Any nurses who used to be teachers?

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Mar 2, 2011

I come from a family of educators (mostly K-12) so I completely understand how difficult your job can be. They're always whining..... . The two fields have a lot in common, but there are some fundamental differences. First and foremost, the intensity of the work is very different; especially concerning the potential consequences of bad decisions and mistakes. Nurse mistakes can be deadly - literally.

Although nurses are the largest group of licensed healthcare professionals in the US and generally make up the largest group of clinicians in a hospital, they are (at this point) firmly squished into the bottom layeer of the professional heirarchy. Nursing is characterized by severe salary compression and career limitation - much more so than teachers, who often benefit from a tenure-oriented environment. Compensation in the health care industry is generally based on a merit-increase system rather than automatic or across the board raises. Beginning staff nurses are paid on an hourly basis - the workday can be lengthy, but more hours = more pay. Salaried positions in nursing are usually limited to management levels.

Nurses have more opportunity to 'turn off' the job and get some down time. When staff nurses leave, they don't take any work home with them. If you work 12 hour shifts, you don't have to work a 5 day week. There is no PTA, lunch room duty or required extracurriculars. I have the best of both worlds because I'm a workplace nurse educator. .

Best of luck to you - hope you can charge your batteries and can become excited about work in the near future.

nursingmeatball · Mar 2, 2011

I chuckled to myself when I saw this post....

I was a HS teacher for 10 years before going in to nursing. I've only been a nurse for 8 months, but I think that the first reply above made some salient points, and basically outlined some of the reasons I made the switch to nursing. Here's a list of my thoughts on the topic:

1. I do not take work home with me. (Unless, of course, you count the studying/reviewing that I choose to do on my own time because I am so green at nursing and do not know enough to be a super-nurse yet.)

2. I have a better schedule (in my opinion) than I did as a teacher. I don't care what people think about teachers "getting the summer off." It's a bunch of BS, because in reality I had to have a part time job during the school year as well as a summer job to make ends meet as a teacher. Not only that, but I took home piles of work each night and every weekend, and was always working on improving curriculum and materials over the summer - for NO PAY. Near the end of my 10 years I was approaching a good salary where this was no longer true (but I had also acquired 2 master's degrees by that point), however my nursing salary right now is just about adequate, and it too will increase with more time and experience. Plus, I can work 3 days and have 5 off or work 4 days and have 7 off, and well, you just can't beat that kind of freedom on a regular basis.

3. I am less limited in what I can do. As a HS teacher, I was really "locked-in" to what I could do, which was basically teach the same topics year after year after year. Sure, you get electives now and then, and different kids, and new materials, but really, the thought of it started to get depressing. Despite how much love I still had for my area of teaching. As a nurse I'm currently working in an ICU. Is it for me? Will I stay there forever? Truthfully, I'm not sure. But that's part of the beauty of it - I can work a floor, in a doctors office, at a nursing home, in home health, in IV or infusion therapy, at an urgent care center, in a dialysis center, for a pharmaceutical company, etc, etc. The possibilities are seemingly endless, and as long as you are not afraid to make changes and try new things, I think you can seek many different opportunities as many times as you are able. And if you are brave enough to make a career change, then you are certainly brave enough to try different areas of nursing.

4. I am hoping that some day, in some way, that I will be able to combine my experience as a teacher with my nursing skills/knowledge. Not that I don't already do that in terms of pt education, but I mean as a professional for maybe a dialysis company or an organ recovery organization or a pharmaceutical company. That, to me, would be ideal and I think would fit me perfectly. It won't happen right away because I have to learn to be a good nurse first, but in 2 or 3 years, who knows where I might wind up?

5. Here's the only down-side. I left teaching at a high point in my career. I was highly educated in that field (remember, 2 master's degrees) and very good at what I was doing. Now, as a new nurse, I am in my mid-thirties, and struggle every day with what I do. Little good does all of that education do me - not in my practice as a nurse, and not in my salary. And as the poster above pointed out, when I was a new teacher and screwed up, nobody wound up dead. It didn't matter how bad I was, I was never at risk of killing a student. (Though there were times I would have liked to... haha.) But every day my patient's lives are in my hands and that is a very scary position to be in. Just yesterday I was reduced to tears in front of my co-workers and one of my managers because I was just so overwhelmed by what was going on. At my age, that's pretty humiliating. But I will carry on, keep studying, and try to learn from the experienced nurses on my unit, no matter how dumb they think I am. I learned how to be a great teacher, and I think that I will eventually learn to be a great nurse as well. Just be aware that it will be very challenging.

That's about all I can think of right now... good luck to you, and keep us posted!

Baubo516, RN · Mar 3, 2011

Thanks for the replies, HouTx and nursingmeatball! I am in a much better frame of mind today. Many of the benefits you mentioned - flexible scheduling, many options of different job positions - are things that are attracting me to nursing. I also like the idea of getting paid overtime when I work more than 40 hours in a week! The life and death nature of mistakes on the job is something I really have to think about. In my life, I have performed well in crisis situations, but have not had that level of responsibility for another's well being. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. I will keep you posted!:redbeathe

CarolinaGirl84 · Mar 3, 2011

I used to be a teacher. I will say, I found teaching A LOT easier than nursing. That being said, I make literally double the money being a nurse than I did being a teacher. I miss teaching, but would probably never go back to it because of the financial aspect.

jeffsher · Mar 5, 2011

I've been a RN for almost 22 years now, but started out in teaching-Instrumental Music, in fact. (I only taught for about 3/4 of a school year total)

There are pros and cons with either of these fields

I worked 3-1/2 years before and during nursing school in inpatient psych, 5 years of inpatient Peds, and the last 17 years years doing outpatient Peds (along with some Family Practice and Internal Med). Currently, I just finished orientation for my new Case Manager position.

Having said that, an important advantage of nursing is the ability to move around. Working on an Ortho floor and you need a change? You can switch to something entirely different. In teaching, you would need to get additional certification to do that. Need extra money? Overtime is usually available (whether you want it or not), you can get a second job with an agency. Have a family member with a serious illness and they are confused with what is going on? You will be able to help a lot in figuring things out for that family member, and be their "guardian" to protect them from treatment errors or incompetent healthcare professionals.

With teaching, you get summers off, you probably get tenure (don't get me started on that), you get "snow days" (in some Northern states), and you don't have to do heavy lifting.

Personally, I'm not at all sorry for my career change. I ended up with some serious medical issues-it was my nursing background that got me through some tough times (I find that well informed makes it easier to accept what is going on). Also, being in my late 40's, I've found a job that I'll be happy doing for the rest of my career (I was very happy in my previous job, but it was too routine, having done it for so long, and there was little room for advancement).

Good luck in your decision.

Baubo516, RN · Mar 5, 2011

Thanks, jeffsher! The whole summers off thing really doesn't happen for me, anyway. I have to work to make money, and I have summer commitments related to school. The only thing I would miss is being able to visit out of state family for a whole week - but I guess I could do that with vacation time, too! I also tend to get inertia during the summer - I start off so tired that I just want to do nothing for a while, and then I can't get going again, but I feel guilty the whole time. A regular routine with a few weeks of vacation a year would probably work better for me!

Baubo516, RN · Mar 5, 2011

Also - I work for a Catholic School system in Iowa, and we don't get tenure. I have actually never heard of anyone getting tenure in a K-12 position - only at colleges/universities. I must live in the wrong state for that!

jeffsher · Mar 6, 2011

I'm the same way; even if I have a day off, I get that inertia, and it's hard to get back into the routine. Most of the time, vacations are by seniority, so you may have to put in a few years before getting "prime" vacation time.

As for tenure, all Pennsylvania public school teachers are eligible for tenure after working 2 full school years + 1 day.

Baubo516, RN · Mar 6, 2011

Wow! That is amazing to me - the tenure thing. I actually don't think it is a good thing. I would not want my kids having a teacher who really doesn't want to be there and maybe is not doing their best job, but keeps their position due to tenure. I guess that is why I am thinking of leaving - I don't think I love it enough anymore!

I guess my current strategy is - get up early every day before work, read the Bible a bit, and try to sit quietly and listen... I am hoping I will get a clear message/feeling about what I am supposed to do. Meanwhile, I will keep moving in the direction of nursing. My clinicals for my CNA class start April 5, and that will give me a little bit of direct interaction with actual residents/patients. I know that CNA duties are far different from RN duties, but I think it will help me find out how I feel about actually physically caring for people who need it. Spending time over Christmas with my out of state grandma who is at home receiving hospice care (and helping her with some personal cares) is part of what got me thinking I might be a good nurse. Also - the fact that I am the one in my local extended family who is comfortable cutting someone's toenails or rubbing their feet with lotion when they need it. I was always the "pimple popper" or "splinter getter-outer" in my house growing up. Some of my family members are "grossed out" by stuff like this, but for me it is/was no biggie. I know people need to be touched and cared for, and I think I could be good at that with the proper education and training.

When my husband's grandma died in a hospital a few years ago, the extended family spent a great deal of time there with her at the end. It was kind of a vigil - no one wanted to leave because we did not know how much longer she would be around. We were sleeping on the couches in the hospital lounge and ordering in food to eat at our meals. I was so impressed with the nurses who helped care for her, and ESPECIALLY the nurses from hospice who came in when it became apparent that she was probably not going to bounce back. The info they gave us about end of life symptoms and how to handle them was SO helpful. I like to understand things, and it helped me understand what Grandma was experiencing, and what I could do to help her go out with dignity and peace. So, at this early stage, I think that I may want to work for hospice at some point. I know that there is a lot of sadness and grief surrounding the end of life, but I think it would be awesome to help provide information and peace for families who are dealing with that stage.

I guess I am now using this thread as sort of a blog... I am a free member so I don't qualify for a blog on this site! Thanks for ready, anyway! :redpinkhe

Baubo516, RN · Mar 6, 2011

I meant, thanks for reading. :jester:

jeffsher · Mar 6, 2011

It sounds like you are destined for nursing. Sure, people gripe about how bad it is, but show me a field where that doesn't happen. The most important thing about a career decision is that you choose one that you will enjoy doing. Sure, money is always a factor, but all the money in the world will not make someone who hates their job like it any more.

Becoming a CNA will be a great experience, as it will give you an idea of what nursing is all about, and provide you with a solid foundation should you decide to become a RN. Depending on what the job market is where you live, it may be OK to to go for an ADN rather than a BSN, but in the future, healthcare organizations are looking at an all BSN workforce. Will an all BSN workforce happen soon? Probably not-it will be a gradual shift, as there are far more non-BSN RN's working than BSNs. A word of caution though-if the facility you want to work for has a Magnet program, go for the BSN right off the bat. (personally, I think that Magnet is a bunch of bs, but that's just me). Since you already have an undergrad as a teacher, you may be able to get a BSN through a

"bridge" program, and not have to take as many courses. Also, there are a lot of parallels between nursing and teaching, given that a sizeable portion of a RN's duties include patient ed.

As for tenure, it encourages mediocrity, stifles motivation, and stifles those who want to excel from doing so.

Good luck with your decision.