Hi Everyone, I'm thinking of making a change from bedside/oncology med surg, to being a nurse for the county office of education (special Ed). It would be more of a management role and not a traditional school nurse. I'd be working five days a week...i currently do three 12's. My questions are:
1. Do you ever miss bedside?
2. How do you like working five days vs 3 12's
3. Any tips for me? Would love any feedback from those working in a similar position. I'm interviewing next week.
i'm super interested in the position and have wanted to make a change from bedside. I'm a little nervous...thinking if I accepted the position and for some reason don't end up liking it, that it may be hard to get back into a bedside position. Advice? Thank you!
I'm so glad this topic is up as I am processing for a school nurse job and I was wondering to myself if I was giving up on bedside nursing to soon as I have been a nurse for only two years in med surg. I will still be registry in order to keep my hospital contacts but I am tired of being treated like a maid and getting in trouble for patients missing blinds in their rooms or ketchup packets on their meal trays. Like seriously....And getting hit with call lights and attacked by patients with their walkers. This can't be nursing now, there has to be something better than this...
I'm so glad this topic is up as I am processing for a school nurse job and I was wondering to myself if I was giving up on bedside nursing to soon as I have been a nurse for only two years in med surg. I will still be registry in order to keep my hospital contacts but I am tired of being treated like a maid and getting in trouble for patients missing blinds in their rooms or ketchup packets on their meal trays. Like seriously....And getting hit with call lights and attacked by patients with their walkers. This can't be nursing now, there has to be something better than this...
I was a new nurse as well when I took my school job. I stayed on at the hospital PRN for about 6 months just to keep a little extra money rolling in as I took a MASSIVE pay cut. But I have never regretted the decision. Bedside was never my forte and I knew even in nursing school that I wanted to be a school nurse. The schedule can't be beat even having to work 5 days a week. Weekend, holidays, and summers off are AHHH-MAZING. Especially if you have kids! I do miss doing the skills I did in the hospital from time to time, but its certainly not something that would drive me back to bedside!
Miss bedside nursing? Not in a million years! Have never looked back or questioned my decision to move on. I would go back to working on the ambulance for half the money before I would even consider going back to bedside. School nursing pay, on the average, isn't up to what "hospital" pay may be, but if you factor in hours, holidays/weekends off and summers off and break it down hours worked for for hours worked, the pay isn't that far off.
I miss some aspects, however the bad outweighs the good on the floor. The camaraderie from professional staff I miss.
The do my vitals and disappear for hours, having breakfast and lunch, when I could barely fit in time to relieve myself Patient Care Assistants I absolutely do not miss. If you asked them to do something you were considered a B!t<#, if you didn't ask you ran yourself silly.
What a great read this thread was! So many eloquent posts I can relate to.
I don't want to say I love my school nursing job because I'm annoyingly superstitious and don't want it to come crashing down. But those that hear me talk about the work likely see that I do love it. Plus being home with my family on weekends and evening is wonderful.
I do miss my twisted night shift crew at the hospital, the skills, the constant gaining of knowledge, and the rush. But I don't miss the dangerous staffing ratios, lifting heavier and heavier patients, the non-compliant frequent flyers, the detoxers, or the oncoming day shift nurse pouting that I didn't complete the first three hours of her shift.
I've had a few rushes in school nursing (which can be darn scary on my own). But other school nurses in district are just as helpful, knowledgeable and fun. The knowledge is different but still interesting (childhood diabetes and asthma are quite different than the usuals I dealt with at the hospital). While I rarely felt like an educator at the hospital, I can get through to the kids at school and and their parents...I'm in a low income area where parents need help and direction, but really are doing their best and are appreciative.
Plus being home with my family on weekends and evening is wonderful. After doing nights for so long, I needed this routine. I'm sure I'll have a bigger appreciation over the next month when I don't have to work a twelve after a night of holiday celebrations!
this is my second year in school nursing. I do sort of miss parts of bedside nursing. I still work prn, 2 shifts every six weeks, so I still have my foot in the door at the hospital. I do it to supplement my loss in pay taking this school nursing job as well as to keep some skills.
after working a 12 hour shift I am so sore and am quickly reminded why I left bedside as my main job. I was having significant back and hip pain to the point I couldn't bend over to put my pants on. It wasn't one injury but had built up over time of helping people in and out of bed, lifting when equipment wasn't readily available or there just didn't seem like enough time or room in the patients room to get equipment where we needed it.
The summer before my son started kindergarten I decided it was time for a change. I had worked weekend option for the past 5 years. I love being on the same schedule as him. I thought I would pick up more hours over the summer and holiday breaks but I rarely do. Thankfully we have managed the pay cut pretty well as my husbands job has picked up and he has been making more money.
I would only go back into bedside full time if my family were in dire financial need. I would learn to live with a lot less before I did that though.
I just switched from bedside to a school about 2 weeks ago. I've already had a whole week off for Thanksgiving which makes me already love this schedule. The ONLY thing I miss about three 12s is having days off during the week to get errands done. But then I remember that I have 2 full weeks off for winter break, another full week off for spring break and a whole 3 months off in the summer.
It honestly has been tough waking up 5 days rather than 3 but it's only 2 extra days that are WAYYY less stressful than bedside.
I hope you make the choice that works best for you! ?
Hi Everyone, I'm thinking of making a change from bedside/oncology med surg, to being a nurse for the county office of education (special Ed). It would be more of a management role and not a traditional school nurse. I'd be working five days a week...i currently do three 12's. My questions are:
1. Do you ever miss bedside?
Absolutely NOT. I love being a school nurse, and can't imagine doing anything else. I supplement my income with teaching, and maqke my own schedule with that.
2. How do you like working five days vs 3 12's
I get off of work early enough to run errands and do things with my son. 12 hour shifts killed me, thay were more like 14 hour shifts by the time you were actually done with charting. I'll take my 5 days any day of the week, especially since I don't work weekends, holidays, school breaks, or summers!!
3. Any tips for me? Would love any feedback from those working in a similar position. I'm interviewing next week.
If you don't like it you can always go back to bedside nursing. But the freedom to be independent as a scool nurse is amazing. You are the only health care professional in the building, you really need to know your stuff, and be able to make decisions on a dime. I love it!!
Specializes in Emergency Medicine, Women's Health,School Nursing.
I am currently in my 4th year of school nursing, was previously an ER/Trauma nurse, followed by 3 years of womens health in the office setting
1. Do you ever miss bedside? Sometimes, especially after I deal with a long week of kids having accidents in their pants and Lice...I feel a little bit like this is not why I became a nurse, kind of feel like the schools 'Mom'...and not a medical professional.... but then I talk to some of my old coworkers and they tell me about the current situation at each environment I used to work at and I quickly remember why I left bedside nursing. Or I'll get a parent that reaches out to me thanking me for being there for their child and that they have the utmost trust in sending their child to school with their medical condition because I am there. That being said when my children are older and more independent I intend on picking up perdiem work at a local hospital ER (summers off I can really scoop up a lot of time).
2. How do you like working five days vs 3 12's: I prefer it. When I worked 3, 12's I was not getting home until 8/830 at night--my kids would be in bed, if I did a 4 day stretch I literally would not see my kids at all. I missed so many family functions due to working holidays and weekends.
3. Any tips for me? Would love any feedback from those working in a similar position. I'm interviewing next week.: no tips since I'm in the traditional school nurse setting but just remember you can always go back to bedside nursing, you may not get day shift to start but speaking for my area there is never a shortage in nursing positions
As75181n
11 Posts
I'm so glad this topic is up as I am processing for a school nurse job and I was wondering to myself if I was giving up on bedside nursing to soon as I have been a nurse for only two years in med surg. I will still be registry in order to keep my hospital contacts but I am tired of being treated like a maid and getting in trouble for patients missing blinds in their rooms or ketchup packets on their meal trays. Like seriously....And getting hit with call lights and attacked by patients with their walkers. This can't be nursing now, there has to be something better than this...