Anyone go from teaching to nursing?

damrcngrl95 · Jan 22, 2012

I am currently a middle school special education teacher (I've taught elementary special ed as well) and am thinking about making a career change. I was just wondering if anyone has gone from teaching (at school! I know that nursing is a lot of teaching! :) I would love to know any of your experiences and thoughts. I am not particularly satisfied with teaching for many reasons and am thinking about moving to nursing. I think that there are a lot of overlapping things with teaching that I would like in nursing like taking care of others and trying to make a difference. I'm not sure how I'd go about the whole nursing school thing since I have a family to support, so there are many things to look at. Thanks in advance for any thoughts and sorry to ramble on! hahaha...

There are several people on here that went from teaching to nursing. I was an elementary teacher for 10 years. It was not a good fit for me and I knew I had to do something else. I know that I am a good fit for the medical field, but I did find that I was probably not going to be a good fit for nursing. The one thing I did was shadow some of the medical fields I was interested in. I am glad that I shadowed some of the nurses for about 6 months. It taught me a lot about the nursing field and gave me a great respect for what nurses do in their career. I decided to go into respiratory instead. I have stayed with this forum because some of the things that nurses go through apply with respiratory too. You can search for previous threads from former teachers and read about their situations. I also think that it is a good idea to talk with some of the nurses in your area and possibly shadow them for a period of time. Personally, I think teachers have the potential to be great nurses because we share a lot of the same qualities that are needed to be successful in either field.

englishgeek · Mar 27, 2012

I am making the change from middle school to nursing, also. I love teaching. I can't trick that out of me just because I am making a change. But for many reasons I have decided to return to school. Good luck!

Lola34 · Mar 27, 2012

I am an elementary special education teacher and I am changing careers too. I have always wanted to be a nurse and hopefully I will get accepted next Fall when I reapply. My husband is worried about the finances and time away from our young children to study. I am researching scholarships and grants and paying off bills over the year. I am interested in hearing other former teachers experiences. Good luck!

Staragate, ADN, ASN, RN · Mar 27, 2012

I was a special ed aide for 8 years before I decided to go to nursing school. I think that the skills needed to work with the special needs kids gives me an advantage in clinicals and lecture. A lot of the kids had the conditions that we are studying. Also, some of the personal care needed for some of the kids made nursing skills that much easier.

gRaNd one88 · Jan 8, 2013

I am currently a middle school special education teacher (I've taught elementary special ed as well) and am thinking about making a career change. I was just wondering if anyone has gone from teaching (at school! I know that nursing is a lot of teaching! :) I would love to know any of your experiences and thoughts. I am not particularly satisfied with teaching for many reasons and am thinking about moving to nursing. I think that there are a lot of overlapping things with teaching that I would like in nursing like taking care of others and trying to make a difference. I'm not sure how I'd go about the whole nursing school thing since I have a family to support, so there are many things to look at. Thanks in advance for any thoughts and sorry to ramble on! hahaha...

I have taught special education for 11 years, preschool to high school and even a college course! Yet I have always been longing for something more that is tied to the medical field. I shadowed the SLP, OT , school psych, and PT and finally realized that it has been the nurses whom I have worked with who have impacted me the most. I have a great deal of experience working with mental health and behavioral needs so I finally went into action, put my app in and just got accepted. I have a masters in special education already but will be getting an ADN and working onward from there, this is the best I have felt about a career and one day looking back when I am a psychiatric nurse practitioner, I will know it was all worth it!

violetgirl · Jan 9, 2013

Yes, I was in spec. ed for the last 8 years and in reg ed this year. I am changing my career too. I just took a position part-time with lesser pay this year to go back to college. It's just time to move forward with my dream! I love education! Love the kids, have worked in many different positions, but was a bit fearful of going into the medical field early on in my career... (Lack of a support system!) Yet, at my age now... What the heck, it's time. It's common to see teachers become nurses and the other way around. :sarcastic: Our school just hired an RN nurse of 25 years that is in her first year of teaching. (1st grade) She loves it! Blessings~

Lolita34 · Jan 10, 2013

This is my fifth year in special education and my last year. I will be starting my BSN program in August. I am so nervous about changing careers. It's the income I am worried about not having but I have always wanted to become a nurse. I love working with children and I plan to sub whenever possible while in school.

ChooSoul · Jan 10, 2013

I had a classmate in prerequisites who was a teacher at my high school. She says she reads the book like how she does when she makes lecture plans when she used to teach. She even help us understand somethings we dint get.

So i guess u will be fine cause she made it to nursing school.

violetgirl · Jan 12, 2013

Yes, I was in spec. ed for the last 8 years and in reg ed this year. I am changing my career too. I just took a position part-time with lesser pay this year to go back to college. It's just time to move forward with my dream! I love education! Love the kids, have worked in many different positions, but was a bit fearful of going into the medical field early on in my career... (Lack of a support system!) Yet, at my age now... What the heck, it's time. It's common to see teachers become nurses and the other way around. Our school just hired an RN nurse of 25 years that is in her first year of teaching. (1st grade) She loves it! Blessings~

PS: My part-time position is now as an I.A. in the learning center. (Grades 2-6) It's tough with lesser pay, reduced hours, but this will help out for my class times and studying.

peachshan, BSN, RN · Jan 12, 2013

I have been teaching special education for 5 years. I am currently finishing up prereqs for the program. I have always wanted to be a nurse and had put my dream to the side because I needed to work. However, now is the time for me or lets just say I am making it be the right time. I am so tired of the kids and the teacher suffering due to lack of responsibility in administration, on the school level and county level. Plus, working with the type of students I work with, I am basically being nurse to them. I am excited to be making this change. I am going to apply to a part-time program that will allow me to work full-time. My only issue is I don't really want to be teaching and going to nursing school at the same time so I am trying to find another full time job.

gRaNd one88 · Jan 14, 2013

That's the same situation I am in. I am considering getting a cna position when I finish the course in march so that I can focus, but need the income as well.