Is school nursing for me?

[Tibbymc]

Hello, I am an MICU nurse in Texas. I have 2 years tele exp and 8 months now in MICU. I find that MICU is very physically and emotionally draining and I occasionally get depressed when thinking about work. Dealing with death and grieving families on a daily basis is very hard for me. I have always wanted to be a school nurse but haven't been able to afford the paycut, now my situation has changed and I'm seriously considering it.

My question to all you school nurses is do you ever feel like you miss the rush of caring for critical patients? I know school nurses are very busy and it can also be emotional and physical, but I've never heard a school nurse say they were unhappy with their job.

Also, tell me about some times when you did have critical situations, had to use CPR/AED?

Thanks

[guest83140]

I left after putting 20 years in the hospital and i was burnt out. I put my time in orthopedics ( back breaking), neuro step down, med-surg, clinics, trauma floor. I went from dayshift to night shift to get away from politics and drama. I went from full-time to part-time and I still dreaded going. I used to pray and cry as I drove to work. I used to hate being charge. I was in charge of drama, other nurses' problems, overseeing agency nurses, making assignments out. No one wanted to get the first admissions, no one liked their assignments. We had no tech for the night, no nurse aide to get the vital signs. I was called out of the bathroom and lunch for someone pulling out an iv, falling out of bed after getting out restraints. No, I don't miss that at all. I am now on the schedule with my husband-teacher and 2 teenager sons. Yes, the pay is far less but I now have my sanity back. I went from $59,000 to $47,000. But I have the summers off, the Holidays off, the weekends off, sleep in the bed at normal hours. I used to fall asleep in my car after work. I am not too tired to cook most days. My biggest emergencies have been a couple of kids taking prescription drugs, no cpr, 911, they are fine. A staff member and a student having multiple seizures, 911, they're fine. Mostly I see headaches, stomachaches, throwing up, a few preg girls, sprains, finger cuts, sprains, etc. Nothing big compared to the floor. I used to dread being called in on my off days, dreaded going back to work, difficult patients that stayed for months, uncaring supervisors, codes, finding dead people after report on the night shift. I now have a nice nurse office desk, day hours, mostly cleaner work, etc. Love it! If you take the pay cut, talk to people at that school to see how they like it and go for it!

[Tibbymc]

Wow you just perfectly described my job as well. I think that's most of my friends also. I can identify with all of that except the charge nursing. I interviewed for a spot already, but the only problem is that I wasn't aware that starting in the middle of the school year contract causes you to make less, and I might not be able to swing it until August. I already made peace with the amount I would be making, but I don't know how much lower I can go. Thanks for the response!