Any nurses who used to be teachers?

editor2rn · Mar 17, 2011

I was a teacher for seven years (elementary school) and have a master's in special education. I graduate from nursing school in May. I've been working in publishing for the past 13 years and will continue to do so part-time after I start a nursing job.

I don't regret leaving the teaching field. My main complaint with the profession is that once you graduate with your degree and start your first job, you've pretty much reached the end of your career path (unless you want to be an administrator, which I didn't). Sure, the kids change each year, and teaching methods get recycled with new buzzwords, but it's all the same stuff. I loved the process of teaching and I loved the kids, but I found I was really bored intellectually. I wanted to do something where I could feel that I really made a difference to someone and had my brain challenged. So far, nursing has met both of those criteria.

Doing CNA clinicals will get you into the setting, so you can see behind the scenes. You can observe up close what the nurses do and how crazy it can get. You'll also get an idea of what's expected of you, physically and mentally. So far I find that nursing doesn't challenge my patience as teaching did, and there are fewer inane policies in nursing. Also, the pay is much better, and no one expects you to work for free. :yeah: That said, my feet hurt much more now than they did when I was teaching, but maybe that's cause I was 15 years younger.

I wish I'd discovered nursing years ago (my mother actually wanted me to be a nurse, but I was a huge feminist as a child and refused to wear the white dress). Good thing scrubs came along!

Good luck in your decision!

Baubo516, RN · Mar 18, 2011

Thanks for your response, editor2rn! I will keep you all posted as to how my decision goes. I like the idea of not being expected to work for free. :)

tencat · Mar 18, 2011

I was a high school teacher for 12 years before I went back to school for nursing, and I'm not sorry I did.

Nurses face some similar issues to educators: No respect, huge workloads, 'customer' service vs. doing what's right. However, I've found in nursing (and I know not every nurse feels this way) that I'm not responsible for what my patients choose to do or not do. In education teachers are responsible for EVERYTHING, whether or not they have control over it (such as attendance in the classroom, kids beating each other up on the way from or to school WAY off school grounds, etc.). The only thing I REALLY miss is a decent amount of time off to be with my family on vacations. Of course, now with two kids we can't afford it anyway :) so I guess it all evens out in the end.

It is hard to be older and start out brand-spanking new to a field after having established one's self in another field, but in some cases my age has helped earn me respect as many folks think because I'm 'older' I have been nursing for a while . That can backfire, too though when you don't know something and get a blank stare on your face. Then you get the whole "Wow, what an idiot! Did she get her degree out of a Cracker Jack box????" look.

Baubo516, RN · Apr 10, 2011

Well - I have now had 2 days of clinicals in my CNA class, and I went Friday and registered for summer classes at the community college where I will pursue my ADN. I technically have until the end of April to let my principal know if I am not coming back next year, but I am planning to talk to her this week and make it official. I haven't done that much at clinicals yet, but I was able to actually, physically help a few people, and it felt really good. I saw how busy the CNA's were, and witnessed hurried pericare and emptying a catheter bag... but what sticks with me is the fact that these residents are all people who have had long, independent lives, and now need help with their ADL's. They deserve to be treated with compassion and respect, and that is something that I can do! :redbeathe

I am excited to get started with my schooling, and looking forward to eventually having a career where I can help people while also getting paid for my time and not bringing homework home. I feel happier and less stressed already, just thinking about not teaching anymore. It will be hard to say goodbye to my principal, who is wonderful, and to many of my students, but I believe I am making the right choice! Thanks for sharing your perspectives with me!

If all goes as planned (and when does it ever?), I will finish pre-reqs this December and get on the waiting list for my program, which can be a year or longer. During the waiting time I will try to get all non-nursing classes out of the way, so that once I am in the program I can do just the nursing classes. I also need to work as close to full time as possible, so after school is out in June I will be looking for a CNA job locally. If I can get into the nursing program starting in January of 2013, I would be ready to take my LPN boards in December of 2013, and then my RN boards in December of 2014. YAY!!! I can't wait to get started!!! :yeah:

txsuzy · Jun 8, 2011

Hi there,

I am not a nurse yet. But I was a teacher. For seven years, until I had my first daughter and decided to stay home with her. Here is my story:

My mom was a teacher, and she has always said I was a teacher from a very young age. I believe that to be true... but I felt very unfulfilled as a classroom teacher. I always wanted to be a doctor growing up. First to animals, until I realized you'd have to put them down. And then I set my sights on becoming a pediatrician. I started college as a Pre-Med major, but was quickly weeded out when I didn't do so well in the sciences and realized I'd have to go to school for 10 years. I'm sure I considered nursing, but at my university, it was still pretty old school - and I mean the girls wore white dresses to clinicals (in 1997!) and I didn't want to be "just a nurse." Oh, how I wish I could've seen the future. I decided to major in Intercultural Studies with an emphasis in Education because my grandmother said "that (my major) and $.25 will get you a cup of coffee." I entered the teaching field after graduation and did well. I was a grade level chair, started an after-school science club that was a huge success and was asked to write curriculum and assessment for the district. I was never one of those teachers that wanted it to be a career, though. And often found myself discouraged with the lack of intellectual stimuli. Also, taking more education classes to pursue a master's never sounded appealing to me. So, like many of you have said, my career couldn't really advance.

The birth of my first child was a world-changer for me and I found myself even less interested in teaching after she was born. I finished out the school year, turned in my resignation and never looked back. My husband's company relocated us from Dallas to Phoenix and I was in the doctor's office to get a cortisone shot in my foot and picked up a copy of a magazine titled "RN" or something along those lines. I thought to myself, as I perused the advertisements and articles on the many, many career options within nursing, I should do this. That was 2 summers ago. I started my pre-reqs and just got the call yesterday that I was accepted into an accelerated program here in Texas (we moved back at Christmas).

The thing I love so far, is that I am intellectually stimulated and it combines my two loves of science and helping people. I was set to start a CNA class today because I was on the waiting list for the BSN and with this particular program, the best way to get in is to already have some sort of job at a partner hospital. At first, I was dreading the CNA route, because I thought I was "above" the position. However, and I believe this might have something to do with why the call came, after I signed up and started looking through the materials, I became quite excited about starting. I was actually a little bummed today when I went to get my refund check from withdrawing. That being said, I am beyond excited about starting clinicals in the fall. I can't wait to have more material to study and to actually get to start practicing real skills. I am also thrilled about all of the options available as I advance in the field. Right now, I am planning on becoming an NP, but I am also interested in the legal nurse consultant path. And of course, there is always a need for more nurse educators, which is always an option if I really begin to miss teaching.

I have met several students that are former teachers. I think it's a common transition, so if anything, you are not alone. Best of luck, and I hope you get the peace with the decision that you seek. I know I question my decision quite often, but that, too is a normal response to change and the unknown!

Take care,

Suzanne

jeffsher · Jun 8, 2011

Baubo516,

I've been out of commission for a while (surgery and a med problem that landed me in the hospital 3 weeks after the surgery) and missed your April post up until now.

Glad everything is going well. Being a CNA will be an incredibly positive experience in many ways; you'll be able to get the basics down and better prepare you for clinicals.

Your teaching experience will not be wasted, since a lot of being an RN is doing patient education.

txsuzy-I don't think you'll regret your decision. There are so many opportunities available that your not stuck in one area. The NP field is exploding as there is an increasing shortage of physicians. And if you don't want to do that, there are so many areas of nursing to choose from; you're not locked into anything.

Good luck to both of you.

Baubo516, RN · Mar 27, 2014

Hello, friends! Can you believe I am giving this thread a bump after 2 1/2 years??? And it's not even Throw-Back Thursday yet!

Well, in the way of an update - I finished my LPN program in December 2013, passed boards in Feb. 2014 (only delayed because the school forgot to mail our transcripts - DUH!), and will complete my Associate's Degree in Dec. 2014. So far things have gon-re as I hoped they would many years ago when I started this thread!

Doing pre-reqs and working part time as a CNA was like a VACATION compared to my 7 years of teaching! Since I started the actual nursing classes, I have had more stress, but I have also learned so much and experienced so many new things. I have witness a cesarean birth, a total knee replacement, and a family coming to grips with the fact that their mother is going to die soon. All of these things have be *profound* for me, and I am confident I made the right choice.

I had to laugh when I read your comment about Magnet hospitals, jeffsher... the hospital I work for now IS, in fact, a Magnet hospital. By the time I finish my degree, I will have worked for them for 3 years. I am basically daring them not to hire me at this point!!! I work with many ADN nurses who have been hired within the past year. All of their job postings say "BSN/MSN candidates," but I am not going to let this discourage me. I know many people at my hospital, so if there is ANY room for an ADN RN, I think they will choose me. (I know they want to maintain or improve their percentage of BSN prepared nurses, so some of my chances depend on in any ADN nurses leave or retire.)

If they don't hire me, I will go work at the other hospital in town, which is NOT Magnet. It is my second choice, but it will be my current employer's loss, in my opinion! (OK - I am not really that cocky - have just had to tell myself this in order to stop stressing over the idea that my hospital may not hire me. I think I am at peace with the idea now.)

Meanwhile, I am continuing to work as a CNA there to fulfill my obligation of working for them for one year after receiving tuition reimbursement. This summer I will be working as an LPN at a camp for kids with special needs, and I am also interviewing with a Pediatric Home Care agency to see if I can be PRN with them.

So, how are things going for you all? txsuzy - have you finished your program?