Interested in School Nursing

Morganalefey · May 16, 2013

I'm hourly, so I only get paid when I'm at school. I did take quite a pay cut tho! It's worth it for the awesome hours/no weekends/no holidays, tho!

I work 5days/week, 730-330.

I stayed PRN at the hospital for the summer :)

Good luck! I've only been a school nurse for a few months, but so far, I love it!

KelRN215, BSN, RN · May 16, 2013

That's good to know. What is the teachers' union steps??

Teachers in public school system in my state are represented by the state's teachers' union. Salaries are based on your "step" which is based on your experience. You get a "step raise" every year until you reach the highest step. In my state, salary is based on both step and degree. So a Masters' Degree gets you a higher salary than your Bachelor's prepared colleague who is the same step as you.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · May 16, 2013

The salary here in middle TN is ridiculously low. I get $11.22/hr and I'm an LPN with 23 years experience. Pay is hourly, so you don't get paid for vacations, holidays, or snow days. I get 25 hrs per week. I'm told the RN in charge over the entire district makes only $27k annually.

That is insulting. I made more than that as a per diem nurses' aide while I was in college.

Nurse ABC · May 16, 2013

A brand new school nurse (BSN) in my state would start out making around $33,435 a year. That equals out to around $16/hr. However, if you consider it's a ten month contract you would actually make a little more a hour but you have to work at least 27 years before you clear $50,000. I work part-time at the hospital with benefits for less days a year and make more than I could full-time at the schools. I make $9 more an hour at the hospital just to give you an idea since every area is different. The schools have awesome schedule and sometimes I think about going back full time but I don't like the M-F grind because I feel like all I do is work. Also, school nursing is not all its cracked up to be-just read through the boards here. Some school nurses work per diem but when you already work M-F that leaves one of your two days off to work and I wanted to spend the weekend with my kids. You can contact your local board of education and get the salary schedule or it may even be online. Subbing is a great way to get your foot in the door and see if you like it! Good luck!

JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN · May 16, 2013

I just started full time (7:30-4) and I get paid a salary working at a charter school with benefits and paid vacation/sick time. I will sign a new contract each year. If I broke it down per hour, it is probably $2-3 less than day shift new grad hospital nursing in my area (which I am a new grad), but I have much better, predictable hours, never work holidays, and get a summer vacation with an opportunity to earn extra money doing camp nursing.

The public schools in my area pay better and most are salary. I worked as substitute nurse for three months prior to my full time job in an urban public school district making $120/6 hour day. The sub job experience got me my current job (other district wanted to hire me as well, but no openings this year).

squidbilly · May 16, 2013

I'm in Northern California, working as an RN for the elementary school in our district. My direct supervisor is the district school nurse. I make a little over $20/hr, which is about half the wage a new grad would earn in our local hospital. I have free vision and dental (I pay 30% copay on dental, and copay goes down over time) for me and my family, but have to pay to for medical coverage. I have an 11 month contract.

I LOVE this job. I never knew how much I enjoy working with kids! The schedule is wonderful. I'm part-time, school hours and days only. However, I can list two pitfalls to school nursing. 1) I received no on the job training or orientation or preparation of any sort. Thrown to the wolves! I was a terrified new grad with no guidance. 2) No job security. The district is cutting positions left and right and I am constantly wondering "will I be next?" Most schools use health aides and not RNs, so when will my district decide to replace me with someone cheaper??

Not_A_Hat_Person, RN · May 23, 2013

Since the kid I was going to school with graduated, I've discovered just how isolating home health can be. I don't make much now, but as a school nurse I would probably have much better benefits. I can always do home health per diem in the summertime. I'm starting a BSN program in July, and applying for sub positions for the fall. Any advice for a home health nurse interested in school nursing?

schooldistrictnurse · May 23, 2013

Not-a-hat, you will have great skills for school nursing: the ability to assess situations without a lot of fellow nurse input ( like on a hospital floor), the ability to use resources at hand, the ability to work independently, to teach, to brave the elements if you have to travel school to school etc etc! Good luck on your journey!

Nurse ABC · May 23, 2013

I would recommend checking into your school system to see what other certifications you may need to be a school nurse. In our district we have to have a school nurse certification. If you do too then I would recommend you going ahead and getting that while you're getting your BSN to give you a leg up! :)

Tina, RN · May 23, 2013

School nursing is awesome (and very frustrating at times)! I love it, and plan to retire as a school nurse many years from now, God willing.

Just another salary comment: I am in NY, about 90 minutes north of NYC. When I was still per diem at the hospital, one 12 hour shift paid roughly the same as one full week as a school nurse... :yuck:

akc_RN · May 30, 2013

School nursing is awesome (and very frustrating at times)! I love it, and plan to retire as a school nurse many years from now, God willing.
Just another salary comment: I am in NY, about 90 minutes north of NYC. When I was still per diem at the hospital, one 12 hour shift paid roughly the same as one full week as a school nurse...

What makes school nursing frustrating?! I've heard different things about the pay, so I'll be in contact with a few people in my area to check. The sweet hours and time off in the summer sounds great to me :)

KelRN215, BSN, RN · May 30, 2013

What makes school nursing frustrating?! I've heard different things about the pay, so I'll be in contact with a few people in my area to check. The sweet hours and time off in the summer sounds great to me :)

Teachers who keep sending kids back to the nurse after you've already assessed them and sent them back to class 15 times. Worse is when they tell the kid what you're going to do and the kid comes with a note that says "Suzy may lay down in nurse's office." Um, no, Suzy may not since she's in my office 14x a week trying to skip class. "John is sick and should go home." John is afebrile and has spring time allergies. He'll live. Parents who send kids who are legitimately sick and shouldn't be in school to school anyway. Parents who don't answer their phone or call back when the kid actually needs to go home. Parents who provide someone the child doesn't know as the alternate "emergency contact." Check out the venting thread on here, it's full of the frustrations. Every area of nursing has its own unique frustrations.