Are you a former teacher turned nurse?

j0yegan · Mar 18, 2014

I know of people who have been substitute teachers before. I think it's a great transition. As a nurse, you will be teaching your patients. I wish you luck in your journey!! :)

applewhitern, BSN, RN · Mar 18, 2014

I taught at a small college for one year, but that was something I did while I was working on another project, and I only taught 3 classes per day. I have worked with people who were teachers who turned into nurses, and they were horrified how much more work was involved in nursing. Think hard about this! Nursing is hard work, and many times you will not even get to pee, eat, or sit down for 12 hours or more.

WoosahRN, MSN, RN · Mar 18, 2014

I think if it's something you've always wanted to do, go for it. That instinct is there and you might always wonder. I'm actually reading a book by a nurse who was a college English professor. She said a lot of people questioned her decision but obviously she's blended the two professions by now writing about nursing.

Just know that your journey will involve pre-reqs as well as the wait to get into nursing school which by itself can be a couple years. You might not even be stepping foot into a nursing program for 4 years or so so you will still need to find work. I'm sorry about the cutting of your contract. You can start looking into what classes you need to take and look into alternative schedules (evening and online classes).

native_texan · Mar 22, 2014

Thanks for your input. As a teacher, I rarely sit down, go to the bathroom, eat, etc. I teach 4 different subjects to teenagers. It is a LOT of work. I don't get to "punch out," as there is always work to do in the evening, on the weekend, etc. I'm not leaving the profession for an "easy" job. I'm a hard worker that loves making a difference in people's lives. I have a passion for problem solving and learning how the human body works.

As for my contract, I am the one who ended that. I know about the pre-reqs. I do already have a degree in Communications and I only have a few classes that I need to take. I'm currently taking one (while teaching), and I'm taking 14 more hours in the summer.

I appreciate your honest feedback and still look forward to this journey. I'm fortunate to be in the Texas Medical Center area, so I'm hopeful about the opportunities that will be available!

Blessings to you all.

Palmtreegirl · Mar 22, 2014

Melanie:

In 1973, I went to college as a music major. I was enrolled in the music education department. I loved private tutoring, but never envisioned being a teacher in the public schools. I taught one year and didn't care for it. I took an EMT class at night, and at the end of that school year I left and worked for an ambulance service for 6 years. I took the Paramedic class, but wish I had spent that time in a nursing program instead. After getting married and having 2 kids, I did substitute teaching in our children's private school for many years. When our youngest was in high school, the desire to be a nurse was still there.

At age 51, I went to community college for an LPN program. I graduated a year later and have been working in long term care for 6 years. At my age, I don't have it in me to go for the RN. If I died tomorrow, there would be no regrets. Solving my patients big and small problems is very fulfilling. It really is teaching. That is why teachers make great nurses.

You will miss the summer and holiday breaks. I have worked every holiday except MLK day this past year. I can count how many times I have seen a break room on one hand, and I use the bathroom before I clock in, and on my way out the door at night. I eat my lunch on my way home most of the time. In spite of that, I can highly recommend it!

Best of luck, and keep us posted,

Nancy

Whispera, MSN, RN · Mar 22, 2014

I was an elementary teacher before I became a nurse. I quit the job when my kids were born and couldn't get back into it, due to scarcity of jobs, when they were older. I went back to school to be a nurse then. I've worked med/surg, peds, hospice, psych, and now I teach psych nursing.

I'd rate the physical and emotional stress of being an elementary school teacher and a med/surg nurse as about equal. I specialized in psych after awhile. That wasn't as physically stressful, usually, but it was often hugely emotionally stressful. Sometimes, in the elementary teacher and psych nurse roles, after work, I'd just sit and stare at the wall for awhile, to recover from my shifts.

Lots of times the emotional stress of being an elementary school teacher is much larger than that of being a nurse--it was for me.

Bathroom breaks? What are those (for both careers)? Breaks? Huh?? I took lots of work home to do, when I was a teacher. I spent at least one whole day each weekend preparing lessons. I took papers home to grade almost every night. I didn't take work home with me when I was a nurse, unless I needed to read about something.

Know the schooling to become a nurse is intense. I found it much more challenging than teacher-school, and I have a second major in science for my education degree. Those courses were complex.

I like being a nurse better than I liked being an elementary school teacher. I really like being the teacher of future nurses. That might be something you end up doing. Your experience in education might point you in that direction. You'll be much more prepared than nurses without the education experience if you decide to teach future nurses. And, you'll always be teaching patients. You'll understand how to do that better than many nurses understand how to do it.

Go for it!

PG2018 · Mar 22, 2014

I graduated college with a major in life science and a minor in business along with the feeling "I have a useless degree." I was offered a job teaching middle school earth science, did so, and entered a two week program to get a teaching license. I then taught a combination of middle school and high school sciences for another three semesters, realized I did not like it well enough to make a career of it, quit, and got a job working in state government administration. I got to travel a lot in that job, interact with a lot of people, no longer had to take work home, and I really enjoyed it. One day, I decided that I wanted to become a PA or NP, and the PA route would've required a massive relocation so I chose NP. I called the nearest college with a nursing program, found out I had all the prereqs, and I entered nursing school a month later, absolutely loved my patho, pharm, health assessment, and mental health classes, graduated, got licensed, entered grad school, took a med-surg job, detested it from day one, and exactly one year later I quit and got a job working with a drug formulary. I'm now looking to relocate due to clinical requirements of my PMHNP program, and I'm really liking NP school. I'm finally getting the answers to some of my questions, and I like the role I have in my clinical rotations much better than the role I had as a med-surg nurse. It's really quite fun and am glad I did it. I savor the idea of becoming a psychiatric provider

native_texan · Apr 3, 2014

Just wanted to thank you all for your comments! I have 45 more "school/work days" left. While it's bittersweet to leave what has become my "second home," I am so ready to focus on this new phase of my life. All of my students, parents and teacher friends are thrilled and said that they hope I can be THEIR nurse! I must be doing something right!

Hugs to all...

Goals1118 · Mar 31, 2016

I am curious about this too! I am just now exploring accelerated nursing programs in my area in order to make the switch from being an elementary teacher to nurse. I enjoy working with children, so I was thinking pediatrics but if anyone knows of any other nursing specialities that would fit with a teaching background, I would appreciate the insight! :)

danyelle14 · Jan 6, 2018

I know this post is old but I wanted to know did you end up finding a program and what your process is like? I'm an elementary teacher and will not be renewing my contract. I plan to apply to an accelerated program Jan 2019 but wanted to see if anyone has gone through it recently.