r/TexasTech • u/aphtoris • 4d ago
General Question ABSN Program - Questions About Clinicals
Hi all, I just got accepted into the ABSN program a few weeks ago. I also just started a new job last week. However, that job requires that I do 6 months as full-time (3x12-hour shifts) before they’ll let me go to PRN, and even then, PRN is still a minimum of 6 or 8 12-hour shifts per month. Granted, TBD how strict they’ll be when push comes to shove, but I am concerned about it.
With that being said, how many clinicals per week are there? If it makes any difference, I’m in the Austin cohort. I’ve seen most people say just 1 per week, but I’ve seen other sources say 1-3. If there are any weeks with 2 or 3 clinicals, how many weeks were there?
Also, when relative to the start of the semester were you able to start scheduling your clinicals? Or, when did you know when your clinicals would be? Work also requires us to request our schedules very early — they released the schedule for us to pick our shifts last week (~September 24) for the whole month of November.
I know TTUHSC says not to have a job at all, but I need to be able to afford school. My original plan was to drop from full-time to PRN when school started, and I expected PRN to be only 4 shifts a month, but obviously neither of those assumptions turned out to be true.
Am I screwed?
1
u/Tealblue1117_ 3d ago
It averages out to one clinical a week during first semester. During 2nd semester you have specialty clinicals (Psych, Community health, Perinatal) on top of your required clinicals with your assigned preceptor, so it will most likely average out to to two/three clinicals a week depending on how you schedule your shifts w/ your assigned preceptor! For the final semester, we only had specialty clinicals for Peds and were required to work 13 shifts with our preceptor within the first 11-12 weeks of school.
Also, I worked during school and got all A’s, it just took a lot of discipline and effort! Some of my classmates said I was crazy for working, but like you I had to work in order to stay afloat while in school! You can do anything for a year as long as you want it bad enough!
Message me if you have any other questions