Is wanting to go into school nursing a crazy idea?

[novanurse77]

Hello i've been a nurse for almost 3 1/2 months on a pediatirc unit that has mix of teens health issues, renal/dialysis, some behavioral issues and asthma. I like my pt population but working on this floor has taken a toll on my sanity and makes me question if i should choose a different type of nursing. I just finished orientation and i feel like it wasn't enough and no one talked to me about extending it or if i ws ready to come off. I felt like it didn't prepare me enough. I'm just sick of getting rolled eyes when i need help, dealing with rude nurisng assistants that act like you asked them for the first born child, when u ask them for assistance, and the crazy work schedule. Even though i am a new nurse i was thinking of taking classes to get my certificate in school nursing. I am planning to stick with my job for another year to gain more confidence in my skillsand experience, but have my certificate on the back burner. I'm not saying school nursing is easy by any means but i'll never know if its a better career area for me if i don't try. Does anyone think this is a bad idea, have opinions, or think a year and a 1/2 of nursing isn't enough to be a school nurse?

[MomNRN, BSN, RN]

I was a school nurse for close to 5 years and loved every minute of it. The only bad part of it was our district paid poor wages. If the low hourly wage was not bad enough, we did not get paid for the time we were not at school (vacations, summer, school holidays).

The trade-off of only working when my kids were in school was worth it for awhile. After my kids were older, I went back to the hospital.

It was a good job, but I needed more money.

[tx2007, RN]

You might want to check the qualifications you must have first. I was thinking about doing school nursing as well. Here you have to have at LEAST two years pedi expereince on top of everything else.

[mom2michael, MSN, RN, NP]

Just do your research for the state in which you live. Many states have different rules and regulations for what is considered a school nurse. Also make sure to check your pay scale. An RN I work with went to be a school nurse and lost almost $11.00 per hour when she took the position because school districts around here simply do not pay. And while her insurance was covered at 100%, her family insurance almost doubled what she paid while working for the hospital. Plus, she also does not get paid for holidays, snow days, breaks, etc..... So, needless to say, she's been doing this about 4 months and out of necesisity for food and shelter, she is thinking about leaving. She's been working with us almost every weekend for over a month now...so she now is not seeing the best benefit of the school nurse job and that was to be home with her kids.....

She loves it though and just wishes that she knew the pay issue before she started......