“Juggling many balls”: Working and studying among first‐year nursing students

Abstract

Aims and objectives To explore the experiences of first‐year nursing students, their motivations for working and how they juggled study and other commitments while engaging in paid work. Background There has been a global rise in the number of students balancing full‐time study, paid work and other commitments, with the main antecedent financial reasons. Design Qualitative exploratory study. Methods Drawn from a larger Australasian sequential exploratory mixed‐method study, this qualitative study was conducted with fifty first‐year undergraduate nursing and midwifery students who commenced their nursing studies in 2017. Telephone or face‐to‐face interviews were conducted with purposively selected students engaged in either nursing or non‐nursing fields of work. Interviews were conducted from April–July 2017. Interviews lasted from 15–40 min. Results were thematically analysed. EQUATOR guidelines for qualitative research (COREQ) applied. Findings Two main themes and accompanying subthemes were identified. The first theme explored students’ motivation behind combining work and study and identified the need for financial security and “me time”. The second theme “Juggling many balls” provided insights into the benefits students perceived, how they kept the “balls” in the air and at times dropped “balls” while balancing work, study and other commitments. Conclusions The motivation behind paid work was mainly financial; however, students also reported work allowed an escape and time for self which had social and health benefits. Working provided a range of positive benefits, including a sense of achievement, improved self‐esteem and financial independence. Relevance to clinical practice Being able to juggle and multi‐task improved skills such as organisation and the ability to prioritise, all skills that have applicability for the role as registered nurse.

Significado De La Experiencia De Estudiar Enfermería Y Trabajar Simultáneamente

“…Lo anterior coincide con los hallazgos de este estudio, en especial con los relatos sobre las motivaciones. En ella se define la independencia económica como uno de los motores que impulsa al estudiante a realizar ambas actividades, de la misma manera que señalan otros autores 18 .…”

Nursing practicum equity for a changing nurse student demographic: a qualitative study

“…The practicum in Australia is unpaid and is organised as a full-time commitment, thereby restricting students’ ability to undertake paid work. Australian data from 2005 to 2018 (inclusive) reveal over 70% of domestic undergraduate students were engaged in full time paid work [ 19 ], with a study of undergraduate nurse students reporting the primary reason behind the decision to engage in paid work during the degree as financial, with students citing mortgage repayments and family support as major driving factors [ 20 ]. A further study, this time with 160 nurse students at a single Australian university, reported “the majority of students struggle(d) financially during clinical placements” ([ 21 ] p.1).…”

The Impact of Sleep and Mental Health on Working Memory and Academic Performance: A Longitudinal Study

“…The university years can be a challenging life stage for students [ 1 ]. Many students struggle to juggle academic demands and study–life balance [ 2 ], in addition to worries about securing a job in a competitive market [ 3 ]. Such difficulties are particularly true in challenging specialties such as medical or health-based fields [ 4 ].…”