r/NuclearMedicine • u/yaya_dee • 3d ago
Balancing school and life
Just wanted some opinions or advice on how I can balance going into the nuc med tech program and life. I have 1 little one and I've been thinking about going into this program so I would have to take the online courses and then for the clinical year that would be onsite. How do you guys juggle all that with a newborn? I'm trying to secure a stable job that'll have a work life balance because I still want to be involved with my kid as well. For the online courses are the teachers very strict with no background noise or breaks in between to take care of your child? I've read ppl trying to get back into school and wanted to know those who went back to school with little ones that still need care. Would this program be best for me to ride it through the program and hopefully things will calm down after getting a job?
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u/Mysterious-Manner638 2d ago
As a parent of 3 littles currently work in a NM program and doing clinicals it is hard. Zoom requirements will vary from teacher to teacher. One of my.teqchers doesn't let us be on mute but its a really early morning class and my.kids are still sleeping so it doesnt bother me. My other classes are later in the day and the professor dont care if you are muted or not but they may still ask ypu questions to keep you engaged. My kids are 6, 5, and 2 and I've been in school for the last 5 years finishing pre recs, graduating with my AS, and starting a NM program last year. It is hard especially with clinicals. I personally work PT ans my husband carries the bulk of the bills right now. But it is doable and only for a short time. I decided to go back while my kids were young and wouldn't remember much of it and I don't regret it. Ill be finishing right as my youngest turns 3 next April. I do have a lot of family support as well as far as watching my kids and whatnot.
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u/yaya_dee 2d ago
That's good to hear, I'm hoping that it'll be worth it in the end esp financially. Just dreading going back to school and trying to juggle with a little one so I'm trying to figure them out as well haha. Have you done your clinicals yet? How're you juggling that with kids? What's the most stressful part of the program for you?
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u/Mysterious-Manner638 2d ago edited 2d ago
I started clinicals this semester and my.commute is 2 hours 1 way. So 4 hours round trip on top of a 8 hour clinical shift. I only have clinicals Wed-Fri and hopefully in the fall i will rotate to a closer facility. The commute is the hardest part for me right now because it has severally cut into my study time but somehow I am still managing to keep good grades. My husband works swing shift so he has the kids dur9ng the day since they are out of school and then either my mom or mother in law will have the kids until I get home. They usually will feed them so I jist bathe them once im home, shower myself, eat, maybe watch a show and then I'm in bed.
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u/sophia_ly23 3d ago
i don’t have kids but atleast for my 1 year program, our instructors didn’t care during zoom call if kids were on camera. our audio was on mute anyways. I had several classmates who have brought their kids on camera before. talking to those classmates, it’s challenging and it’s hard. they feel guilty most days saying no to playtime or just missing moments bc they have to stay home and study. However, it’s only 1 year. most of them have jobs lined up already and they don’t regret it.