Any past teachers here?

krisssy · Nov 29, 2006

Hi there,

I am a teacher and a nurse. First I was a nurse, then a teacher, and now going back to nursing again. I love both jobs, because I love to care for people and get joy out of seeing sick people get well or feel more comfortable in their illness, and I get joy of seeing children learning and happy while doing it. I am home now and bored to tears!

The main reason that I didn't like teaching (although I stayed in it for 25 years) is that you MUST work at home to do a good job. When you have young children and a husband, it is extremely difficult. You get 40 MINUTES TO EAT LUNCH AND A 40 MINUTE PREP WHICH IS OFTEN TAKEN UP BY MEETINGS. You must taKE HOME PAPERS TO MARK AND Lesson plans to do. I actually enjoyed doing the plans and marking the papers, but I had three children, a husband, dinner to make etc. How do you do both? In nursing, when I was home, I was home. Teaching is becoming more and more stressful with the state demands made on teachers. Some of the planning is a waste of time, and you are forced to do it. I love to plan, but on my own without a million silly guidelines!

I only worked as a school nurse for 2 years, so I don't know about floor nursing. But I was told in my refresher class, that you are not even allowed to bring nursing materials home because of confidentiality and HIPPA.

I would like to hear what floor nurses think. I have heard that they have to stay after to finish nurses notes etc. Krisssy PS What is the name of the teacher's sight?

I'm History · Nov 29, 2006

I hope I can be of help to you. I was a teacher. I loved teaching. I do not think it is as stessful as being a nurse. (I am not an expert here,as I am not yet a nurse, though I know many.) However, teaching can be all time consuming! There was always something that I could have been doing for school. It was a feeling that never really went away on the weekends.

As for parents, I believe that nursing has its own parralells. (sp?) pateints/students parents/family DON/principal

I personnally like the idea of caring for a lot of people for a shorter period of time, rather than being with the same students/parents for the whole year. I like change and a fast pace.

Once I resigned myself to the hours of nursing, I knew it was the job for me. While the hours include all hours and holidays, it is more flexible than teaching.

Finally, depending on where you live there may be no such thing as a teacher shortage. Where I live there were 12,000 applications for 50 districtwide positions. I was told that of the 12,00 applicants 11,000 were highly qualified.

I hope I was able to help. Good luck in your decision.

Mama2girls · Nov 30, 2006

Thank you so much. I guess everyone has their own opinions on which is more stressful. Maybe one day i'll have both degrees.

The site is Teachers.net. It's a great site. :)

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Dec 1, 2006

My niece is a teacher, trained in Ohio, a teacher training state. The latest in teaching is the development of class teaching plans that have to be filed with the state. The teachers in her school had to attend seminars to learn how to do this. Not dissimilar to care plans. I have to laugh. She talks about how many of the teachers crab about having to do these written plans that are now going to be required. I have to laugh. She says they are years ahead of other states so this is going to make her marketable when she decides to move. The sad part is that many teachers make a lot less than many nurses do.

patwil73 · Dec 2, 2006

Hello,

Before nursing I was a high-school English/Drama teacher for 3 yrs. These are some of the differences I have personally encountered.

1) I found teaching easier in that the knowledge was repetitive - basically you would teach the same texts year after year. Although you might have some very bright kids, you always knew more than they did about the subject - if for no other reason than you had the answer key. In nursing the knowledge is always changing. Although i feel comfortable with many diseases and diagnosises the presenting symptoms and comlaints run a huge variety in the hospital.

2) I worked harder and longer in teaching. As a teacher my day would start when I arrived at school at 0630 for 0800 start. It would not end until often around 2230-2300. This because of grading papers and creating lesson plans - I believe this amount of time probably would have diminished once I had a stockpile of plans to use. In nursing my day lasts 8-12hrs depending on my shift. Although now in management I often stay over to finish things up I don't come close to the amount of time I put into teaching.

3) Both have those "aha" moments when a kid gets the idea or a patient gets well. Both have either supportive families or complaining families. Both made me feel like I was making a difference.

4) As a nurse I make 4x what I did as a teacher.

5) This is the big one - in my time as a teacher I never once felt afraid that my actions could literally kill one of my students. As a nurse I have felt that fear often. The stress that comes from knowing your actions are directly responsible for the well-being of another. I never had a student die on me. I have had patients die on me. Don't get me wrong, there are many tear provoking moments in teaching (abuse, pregnancy, suicidal thoughts to name a few issues that I had dealt with) but that daily pressure of "will I miss something that will kill someone I should be caring for" was never there in teaching.

Hope this helps

Pat

PS These are only my experiences and apply only to me, others might have a completely different outlook on the similarities between nursing and teaching. Remember where you work can have a big impact on which job is more stressful -- I taught in a small town high-school with under 800 students. I worked as an agency nurse in multiple ICU's. A teacher from an inner city who goes to office nursing might have a completely different outlook.