number of year’s experience, a certain certification, etc.)
  • Review the number of hours and requirements for those hours. Make a plan on how you would like to accommodate those requirements and options for scheduling. Know in advance where you may like a day off (have an exam, kids graduating from kindergarten, other big life event you should be present for?) Then when you have a preceptor, you already are prepared to have the scheduling conversation.
  • Ever teach nursing clinicals? Remember the students that required more of your efforts? Don’t be like them.
  • Ensure that you are prepared and on point for your clinicals, maximize your experience, network, build good relationships and skill sets, be flexible with your hours (as flexible as you can be and still have balance)

3. How do I schedule my life around school requirements (or is that the other way around?) when going back to NP school?

  • Going back to NP school requires T-I-M-E
  • Set realistic expectations for yourself
  • Grab your planner (or better yet – print off some blank calendar pages to work with before committing to your planner, fill in all the VIP – can’t miss dates that you know right now
  • Plug in what the schedule looks like, give yourself blocks of time for studying, taking exams, cooking dinner, date night, playing with your kids, cooking dinner, etc.
  • Use different colored pens to help you visualize
  • Plan for more time than you think
  • What are your family expectations?
    • That you study during the day when others are at school / work?
    • That you study at night after bath time and bedtime is finished?
    • What is going to work for your family?
  • Put it on paper so you can see it and see if it will work
  • At the top of your page: List YOUR WHY
    • Your end game
    • Your reason for going back
    • What you hope this investment GIVES you and the people you love

4. How with the kids / spouse / fur babies survive?

  • All the research and color coded sample schedule planning you did above serves many purposes
  • These all prep you to be able to have a conversation with your (human) stake holders about the realities of the future
  • Talk about your why – check to see if all are onboard
  • This journey has a price tag – and it costs more than you — others will pay with the attention, time, focus and shift
  • It is up to each of you to determine if that is a positive or negative experience
  • What makes it better: realistic expectations communicated clearly – from all sides
    • Your tribe wants YOU
    • They want YOU to be happy
    • They want YOU to be healthy
    • They want YOU to have fulfillment and joy
    • They may not know how to say it, but they want YOUR balance
  • Does going back to NP school help YOU get there with your people?

5. How will my family and I change, respond to stress, grow, and come out the other side of NP school?

There is no easy crystal ball answer here. Going back to NP school is a stressor. Stress can make things stronger, it can also take a toll. How you come out the other side depends a large part on how you are able to balance.

Don’t forget: School is temporary. It is only a part of your journey. Passing is success. Passing with a peaceful home – that is the best!

  • My kiddies wanted me to do well.
  • My hubby wanted me to do well.
  • But not at the expense of their time.
  • They needed me to read to them, rock them, do field trips an fun days away from the books and the computer.
  • They wanted me.

If I made an A, great! They would celebrate — but if I chose a grade over a relationship, or chose to study over the time I had committed to them or the time they needed from me as a mommy or wife – that was not balance. For any of us.

This is a “hard” we get to choose. It is not simple, or easy. But your GOAL and your WHY should guide your conversation with your family to help you navigate going back to NP school together.

6. How do I go back to NP school without losing my mind?

So – how do you go back to NP school without losing your mind? How do you keep your balance and wellness?

I hope this article gave you some real honest to goodness questions and guidance to help you explore what the answer may look like for you and your loved ones. The time you spend in school is time that would be spent elsewhere – either in work or other activities, or even time with your loved ones. Only you an your people can decide if this journey is one that you can support and engage in together. How you approach the process is important.

If you have made it this far – I know that wellness is important to you in the process.

Exploring together with your loved ones the realness of the commitment, the expectations each of you have, and the support you all can bring to the table is important.

Write down these questions. Circle back to them. Review these steps now.

Ready to go back to NP school? Congratulations!

Come back to this page next semester. Go through these steps again. Realign your GOAL for the short term, your GOAL for the long term, and your WHY. Make sure your tribe is part of the process.

  • Have the growing (aka can be hard) conversations
    • Be honest
  • What can be done better?
  • What can you do better?
  • How can you have better balance?
  • How would you feel better supported?
  • How could your loved ones feel better supported and heard?
  • What can be changed in your schedule or process that will help
    • Reduce your stress level
    • Bring peace in your home
    • Help balance activities, commitments and priorities
    • Keep wellness in check

Going back to NP School with Balance

Absolutely! It is possible!

To get there is a journey of self reflection and personal growth that is just as important as the academic growth.

Invest in the wellness – not just the process – and the journey can be a rewarding one!