Balancing Parenthood and a College Degree – PediaCast 587
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Show Notes
Description
April McComb visits the studio as we explore the world of student-parents—those juggling kids, coursework, and careers. How do they do it? Join us for insight, encouragement, and actionable tips!
Topic
Balancing Parenthood and a College Degree
Guest
April McComb
Assistant Professor of Nursing
Mount Carmel College of Nursing
Links
SPARK Collaborative
Parents in College by the Numbers
Who are Undergraduates with Dependent Children?
1 in 5 College Students Have Children. Here’s How to Help Them Balance Books and Babies
Episode Transcript
[Dr Mike Patrick]
This episode of PediaCast is brought to you by Nationwide Children's Hospital.
Hello everyone and welcome once again to PediaCast. It is a pediatric podcast for moms and dads.
This is Dr. Mike, coming to you from the campus of Nationwide Children's Hospital. We're in Columbus, Ohio. This is episode 587.
We're calling this one Balancing Parenthood and a College Degree. I want to welcome all of you to the program. As most of you know, firsthand, parenting is a full-time job and so is being a college student.
So, what happens when someone takes on both roles at the same time? Well, an increasing number of parents are enrolling in college as they work toward raising their kids, earning a degree, and balancing the other demands of life. And there are plenty of them.
So, on this episode of PediaCast, we are going to explore the world of student parents, those juggling kids, coursework, and careers. Which, of course, is not an easy thing to do. Our guest this week is April McComb.
She is a staff nurse at Nationwide Children's Hospital, an assistant professor of nursing at the Mount Carmel College of Nursing. She's also a college student, the mom of a toddler, and caregiver for a spouse with multiple chronic health conditions. She is busy for sure, but she is also a passionate advocate supporting the journey of non-traditional college students.
She joins us to discuss the growing population of student parents, the unique challenges they face, and the institutional support that can help them succeed. So, whether you are a student parent or know someone who is, our conversation today will be packed with insight, encouragement, and actionable tips. That is our hope anyway.
Before we dive in, I do want to remind you the information presented in every episode of PediaCast is for general educational purposes only. We do not diagnose medical conditions or formulate treatment plans for specific individuals. If you're concerned about your child's health, be sure to call your health care provider.
Also, your use of this audio program is subject to the PediaCast Terms of Use Agreement, which you can find at pediacast.org. So, let's take a quick break. We'll get April McComb settled into the studio, and then we will be back to explore balancing parenthood and a college degree.
It's coming up right after this.
April McComb is a staff nurse at Nationwide Children's Hospital and an assistant professor of nursing at the Mount Carmel College of Nursing. She's also a lifelong learner, currently working toward a higher degree while parenting a toddler and caring for a spouse with severe chronic health problems.
In other words, she is balancing the demands of a very busy life with continuing education. That is what she's here to talk about, balancing parenthood and a college degree. Before we dive into our topic, let's pause and offer a warm PediaCast welcome to our guest, April McComb.
Thank you so much for stopping by the studio today.
[April McComb]
Thank you, Dr. Mike, for having me. I look forward to talking about this.
[Dr Mike Patrick]
Yeah, I am really excited about it, too. It is definitely a topic that we have not covered in the past on PediaCast, but it's really, really important because there are many nontraditional students out there who are balancing college courses and parenting. Why do you think that nontraditional students, why is that number growing so much?
[April McComb]
So that's a really interesting question. I think when you look at what we consider the traditional student; we look at the typical student who is coming from high school. And coming from high school is a young adult who might still be living at home or dependent upon their parents.
Our nontraditional students are kind of a new category we're starting to see and is emerging more and more. One out of five current college students, which a little over 20 percent, is the growing population. And these are students that are balancing demands of work, family commitments and whatnot, too.
But one of the biggest groups is those parents. A lot of different reasons is because we have kind of stemmed away from what we consider traditional college education. Remember back in my day and your day, we went to college, you went to class, you came back, you did a paper, you probably lived in a dorm.
And that was kind of your college life. That's not the case anymore because some of these people are now learning how to balance this while working and having children and everything else. And there's flexibility in classes because of online classes, flexibility in scheduling.
The fact of the matter is, is that education realizes in order to survive and to open to that market, we have to cater to different students. So, we offer more variety and flexibility in scheduling and the ability to have higher education.
[Dr Mike Patrick]
Yeah, I think the pandemic actually made a positive impact in terms of virtual learning. And we discovered that we can do teaching and learning online. And that has just continued even after the pandemic.
What are the unique challenges of that in terms of being a student and a parent and working a job and possibly doing online courses or even in person? Courses. What unique challenges does that pose?
[April McComb]
So, there's a lot of unique challenges. I think the biggest unique challenge is the fact of time. Everybody would love to have 28 hours in a 24-hour day.
I promise you in the perfect example that I think we all are. The hard part is the challenge of the amount of time, the balance, the demand and still being able to live an affordable lifestyle. I think every single person in the United States since post pandemic has felt the effects of the economy and is trying to figure out how do I balance this?
But how do I still meet my needs? But at the same time, just like every person that's a parent, I still want to have quality time with my child. How do I do all this?
And then on top of that, you still most likely are working a 40-hour position. You know, maybe there's some flexibility on that stuff. But I think that that's probably presenting the biggest challenges.
And the fact you're right, that was a great point. It is a positive post or a positive factor from COVID that we can do both. You can have the ability to have an education and have a life, but it's not an easy choice when it comes to that.
It requires a demanding amount of flexibility, a demanding amount of time, energy, constraint and sacrifice, too. So, I think that uniquely when it comes to these parents, we have to look at the fact of how are they meeting their needs but still able to get through their education? Because we can't say that you can't have these standards for parents, student parents, and these standards for parents that don't have children.
You have to have a blend of both. So, it's a matter of how do we meet their unique needs and figure out how to get those things done?
[Dr Mike Patrick]
Yeah, yeah. What are the strengths of parents who are taking college courses? I mean, you're juggling so many things.
It seems like there should be some innate strengths that are associated with success.
[April McComb]
So, I think a lot of the strengths come from several different things. I think the biggest strength I see in these students is motivation and determination, which, you know, I think has a lot to speak of character. First off, it's an individual choice.
How am I, you know, how are my strengths? How am I with that? The ability to balance multiple tasks at one time.
You know, how do you get dinner on the table, get homework done in the evening, meet bath time, but still get what we call a discussion post, which is an assignment done by that midnight deadline. Oh, and I'm still working till five o'clock in the evening. So, the ability to balance all that, I think, has a lot to do with it.
I think the ability to prioritize and realize this has to be priority number one; this has to be priority number two. And how do I how do I juggle all of that? And then I think they're just that positive role model for their child.
Because if you look at the fact that they want a better lifestyle, they're working, they're putting the sacrificing into this. They're teaching their child, hey, this is possible. You just have to really think through these things.
And I think creativeness, too. Most of my student parents are very creative in how they do things. They ask the most questions and they're very dedicated.
You know, I think the hard part is, is that there's so much that they're trying to balance and all those rules are trying to give all of those strengths that they don't realize how much strength they have in themselves. And that shows dedication. And as a future employer, when you look at those qualities, those are things I want from somebody who's going to help my success in my business or my career grow even more when it comes to those things.
Yeah.
[Dr Mike Patrick]
You know, one of the things as I was researching a little for this show, I found that student parents tend to have a little higher GPAs than those who are non-parents. And you would think that would not be the case. You know, when you're juggling so many things, when, you know, it just things are pulling at you right and left and you're trying to keep up with your coursework.
I was surprised that the GPAs tend to be higher for those who are juggling all those things. I guess it would come down to really good time management. And like you said, prioritization of things, because you've got to get it done or else you're not going to pass at all.
[April McComb]
You know, that's two of the biggest qualities we try to instill in college students is prioritization and time management. And I think we can give them every success tool in the entire world, but it comes down to each person has to figure out what works for them. And with parents, you know, we're both our parents.
We know that time management is essential skill, and we also know prioritization. So, you're right. You know, I can tell you I'm to go to my own personal life.
When James is napping, my two-year-old, that's my time that I can get whatever I need to get done uninterrupted. That might be the time that I work on an assignment or do a discussion post or work on something related to my own personal professional growth because I need that dedicated time versus, you know, hey, I have a load of laundry. Well, I can do that later because I can do that with him running around or something.
So, you know, it's that juggling that prioritization and then also just knowing the fact that I have to get this done. You know, I think that's been the biggest challenge for a lot of college students that go to college and try to do this is that you have deadlines you have to meet. How do I get that done with everything else?
And as a parent, it's like, well, if I don't get this done now, I'm going to pay the price later. So, they learn how to bring those qualities in. And that's going to help, especially when you're looking at how do I manage everything going to school?
And again, that goes back to those qualities that we talked about. You have to have those essential skills in order to survive to make this successful.
[Dr Mike Patrick]
Let's talk a little bit about the diversity of folks who are parents and attending college at the same time because of online opportunities and because it's becoming easier and more accepted to do online courses. I mean, there was a time when folks would say, oh, that's, you know, online course, that's not as good as in person. But things have developed to the point where we're seeing that you really can be successful with online classes.
So that opens up the door to a lot more people who may not be able to go to a full-time college on campus sort of situation, sort of the traditional model that we've all grown up with. So, I would think that with the doors being open, there's also more diversity in folks who are getting an education.
[April McComb]
Great point. Great point there. Yes, there is a lot more diversification.
Not only are these students maybe parents, but they may be first generation college students. So, first generation college students might be the first family member that's fully had the ability to go on for higher success. You know, back in my parents' days, college was something you may have considered but wasn't necessarily a top priority.
Well, now, because of the fact of the matter is we do have more ability to be flexible. We have more opportunity. A lot of people are choosing to go to college.
Single moms, for example. That's a very, very, very difficult role because there's not another parent there to help you with stuff. So single moms are another big group.
Veterans. We have more and more veterans that are returning back to school on stuff. So, the fact of the matter is the diversification is not only being a college student parent, but you're also carrying a lot of other things.
Another big group is our English second language students. You know, we in here in Columbus, Ohio, have a multitude of cultural diversification. I see that as a college professor where the first language for some of these students is in English.
So, you're adding on more barriers, which is going to be even harder to be successful. But that diversification is a great opportunity for us to see things. You know, there is traditionally more females than males that are returning back.
So, with that carries the fact that most of the females are mothers. But we do tend to see a little bit more because of the shifts and the changes in household generations and roles going on with stuff. You know, there are still many women that choose to stay home to be a parent but then may return later on to college when their child is old enough to do a little more self-care.
So, there's that kind of diversification. You may have fathers who are working full time but have young children and families. And now they're balancing the fact of being a father and a parent there.
So, there's a multitude of things, because the other part that we talked about is with that non-traditional student is someone who is working a full-time position. So, there is a multiple diversification in those roles. So, the point, I guess, what I'm getting at is that it's not just a college student.
It's how many other hats are they wearing currently with going on with stuff?
[Dr Mike Patrick]
And then I would think that institutional support is going to be really important for these students. You know, when you are juggling a career, a job and college classes, I would think that's something you'd want to share with the university. I mean, are there special ways that the university then is going to help support that student?
Or do you not want them to know at all? You just want to kind of blend in and not be pointed out.
[April McComb]
So, when you talk to most of your student parents or most of these students, there is a little bit of a gap. And when I'm saying a gap is that there are resources available, but those resources may not fully be the resources that these individuals necessarily need. There also sometimes tends to feel like more of an outward a presence rather than being inward with their own peers because of the fact that they're not maybe on college campus as much if they're going to classes or they're not spending as much time socializing because their time is spent with other things.
So, there is institutional support in some of those things, but there has been identified gaps, and these gaps had been a little bit better pre-COVID, and we've even identified that there's a few more issues. Like, for example, some of the biggest things that some of these students face is childcare. You know, how do I leave my child so I can go and do these things?
Some institutions have been able to successfully write programs with grant money to get the childcare on campus, which is a huge benefit. If you look at the fact of the matter is now we're getting early education and access for younger children, like with Head Start programs, that gets that benefit taken care of and then the parent can attend college. That was better before COVID.
Since COVID, because the fact of the matter is that funds are hard to get available, people don't necessarily have as many workers in those areas, we've kind of identified that as a little bit of a gap. Financial resources, you know, college is expensive no matter what platform you go on with things. There are available scholarship and stuff like that.
Sometimes with these individuals is what resources are available for them, not only to pay for tuition and books, but help meet basic needs, housing, food, transportation, stuff like that. So, there are a few institutional gaps. Most of the institutions are starting to realize this and they're trying to come on board with finding programs and ways to better support the student, even in student services.
So, student services are basically like services that are set up to help a college student be successful. Some student services are going to be much better adapted at finding those resources for parents versus others. So, I always tell or encourage parents that are choosing to go on for higher education as they're beginning their journey, research those things, ask those questions, know what your needs are so that you can make sure you're setting yourself up for success.
If you need childcare, does this institution have that ability? Does it offer for that? You know, what's the cost for that going to be?
Am I able to find places that can help me with transportation if necessary for things? So, it's a matter of having some of those services. But that's an area I think that's been identified as a bigger need.
And one of the ways that we can help support our future parents going to college is helping them find those resources.
[Dr Mike Patrick]
Yeah, and I think that it's important for parents who are going to start classes that they really do understand what barriers are in place and then have a plan ahead of time to sort of overcome those barriers. And that may be through support of the school, but it also may be friends and family who are pitching in to help as well. As you mentioned, childcare is going to be a barrier for a lot of parents.
Really, even difficulty navigating all the resources on campus, like you really want to do your research and figure out all the things that are available to you as a student. And most institutions have a like four students page that you can get to like a launching point where all the resources, there are links to everything. And so just exploring that to see what is available, just so you have that awareness, can be so helpful.
And then the financial aspect of it is, you know, make sure you're applying for all the grants and loans and everything that you can is going to be really, really important. And reach out to the counselors that you have. Usually, you're assigned someone to help you through the process, right?
Once you get admitted.
[April McComb]
So, when you have someone that's coming in, you know, you're coming in as a freshman and you have to treat this as the fact that, you know, a lot of different information. But this is also beginning stuff. Use those resources you have.
You're going to have a student success academic advisor. There are multitudes of names these people go by. But the better the relationship that's built with this individual is great to look at those to know what are my institutional support services?
Just like you said, what scholarship opportunities are out there? Be open. You know, it's really interesting.
There's a lot of different programs and things that are out there. It's not just student loans. There are scholarships.
There are research grants. There are many different things to look at. But as a student parent, do your homework when it comes to those things.
And I love the point that you said, have a backup plan. You know, I think that that's always the hard part is that we're always going to have to have plan A, B and C. And that goes back to that creativeness about being a student parent is that parents typically always have the next step kind of figured out with that stuff.
You know, maybe childcare follows through because there's an outbreak of hand, foot, mouth or something, you know, like my child's daycare. They were currently closed last week because half of the school had hand, foot, mouth. OK, well, what's my plan B?
Because I still have to meet my deadlines. So, I ended up, you know, I had a support person to fall back on. What about that assignment that's coming up due?
And now all of a sudden, you've got to take your child to the emergency room. What's my backup plan? You know, making sure I know how to get a hold of my professors or whatnot to use those resources, know where those resources are.
They're there for you to be successful.
[Dr Mike Patrick]
Yeah, absolutely. A big resource is going to be the teacher of the class. The faculty that are sort of, you know, taking the lead in your education.
What can college faculty do to help support student parents? I guess first is just awareness of who is juggling all these demands. But then once you discover who is in that position, how can you best support them?
[April McComb]
So, college faculty are there to help you to be successful. And we want you to be and I'm going to speak from my own perspective as college. I want you to be successful.
Reach out to me. You know, the sooner you communicate with me, the sooner I know that something's going on or faculty does, the sooner we can develop plans. You know, if you're hitting some barriers or some issues, reach out because faculty is going to help you.
We might have the ability to look at things on an alternative plan. What I'm saying is maybe you need an extension on an assignment. We are college faculty.
A lot of times we'll work with you on that. Maybe they have been through those life experiences. It's funny.
I think a lot of times our college students are like, you don't know anything about life. You've never been through. Well, actually, yes, we have, you know, talk to them and sometimes just, you know, that support is a big difference.
And I think as college faculty, we are here to be supporting of the students. But we have to know up front, and we have to flex a little bit, I think, sometimes in how we deal with these things. These are individual situations.
They're not always the same thing. We don't want to deviate from our standards, but I think we have to help these people be successful and also sometimes be in their corner to be that support person. Sometimes you need just a little bit of a cheerleader to go, hey, how's your day going?
How'd that test go? You know, it makes a big difference. When my students who have children come to me, they're almost like I call them my children.
I call them my ducklings, you know, for that term, because they're learning how to do a whole new role. They're learning how to be a professional student while being a parent. And sometimes I can give different tips or tricks or suggestions.
You know, sometimes we have to have frank conversations with those students. Say, hey, look, you're juggling so many different things that you're just spinning, trying to get yourself to go forward. What if we step back, look at this again and then move forward with that?
It doesn't mean that that person's failing. It's just giving them a chance to kind of figure out to get themselves grounded what they need to do to be successful. So, I think as college faculty, a lot of times it's support, flexibility and knowing what resources are available within our own institutions.
A lot of times as college faculty, we do know that stuff, but we may not necessarily know certain things. But we have great resources we can reach out to and great communication. You know, if you see those students that are kind of struggling, reach out to them, because I'm going to tell you, it makes a difference.
You know, it's hard when some of our faculty have the ratios we do. Some faculty may have 60 to 100 students in their class, and we don't necessarily know what's going on with every single person. And we only keep our students for a short time, anywhere from eight to 10 weeks.
So, it's really hard to get to know them. But, you know, if you see someone struggling, if I reach out, it may open the door to finding out, hey, there's all this other stuff going on. So, then I can help them kind of get through and find those resources.
And what do you need for me to be successful with stuff?
[Dr Mike Patrick]
Yeah. Let's run back really quick and talk a little bit more about single parents, because I feel like this is even more of a difficult situation. And yet so many nontraditional students, in fact, I think I saw almost half, like 43 percent of nontraditional students are single moms.
When you when you don't have support in the home to help with childcare, with making dinner, with, you know, keeping track of who's where and what, especially if your kids are really involved in school activities. I would think that any family and friends that can chip in is going to be so important and helpful. And yet a lot of people maybe don't have that those resources available to help them out.
How can they best be prepared to be a student and a single parent?
[April McComb]
It's a great question. And that, I think, is probably one of the hardest challenges with single parents. It's almost like we have a different set of rules we have to think about when it comes to that.
First off, as a single parent, you know, it's hard because I think the two biggest fears you always worry about is illness and time, meaning that if I get sick or something happens, how does everybody else manage? And then the time, because you're pretty much pulled in every direction. I always tell those parents that, number one, it's OK to realize that not everything's going to be perfect.
Kraft macaroni and cheese for dinner is a great meal. OK. You know, most kids are OK.
You don't have to be perfect at what you're doing. Also, maybe you have to go at a little bit of a slower pace. What I'm saying is, instead of trying to work full time and be a full-time college student, what about a half time college student, full time worker?
Meaning that it might take you a little longer to get to your goal, but it's going to save you the aggravation and agitation of trying to do this and a higher likelihood of failing out or burning out because you're just trying to do so many things. And have it planned out the best that you can and be flexible. Look for support in multitudes of ways.
You know, again, that might be that reaching out to your college faculty. Some college campuses actually have single parent groups on campus. It's not a common thing you're going to see.
But, you know, talk to your peers. It's funny is that there are more and more. Now, most of the time with those kinds of roles, it's going to be our higher students, so like our graduate students and our doctoral students, but even an undergrad, which is a majority of where you're seeing most of your single parents.
If you look at how education falls, we typically see an associate's degree, which is to an undergraduate, which is for graduates is about six and then a doctor, which is about eight to 10 years. Those are years of education being built up. So, you know, as you kind of go through that, you get the experience and figure out how to do that.
It is a little bit easier as a single parent. Most single parents are trying to just get their basic undergraduate degree, but they need to look at what are my resources, do my homework and what do I have available? You know, it's funny is that we don't always necessarily want children to be present in our classrooms, but sometimes it may be necessary.
Have a conversation with your professor. Hey, my six-year-old doesn't have childcare today and I'm going to miss class. Is it really going to be that big if I bring him?
Now, some professors may be like, that's really disruptive or other ones like, hey, great, go ahead and bring them, you know, figure out ways that are going to work. You know, when you're going to baseball practice, it's a great time to pop in your podcast and listen to it. Yeah, your six-year-old might not enjoy learning about anatomy and physiology, but at the same time, you're getting some time to get something done.
It's juggling prioritization, but it's also looking at how do I manage things and be kind to yourself. Realize you are one person trying to do multitudes of things. So, when slip ups and things happen, it's OK.
[Dr Mike Patrick]
And it's not forever, right?
[April McComb]
No, that's the hardest thing is that these lives don't go on forever. So, you know, you've got to allow yourself the short time, the sacrifice for what you need to get done. Yeah.
[Dr Mike Patrick]
And so, if you're making macaroni and cheese again and your kids are listening to an anatomy lecture in the car, it's not forever. And there is there is sort of pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I want to talk about that a little bit.
What positive impact can earning a degree have on your family?
[April McComb]
Multitudes of positive impact. I think the positive impact is the fact that this that you as a parent should be proud of yourself. You put the sacrifice, the time into doing this while balancing all of these demands.
And you're teaching your children the value of hard work and dedication and sacrifice, because, you know, when it's all said and done, you're still sacrificing certain things. It typically financially means, you know, monetarily a better lifestyle. I think that's a big motivator for a lot of us.
We all want our children to be more successful than we are. And financially, we need the ability to do that. So that's probably the biggest driver.
But it also teaches families how to struggle a little bit and get through things. You know, it's kind of a little bit of a crisis, but strong families go through crises, and they come out on the other end positive. And it just teaches us that we can do things.
[Dr Mike Patrick]
You know, with all of the challenges that we've been talking about, I would think that this also, in addition to all the other things in a student parent's life that's going on, their mental health is really going to be challenged in terms of anxiety. You know, can I do this? There are just too many things on my plate that can even lead to just sort of giving up and depression.
How can student parents really prioritize their mental health and weather the storm?
[April McComb]
Great question. I think that's the biggest thing we have to think about is my mental health and my well-being. First off, self-care.
You know, we in health care have preached self-care for a long time and have really identified it. It's the same thing with student parents. And self-care doesn't mean you have to do a lot.
It might mean just a few minutes each day of taking a five-minute break and allowing yourself to just kind of sit back and reflect. Self-care can be something as simple as taking a coffee break when need be. But you have to kind of figure out what's my own self-care routine, allowing yourself grace and flexibility like we talked about, and realizing that you don't have to be super at every single thing you're doing, just doing and being present in the role.
Allowing yourself to learn and grow and being open to what comes your way. For example, as a student parent, I think, or as a parent, or you're always planning and trying to make sure you're executing these plans, but things are going to happen and fall apart. So, you have to have some flexibility and grow with those things.
Allow yourself to realize that you're going to fail at something. And what I'm saying, it doesn't have to be something big. You're going to fail to probably meet a deadline at some point in time.
You're probably going to fail to make the perfect cupcakes for your birthday party that you're trying to go to or get the perfect gift. That's OK. Those are all lessons that you learn moving forward.
That goes back to that determination role. You have to be good mindset, be positive, allow yourself flexibility, but also figure out how to balance all of this. And if it's at some point too much at one point, step back, reflect, and then go forward with this.
Allowing yourself to being a student and a parent and an employee, those are multitudes of things. And realize, OK, I might not give 110 percent to every single role at every time, but maybe today I'm only giving 60 percent, but I showed up. That's a lot in itself right there.
And that's it. That's a great thing. Just being present for that.
Use some humor. I use a lot of humor in what I do because I think that with, you know, as you heard all the things in my life that go on, I'm always like, all right, well, that was an interesting experience. You know, be kind to yourself.
That's, I think, the biggest thing you have to. And if necessary, reach out to mental support services. All of your institutions offer support services in mental health.
Take advantage of those things. Maybe sometimes you just need to talk to somebody that you need to get a different perspective with. You know, develop those relationships with your peers.
Sometimes a text message at one o'clock in the morning when you're working on assignment, maybe somebody else is up. And you're like, I am so overwhelmed right now. It's OK to say that.
And allow yourself to be human, as I say, because if you don't, then you're not going to be successful in doing these things.
[Dr Mike Patrick]
Yeah, I think asking for help is so important. And I would think that that's particularly challenging. Asking for help for someone who's juggling all these things like I can do this.
And it may seem like, OK, I as a busy parent, I decided that I'm going to take college classes. I'm going to work toward a degree. And so, there's kind of the mindset of I can do this.
I don't need help. But don't be afraid to ask for help because it's so important. And that's really part of the of the process.
Right. Yes.
[April McComb]
You know, going to college isn't a matter of just getting a degree. It's learning a whole new way of thinking. And that's exactly right.
We all have to ask for help. There's nothing wrong with that. And that shows by many different things that your character is willing to being open to suggestions and feedback and saying, hey, I'm struggling here a little bit.
Somebody gets in here and help me with that. Every single one of us needs support in one way or another in everything that we do. And being a college student and a parent is not anything different.
You know, if you don't ask for support, then that defeats the whole purpose of what you're trying to do to be successful. You're counterproductive when you don't do things like that.
[Dr Mike Patrick]
Yeah. It's easy to get burnt out as well when you're in the midst of a really particularly difficult course or there's a lot of writing and assignments. And then, of course, you have a job and you're being a parent and all of these things.
It's also, I would think, important to keep an eye on the prize and think about why you did this in the first place. And that may be, you know, taking a relaxing bubble bath, just, you know, taking a time out and listening to some music with your eyes closed and reflecting on the big picture. Because sometimes we can get really bogged down in all of the little things.
Yes.
[April McComb]
Yes, you're exactly right. And those little things make a difference. And you've got to find what your own little thing is.
You know, I always say if it's something as silly as I need 30 minutes on social media just to flip through social media, that's fine. That might be your one thing that's going to help your mental health and decrease your burnout. You know, the other thing I always say is that try to plan family activities that are meaningful.
What I'm saying is that, you know, we always talk about sitting down at the dinner table and no use of electronics or things. But that might make a difference. That might be the time that's meaningful for your family.
Shopping trips together to go get groceries on a weekly basis. I know that sounds like silly, but that might be the time you get to talk to your kiddos and just totally de-plug from everything else that you're doing. So, you're exactly right.
It's finding a meaningful activity that's going to work for you. And it doesn't have to be a big thing. And keep your eye on the prize is definitely this way.
I always say this is not this is not a sprint. It's a marathon. And the way we win a marathon is one step at a time.
You know, the classic story of the hare and the tortoise. Who won the race? The tortoise, because it was a slow and steady pace.
We don't have to rush through this because if you rush through it, you're going to burn out. If I can do a slow and steady pace, I'm still getting there.
[Dr Mike Patrick]
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. What can institutions do to improve success for student parents, especially with you being a nursing professor?
What are we doing well and what do we need to work on?
[April McComb]
So, we're doing well in identifying that we have a new population coming into college. So, we realize that we're going to have to be more successful. So, we've started to do the recognition process.
Institutions, I think, are trying to come up to par to finding the resources that these students need. And how do I help them get through their needs? What I'm saying is that the barriers that they may have from financials to childcare to accommodation.
So, student accommodations is a big thing. There is a lot of controversy around certain student accommodations. But sometimes certain student accommodations are necessary.
So, for example, a mother who has just had a child recently might be breastfeeding and she may need accommodations for extended time if she's in a clinical setting or in a practice setting to be able to go to do that. Reach out to your accommodations people. Reach out to your academic advisors to see if we can do those things.
As an institution, we need to look at those policies. We need to look at those things to help those students meet their needs. Developing support for these individuals, mental health support, but also what do they need?
You know, there's there a lot of times it's a package deal. What I'm saying a package deal is it's not just the parent or the college student, but maybe now there's younger children that they might need help with getting school supplies. Are there ways that we have different community resources we can reach out to them to provide them with those resources and things?
So as an institution, I think helping to meet these students basic needs is going to be the biggest challenge that we're going to have to help them face in order to them be successful.
[Dr Mike Patrick]
Yeah. And then what about communities and policymakers? Are there things that can be done sort of at the local government level to help student parents?
[April McComb]
Great question. So, yes, I think that on a community level, it's that we have to help them know where their resources are. There are different nonprofit organizations.
There are different government agencies that these students can qualify for programs. But it's a matter of knowing how to reach out to these things and making them easily accessible. I think that's one of the hardest things is that, you know, you're already under time constraints, you have these barriers, but now I need additional resources, but I don't know how to access them.
So, you know, how do we as community leaders maybe get them those things? How do we help them better find this information? Do we advertise better?
Do we have maybe people that they can reach out to, liaisons in the community? And as policymakers, I think that's going to be a great question that policymakers are going to have to look at. Do we have to put some ability back on these institutions to help these students?
Like, do we need to provide them with more resources? Do we need to provide them with more funding and what not to? So, in the community, there are things.
But I think that that is an area that's going to have to potentially have a lot more growth because of the institutions themselves is just now recognizing these students. Our communities are starting to see this and they're going to have to develop different ways to help these students be more successful. So, as time goes on, I think you're going to see those changes happen.
But currently within the community, it's probably the biggest thing is knowing how to access those resources and finding ways to get those things done.
[Dr Mike Patrick]
Because at the end of the day, you know, as long as someone stays in that community, you know, they're getting a nursing degree, for example, and they're going to stay in that in that community. We know that there's a shortage of nurses. And so, it really does help the community to have folks who are educated and can step into roles that support everybody that live there.
[April McComb]
Exactly right. And that's what it is, is it's truly an investment. When you look back with everything that's happening, we're investing in those people, and we want those people in our communities because they're the successful ones that are going to help us move in a forward direction.
Those are the ones that are going to help our future generations and what not to be educated. The other thing, too, I think sometimes, and I apologize I didn't say this, is look at your institutions of employment. What opportunities do they have?
You know, our employers realize the success and the value of these individuals. So, they a lot of times will offer different support services. So, you're exactly right.
When it's all said and done in our communities, we want to invest in these individuals because they're going to be the ones that are going to be there. They're going to be the ones that are going to be more likely to drive things to be successful. We're going to meet those initiatives.
We're going to have those individuals that can give back. And that's when it's all said and done. At the end of the day, we want productive, successful members in our society that are going to help those communities to move forward.
[Dr Mike Patrick]
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Well, this has been a really enlightening conversation, April, and we're so glad that you could come and chat with us. I can tell that you're very passionate about this topic, and it certainly is an important one.
We are going to have several links in the show notes for folks who would like to learn more about this topic. One of them is the SPARK Collaborative, which is Student Parent Action Through Research Knowledge. That's what SPARK stands for.
Tell us about that.
[April McComb]
So, SPARK is really, it's a web-based institution that is found on the Internet that has a lot of different links that parents can use and a lot of different resources that might help them find programs that they can be successful for. What I'm saying is that maybe you have questions related to an institution and you're trying to see different things. That's a great website to go to look at that, that maybe as you're planning to go back to college, can you ask these questions?
Or just looking at the numbers and the statistics alone right there that gives you success when it comes to knowing this percentage of students are the ones that are successful moving forward or what do I need for those things? So, I really like SPARK. I think it's probably one of those resources that it's not going to necessarily be known a lot because people are, again, we're just now getting this population back in green into college for stuff.
[Dr Mike Patrick]
Yeah, yeah. And again, we'll put a link to the SPARK Collaborative in the show notes for this episode, which is 587 over at pdacast.org. We'll also have a link to the Institute for Women's Policy Research.
They have a site called Parents in College by the Numbers, if you'd like to take a look at some of the data. The Urban Institute has an article called Who are Undergraduates with Dependent Children? You may find you're reading about yourself if you click on that link, but at least it will give you some assurance that you are not alone, that a lot of people are facing the same challenges that you're facing.
And then from Forbes, one in five college students have children. Here's how to help them balance books and babies. So if you have a friend or a family neighbor, coworker, you know, anybody who's in your sphere of influence that you know is a parent and they're attending college classes, this can give you some ideas on how you could pitch in and help them succeed because we are all a community and we want to help each other for sure.
So, all those links will be in the show notes again over at pdacast.org for episode 587. So once again, April McComb, assistant professor of nursing at the Mount Carmel College of Nursing and a staff nurse at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Thank you so much for stopping by today.
[April McComb]
Thank you, Dr. Mike, for having me. It was enjoyable.
[Dr Mike Patrick]
We are back with just enough time to say thanks once again, to all of you for taking time out of your day and making PediaCast a part of it really do appreciate that also thanks again to our guests this week, April McComb, assistant professor of nursing at the Mount Carmel College of Nursing, also a staff nurse at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Don't forget you can find us on Facebook and Twitter at pdacast.org. You can find PediaCast wherever podcasts are found or in the Apple podcast app, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Audible, YouTube, and most other podcast apps for iOS and Android.
Our landing site is pdacast.org. You'll find our entire archive of past programs there, along with show notes for each of the episodes, our terms of use agreement, and the handy contact page if you would like to suggest a future topic for the show. Reviews are helpful wherever you get your podcasts.
We always appreciate when you share your thoughts about the show, and we love connecting with you on social media. You'll find us on Facebook, Instagram threads, LinkedIn, X, and blue sky. Simply search for PediaCast.
Also, don't forget about our other podcast, PediaCast CME, that stands for continuing medical education. Similar to this program, we do turn the science up a couple notches and offer free continuing medical education credit for those who listen. That includes physicians and nurse practitioners, but also physician assistants, nurses, pharmacists, psychologists, social workers, and dentists.
And it's because Nationwide Children's is jointly accredited by all of those professional organizations that we are able to offer the credits you need to fulfill your state's continuing medical education requirements. Shows and details are available at the landing site for that program, pdacastcme.org. You can also listen wherever podcasts are found.
Simply search for PediaCast CME. And if you are a faculty member in any of the health sciences, there is an additional podcast I want to tell you about that I host called FAMEcast. It is a faculty development podcast from the Center for Faculty Advancement, Mentoring, and Engagement at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
You know, we talk about work-life balance, promotion and tenure, mentoring, coaching, you know, all the things that are helpful if you teach others medical science. So, if you are a teacher in academic medicine or a faculty member in any of the health sciences, then this is a podcast for you. And you can find FAMEcast at famecast.org and wherever podcasts are found by simply searching for FAMEcast. Thanks again for stopping by. And until next time, this is Dr. Mike saying, stay safe, stay healthy, and stay involved with your kids. So long, everybody.
