Degree

Honors Baccalaureate

Department

Nursing

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

It is hypothesized that some student nurses enrolled in a higher education degree program face academic challenges when retaining employment while attending school. This study aims to explore the various experiences of working students compared to non-working students. Specifically, to quantify and correlate the effects of working while studying in nursing school. The Cognitive Load Theory will be used to guide the research and implementation of the effects of working while simultaneously attending nursing schools on nursing students. Cognitive Load Theory suggests that the human brain has a limited capacity to process information and overloading it with too many tasks (like working and studying simultaneously) can lead to decreased learning effectiveness. Subjects participating in this research included University of Louisiana Lafayette undergraduate nursing students currently enrolled in their clinical level courses. The participants included second-semester sophomore, junior, and senior-level nursing students. An electronic survey was deployed through Qualtrics to gather quantitative data. It includes multiple-choice questions about participants’ demographic information, employment status, experiences balancing work and school, and the impact of working on their academic performance.

Date

Fall 2026

First Committee Chair

Jade Hernandez

First Committee Member

James Blankenship

Second Committee Member

Arielle St. Romain

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