I work 32 hours a week at a clinic and my two-year program starts Jan 13, so I’m trying to set up a simple plan now. If you’ve done school while working, what helped you get through (one book, one tool, one routine) and what turned out to be a waste of time or money?
But working 32 hours, the one combo that kept me afloat was Saunders NCLEX for quick concept checks, Anki for spaced reps (https://apps.ankiweb.net), and two 90‑min study blocks right after clinic shifts plus a 3‑hour Saturday. Biggest waste was the pricey “nursing school” planner — Google Calendar beat it, . With Jan 13 coming, schedule those blocks now and do a one‑week dry run; are your clinic days fixed?
Quick example: the one thing that kept me sane was a weekly ‘Sunday reset’ — I printed the week’s syllabus into a one‑pager, blocked work/clinicals in Google Calendar, and put three must‑dos on a badge sticky; do you get your clinic schedule a week or two ahead to plan this? Fancy planners and big study bundles were a waste for me; the single sheet and free calendar were enough while I worked 32–36 hours. Tape the sheet where you drop your bag so it gets used.
And start by locking a 20‑minute nightly dosage‑calc block and skim patho slides the night before Jan 13, then keep that rhythm. One book/tool that punched above its weight: Nursing Made Incredibly Easy: Pathophysiology + a $10 fridge whiteboard for quick pharm recall around “32 hours”. Biggest waste for me was premium study bundles and fancy planners — wait until you see your first exam style; do you have a commute you can use for audio recall?
I was working clinic shifts during a two‑year program, and the one thing that stuck was a daily “commute recap” — I’d record a 3–5 minute summary of lecture on my phone and listen to it on the drive to and from work, then refresh it on Fridays. Start now so it’s a habit by your January kickoff; if audio isn’t your thing, jot a 5‑line summary in Notes and read it during your lunch break.