Dr office or school nurse

[litebrightgirl]

Hi

I interviewed for a school nurse position a while ago. I was turned down for the position. In the meantime I took a position with a major medical group in a doctors office. Two days ago I got a call saying they need a school nurse and wanted to know if I was still interested. The pay is significantly less than what I'm making now ($23/hr vs $19). I like the idea of being in the same schedule as my kids but I'm not sure what to do. What would you do???

[OldDude]

Unless your budget won't allow the 8,000.00 less you'd be making a year, I'd go with the school until your kids are grown and out of school. They only grow up once and it's real nice to be on their schedule and connected to all their teachers and school staff for extra eyes and ears. You'd have plenty of time over the summer to pick up extra work if you need to supplement your income. That's why I got into school nursing 12 years ago....all 5 of my kids went to elementary school on my campus.

[bsyrn, ASN, RN]

I took a huge pay cut to become a school nurse but it was worth every dollar I lost. Being on the same schedule as my child was great and we saved on day care costs. Also, the benefit package is wonderful here and you need to factor in all the time off too:). School nurse positions are not easy to get so if this is ultimately what you want to do I would go for it.

[JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN]

I don't have kids (yet) and I love the school nursing schedule! Not working nights/weekends/holidays is great, but mostly I love getting to really know the kids.

[bell1962]

I worked in a doctor's office for 15 yrs and now a school for 13 Yrs. The school schedule is great! But sometimes I miss the drs office. I learned a lot more in the office setting and liked working closely with the drs and other nurses. But the school schedule and retirement package are big plusses now. Tough decision. Good luck.