Balancing act

By themselves, being a nurse or going to graduate school can be full-time jobs. When you put the two together, "it's a juggle," said La-Urshalar Brock, RN.

"You have to be dedicated, and self-management is really important," said Charlette DeLoach, the senior associate director of programs at the Jane Fonda Center for Adolescent Reproductive Health at Emory University in Atlanta.

Yet both nurses — and many like them — say that the short-term struggle of juggling work and graduate school is worth the long-term gain.

DeLoach, RN, MS, knew that teaching was her strong suit. "I always wanted to pursue a master's degree. My life plan was to become a nurse and then go back to school, because I had always leaned toward teaching. It was one of the higher goals that I wanted to achieve."

The goal remained out of reach until DeLoach discovered an online master's degree program in nursing with an education specialty offered by Walden University. It fit her needs perfectly.

"Not having to go to an actual classroom was the perfect marriage for my goals and my hectic life," she said. "I'm a list-maker and a super-organized person, so I planned out everything from the start."

Not everything went according to schedule. Although DeLoach and her husband had planned on having a child, they hadn't planned on the birth of a son two months before graduation. Fortunately, DeLoach was able to double up on classes and graduate early.

For 22 months, the nurse was consumed by work and school. She studied at night, on Sunday afternoons and during downtimes at work.

"I'd read the syllabus to know what was coming. Once I had a huge paper due at the same time I had to travel to a CDC conference, so I did most of the work early," DeLoach said. "Getting the degree online gave me the flexibility I needed to finish."

DeLoach uses the teaching strategies she learned in her current job.

"I'm responsible for training people who work with adolescents to deliver sex education and reproductive health services," DeLoach said. "Since I have a better understanding of teaching overall, I can tailor my methods to fit the learning styles of the adults I train."

DeLoach believes that her education has helped her do a better job and gives her more career options.

"Now, whatever nursing job I hold in the future, I can teach, too," she said. "I would love to teach online, and if I should decide to change areas, my degree makes me more marketable."

A traditional approach

Brock, a labor and delivery nurse at Rockdale Medical Center in Conyers, chose the traditional classroom route for her education. At the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University, she's studying to become a family nurse practitioner and nurse midwife.

"Learning face-to-face, with other students in class, was a better option for me, but juggling two sets of clinicals and working three days a week was hard," she said.

Brock worked full time for the first 18 months but recently cut back to PRN (pro re nata; Latin for "as needed") nursing at Rockdale so she can finish her degree in a year. She saved money ahead of time to pay expenses, knowing that, at some point, her education would come first.

"The hospital has been wonderful in letting me adjust my schedule every semester," Brock said. "Basically, I don't have a [social] life right now or a day off, but I love going to class. It's easier when you're learning about something that you want to do."

Inspired by a midwife, Brock knew at a young age that she wanted to deliver babies. She planned to become a nurse, work in labor and delivery for several years to gain experience and return to school to become a nurse-midwife.

"I really want to work with underserved populations," she said. "When I graduate, I hope to get a job with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Indian Health Services. I've seen some openings in Alaska that interest me."

Even with her good time-management skills, there are days when Brock is tired and needs an extra push to get going.

"That's when I remember that, in a year, I'll be doing, finally, what I was always meant to do and want to do," she said. "My mom has always supported me to push for my goals. When I told her about Alaska, she said, 'Go for it.' That's a big part of what keeps me going."