Older student trying to find the right fit

[supermom44]

Hi! first I must say I enjoy this site I've learned so much from you all, Thank you!

I'm a non-traditional student (age 52) my kids are all grown and I decided to go back to school. I'll be graduating in May 2016 with my BSN and I don't know where I want to do my capstone or where I want to work after graduation. I'm at the retiring age, but had the opportunity to get my degree and have a better future, so I chose nursing.

Nursing school has been very stressful for me! all the assignments, papers, care plans, exams, simulations, discussion posts, medical concepts, etc !!! I've developed anxiety issues and chronic head aches from the stress combined with going through menopause. I hate the stress that nursing school brings but enjoy some of the clinical experiences.

I want to be a nurse so I can give back and make life a little better for others. But, I don't want to work in a high acuity, high stress, long hours, back breaking area (ER, OR, Med-Surg, ICU, L&D...) hence, I'm considering school nurse, home health, postpartum or PACU. I've spent a day with a school nurse and a few days in a mother baby unit/lactation and enjoyed them both.

I need to chose my capstone and I'm considering school nursing, PACU or Home Health. (Our program won't allow postpartum because I've already had that area as a clinical experience).

My question is, what do you think would be a good fit for someone my age, being an introvert,I like routine and structure, very organized, love kids (I raised 4)...I like the hours and summers off that come with being a school nurse, it would allow me to travel with my hubby and visit see my kids. The down side is the income is very low $35K a year and I'm afraid I'll be bored. I'd appreciate your thoughts...

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

I'm rarely bored as a school nurse. :)

[AdobeRN]

I am rarely bored but every now and then I have days where I just want to scream if I get asked for one more bandaid or ice pack for some invisible injury :)

I would not trade this job for another - I love my time off, I love having "normal" work hours & I enjoy working with most of the staff & kids.

[abc123RN]

Boredom rarely happens in a school nurse office. If on those rare days of being caught up on all the paper work and few student visits, there is always a classroom or the gym. The kids here love when I visit the class or play a few minutes in the gym. Office staff always knows where I am off to if I leave my office.

Money isn't as good as hospital nursing but the time off and benefits are well worth it for me.

[SnowyJ, RN]

I'm not bored either, but it is an entirely new dynamic than the clinical environment in places like a hospital.

It really depends on what YOU want for yourself. If you want excitement, think about working in an ER or urgent care. I worked ICU for a while and liked the 1:1 or 1:2 ratio for those assignments.

Sometimes I miss the dynamic of the hospital, but I did my time, and I really enjoy the school setting. Honestly? I feel more appreciated now than I ever did.

[Cola89]

You might consider LTC... there will be a lot of patients, but there is a routine to it that you might appreciate. All nursing has one degree of stress or another to it, but in my experience, LTC is much lower stress than the only other area I have ever worked in which is Med Surg. Good luck!

[huffmannurse]

If you want to make sure that you have as much family time as possible, go with being a school nurse. It is the best of both worlds. My first love in nursing was Home Health. My second and even better, School nursing. From the get go of being a nurse, I was absolutely determined that I was not going to let my job take me away from my family time. I have been blessed to be able to make this happen. As we speak, my husband is the Principal at one of my schools, my middle child works at that school, and my baby is a Senior there... . One of my other schools, our oldest works at the college in the same town :)

Happy Monday everyone, it is gonna be a great day!!

[tining, BSN, RN]

If school nursing not a fit how about occupational health, research, or case management - there is also legal nursing - these may require additional education and probably want at least a year experience.