meghanjurgaitis Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Hello everyone. I was just accepted to a PA program that begins next June. I am the mother of 2, married. Just wondering if anyone else out there has completed school with kids and may want to offer advice. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynamo24 Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Hello everyone. I was just accepted to a PA program that begins next June. I am the mother of 2, married. Just wondering if anyone else out there has completed school with kids and may want to offer advice. Thanks! I'm in my first semester right now and we have a daughter and a boy on the way in February. For me, its the biggest struggle I have with school. Its all about making time for them. The hardest part is being very tired after a long day of school and then time with the family then having to segue into study mode and try to do that for 2-3 hours a night and 4+ hours on the weekend. Truth is, there just isn't enough time in the day. Its not the end of the world for me to not get an A in my classes. It is a huge issue to miss time with my family so I'll sacrifice my study time for them. I am the only one in my class with kids so I can't give you another perspective. Either way its about time management and how you want to divvy up your time between school and family. Just find a balance that works for you and your family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougalHP Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 I'm in my second semester. I have two kids - 2 yo and 6 yo and am married. Luckily I have a super supportive husband, which helps a lot. I agree with the posted above that it's difficult to switch to study mode. And, it's hard to hold in the stress when I know I need to study but cannot hit the books for three hours when the kids are in bed at 9. Letting go of the need to get all As has helped a lot. I'm a lot less stressed now that I'm OK with Bs. One of the hardest adjustments for me was to stop being super mom. It's OK if the kids eat a few fast food meals or grilled cheese meals so I can study. Dad is great, but not the healthiest cook. But, for the next year, that's OK. When I can cook, we eat grilled fish. When I can't cook, we eat - not grilled fish, but at least we eat. Oh, and the house is a mess, but don't let that stress you out either. It's a year of classes, you can do anything for a year. My husband also takes the boys out without me. At first it was really hard to miss out on those fun activities to study, but I had to realize that I had to take advantage of that time to study. We have several people with kids in our class, and I think we're all doing well. It's a juggling act, for sure, but we also can lament with each other. Find a good group of study buddies. Maybe you won't study together because your schedules are different, but you can share study guides and support. I typically study from 9-11 pm M-TH, and then some studying on both Sat and Sunday. If we have space in our schedule during the day, I take advantage of that time to study too. If we get out early, I often stay at school until our regular dismissal time to study as it's very distracting at home. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meghanjurgaitis Posted November 3, 2014 Author Share Posted November 3, 2014 How about your relationship to others in the program? One of the things touted as a "perk" for my program is that the school and lab is open 24 hrs. That doesn't benefit me, but I worry that my lack of additional after-hours study time will make me a sort of black sheep. Mu program is small, only about 30 students. Are you able to study in groups-google docs/hangouts, or have you been forced to study solo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meghanjurgaitis Posted November 3, 2014 Author Share Posted November 3, 2014 Thank you both. I think the best point is not to strive for the A. There was so much pressure in undergrad to get straight A's to get into a program. That "competition" is something I will have to let go of, obviously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynamo24 Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 How about your relationship to others in the program? One of the things touted as a "perk" for my program is that the school and lab is open 24 hrs. That doesn't benefit me, but I worry that my lack of additional after-hours study time will make me a sort of black sheep. Mu program is small, only about 30 students. Are you able to study in groups-google docs/hangouts, or have you been forced to study solo? My relationship with most of the students is just fine. Some of the students are what you would expect: overly competitive, annoying, childish. That is the minority for sure. Our lab is open 24 hours also, and like you it means nothing to me. Our program is, and has been, heavy on traditional students (the class structure and required activities reflect this) so for me I struggle more than the 23 year old who has no other obligations other than school. One thing I would recommend is to learn not to think about studying while with your family. Its incredibly stressful and makes a meltdown very easy. When you do study, I would recommend being away from home where you are free of distractions and can just focus on school, then go home and not worry about it anymore. Our class has a Google drive and we just fill out objectives, share textbooks, study guides, etc which is some what helpful if your study style is similar to another students. Otherwise, its mostly ignore information. My experience is that solo studying is most productive and then forming a group to do quizzing/recall is better. Hopefully your program has a solid experience with students with children, that should help a lot knowing your faculty can relate and help you. I can't say I have that support and I do feel that "lone wolf" status a little bit. But, that is fine, as long as I pass haha. But I am sure you will do fine. You will find what works for you and your family and be successful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planteater Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 I am almost done with year 2 (4 months until graduation woohoo!!)!! I'm married and we have two kids (6 and 8 currently). I let go of wanting all As pretty quickly. I accepted the fact that I would not be close to most of my classmates. There are a few other parents in my class, but most of them are younger and live near our school- I commute 30 minutes. I used to feel bad about saying no to almost every extra activity, but then I had a few people tell me they understand why I can't always participate and that they admire me for doing PA school with a family. My brain was fried by the evening, so I found that it was best for me to get up early (like 4 am many days) to study. I made sure to pay attention during lectures (you would be shocked at how many of my classmates were messaging and playing around online half the time). If I needed to finish something up or study extra, I tried to do it right after lecture was over. I also used my lunch breaks wisely- sometimes this meant studying/working on a project- sometimes it meant going for a run to clear my head! Then when I went home at night, it was family time. We ate dinner together and I participated in bedtime. My kids are in bed by 7:30- they can read for a while and then lights out around 8. This gave me a little time to spend with my husband before I went to bed- early most nights so I could get up and study. I found that sleeping enough was more valuable than more study time. Figure out what information is important and what is not as valuable for the time being. Also, some will think this is crazy, but I took time off every week from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. This is the biblical Sabbath and it has been HUGE in maintaining my sanity in a never ending flow of information. It has also been incredibly valuable with my family. It refreshed me to start again on Saturday night for the coming week. Hope that helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ResptoPA Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Being married with children is also a big worry for me as well. I have a 1yr old and an 8yr old. I was visited one of the P.A. schools in my area and the advisor told me that students that normally attend don't have small children. I became very discouraged when hearing this but these posts have definitely helped!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meghanjurgaitis Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 I am almost done with year 2 (4 months until graduation woohoo!!)!! I'm married and we have two kids (6 and 8 currently). I let go of wanting all As pretty quickly. I accepted the fact that I would not be close to most of my classmates. There are a few other parents in my class, but most of them are younger and live near our school- I commute 30 minutes. I used to feel bad about saying no to almost every extra activity, but then I had a few people tell me they understand why I can't always participate and that they admire me for doing PA school with a family. My brain was fried by the evening, so I found that it was best for me to get up early (like 4 am many days) to study. I made sure to pay attention during lectures (you would be shocked at how many of my classmates were messaging and playing around online half the time). If I needed to finish something up or study extra, I tried to do it right after lecture was over. I also used my lunch breaks wisely- sometimes this meant studying/working on a project- sometimes it meant going for a run to clear my head! Then when I went home at night, it was family time. We ate dinner together and I participated in bedtime. My kids are in bed by 7:30- they can read for a while and then lights out around 8. This gave me a little time to spend with my husband before I went to bed- early most nights so I could get up and study. I found that sleeping enough was more valuable than more study time. Figure out what information is important and what is not as valuable for the time being. Also, some will think this is crazy, but I took time off every week from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. This is the biblical Sabbath and it has been HUGE in maintaining my sanity in a never ending flow of information. It has also been incredibly valuable with my family. It refreshed me to start again on Saturday night for the coming week. Hope that helps! My kids are the same ages :) thanks for your input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougalHP Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 I actually have a great relationship with most of the students in our class, which has about 60 members. I mean, I'm not buddies with everyone, of course we all have our own personalities, but for the most part we get along well. I've had several students tell me and the other parents that they admire us for being able to juggle so many things at once. I feel really lucky to have such great classmates. I talk about my kids a lot, share photos on FB and even use those parenting experiences that I've had with sick kids to provide extra examples when it makes sense. Our class is pretty good with sharing study guides. We have a FB group and a Google Drive to share study guides and other info. Some of it's helpful and some of it isn't, but at least it's there if I want it. Sometimes I study with people, and sometimes I study alone, usually I study alone. And, I know that's not always to my benefit because sometimes I miss something that people were talking about in the last minute review right before the test. We also study via text/FB messages, quizzing, discussing quick things, etc., and that helps a lot too. Overall, my class provides a great deal of support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sehou2014 Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Hello everyone. I was just accepted to a PA program that begins next June. I am the mother of 2, married. Just wondering if anyone else out there has completed school with kids and may want to offer advice. Thanks! You are not alone. I will have a 9 months crawlers when my school starts next June. Good luck to both of us. It is encouraging after reading these posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTtoPA Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 I'm relieved to see that many of you are moms! I feel like so much of what I read advice-wise is from dads in PA programs. I will have a 1 year old and 2 year old when I start in the Spring, so hearing some of these tips is really appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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