Schooling for school nurses

allnurses Guide · Mar 10, 2015

Hi

It does vary state by state.

I am in California and we have to have a BSN to get hired and then have 5 years to get a School Nurse Credential if we don't already have one. The State of CA gives a temporary credential so you can practice as a school nurse.

Other states ask for "certification" instead of "credential".

Clementine1 · Mar 10, 2015

Thank you for your response! It appears I will need the certification before working so now I am just trying decide between going back to school for my certification or Masters in School Nursing.

Farawyn · Mar 11, 2015

NY here. All you need is an RN.

rbytsdy · Mar 11, 2015

You can definitely sub as an RN with a BSN. However, you can look for a school nurse job if you want. Some schools are dying for school nurses so they'll hire you and help you get an emergency certification. If you have a BSN, you likely have the courses needed for an emergency cert. You can renew the emergency cert at least once (maybe twice). While you have your emergency cert or you're are subbing, you can complete your school nurse certification program which is generally a post- baccalaureate certification which is about 1 year of courses. There are several colleges that offer the school nurse cert for NJ - Caldwell University, Rutgers, Kean, Rowan, Monmouth etc. The programs typically require you to complete a teaching internship of about 40 hours or so. It's best to be at least subbing in a district so that you have a place to do observations and teachings but most of the programs will help place you.

As Masters in School Nursing is great! However, you typically just need the certification. I don't know about all districts but my district has us on the teacher's scale for pay so a masters means more money. However, it can be almost any applicable masters (not just school nursing). One of the retired nurses in my district had a masters in public health.

allnurses Guide · Mar 11, 2015

The credential system here is for the same reasons - we are on a par with the teachers.

Windchaser22 · Mar 11, 2015

Check out the NJSSN website.

Clementine1 · Mar 11, 2015

Thank you everyone for your responses. When I mention to others that I would like to pursue this, everyone says "school nurses don't make much". I assumed this was an assumption by some because school isn't open in the summer, however, I never knew we would be on the teachers pay scale. I won't ask salary, as this is personal, but is this a drastic pay cut from hospital nursing?

Farawyn · Mar 11, 2015

Thank you everyone for your responses. When I mention to others that I would like to pursue this, everyone says "school nurses don't make much". I assumed this was an assumption by some because school isn't open in the summer, however, I never knew we would be on the teachers pay scale. I won't ask salary, as this is personal, but is this a drastic pay cut from hospital nursing?

Yes! Take the hours in to consideration, but yes. For me it was. I was in the hospital for 22 years, though, so I was making bank. I quit for a lot of reasons, but the salary was not one of them.

mycsm · Mar 11, 2015

you will not "make any bank" working as a school nurse. However, with that said

1) summers off

2) snow days

3) on same schedule as my own kids

4) can work perdiem in summer for agency or summer camp to fill the bank

5) week off at Christmas time

I miss making bank....

Kittery · Mar 11, 2015

Clarify what they mean when they say "certification." Where I work, you have to be certified by the state department of education, but all I had to do was submit a copy of my license, transcript, and show my work experience and I was certified. Might not be the case for your state but worth checking into!

As for the pay cut, it is huge in terms of annual salary. However, when I looked at it from an hourly perspective, I actually get paid more hourly as a school nurse. But the sanity, joy, and life outside of work I recovered from getting out of acute inpatient care---worth every penny! Here's an old thread with school nurse salaries in different states if you're interested:

https://allnurses.com/school-nurses/school-nurse-salary-787448.html

Also, many school nurses work summer school or PRN in the hospital to supplement the income so that's always an option if you really want to pursue school nursing but aren't sure how the pay difference will affect you and your family.

allnurses Guide · Mar 11, 2015

My first love is hospice so I work part-time doing that as well as the 24 hours a week I work as a school nurse.

I have great medical benefits though through the district as I mentioned, I'm considered the same as a teacher.

I also worked bedside after becoming a nurse at 40 and did ER, L&D, and med-surg for a small rural hospital for 10 years and made good money but the schedule was a killer and I missed out on a lot with my older 3 kids.

I had 5 years to complete my School Nurse Credential but decided against it about a year ago. My 5 years is up in November and I'll be quitting as the official school nurse but I told the D.O. that I could stay as a prn person if they needed someone. I've got a nurse right now who covers 2 days a week for 3 hours each day caring for a diabetic student with a pump.

Snow days, two weeks at Christmas, one week at Thanksgiving, one week at Easter, President's Day, Martin Luther King Day, etc. And weekends off (except I do take hospice call every 3rd weekend).

I agree about checking in with what "certification" means . . . for me getting a credential meant another year of school and another $12,000 dollars in school loans.