Hello school nurses! I'm in pediatric home health with 2 years of experience and I have an interview for a school nurse position later this week.
I just wanted to say hello, and thank you to all the nurses that give such great info on this forum. I've been reading up on interview questions and advice for new school nurses.
LIKES: The hours and schedule are SWEET! Summer break, two weeks off at Xmas, no weekends, 7 hour workdays, never having to hide my drink from state inspectors. The kids are the best though; even on a bad day they are the reason I keep coming back.
DISLIKES: Pay sucks, I miss having other nurses around (was already used to this with home health/hospice), some parents can drag you down, some teachers can drag you down.
Favorites: SCHEDULE, summers off, holidays off, time with my own kids, benefits (good insurance, pension), preschool kids are freaking adorable.
Dislikes: Parental entitlement, student entitlement (when I worked with older kiddos), almost no one understands what our role in the school is and will question it if it does not suit their immediate needs.
Would I go back to clinical work? I work at an assisted living on the memory care unit PRN. I worked two jobs for a while and while I no longer do it because I NEED the money, I do it because I like having extra money to save or use for unexpected expenses so I don't have to dip into my savings (e.g., car repairs, medical expenses). I don't think I'd want to work in a hospital or a LTC again. The staffing is terrible and the unpredictability of the schedule is rough.
I will freely admit that I miss my outpatient hospital job. After my kids have grown, I think I will return to something like that either part time or prn.
BluebellRN, BSN, RN
123 Posts
LIKES: The hours and schedule are SWEET! Summer break, two weeks off at Xmas, no weekends, 7 hour workdays, never having to hide my drink from state inspectors. The kids are the best though; even on a bad day they are the reason I keep coming back.
DISLIKES: Pay sucks, I miss having other nurses around (was already used to this with home health/hospice), some parents can drag you down, some teachers can drag you down.
Return to a hospital? Meh, never say never.