Please Advise! Interested in School Nursing

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I have been thinking about becoming a school nurse for some time now. I am a former classroom teacher and after I got my nursing license and BSN, worked in med-surg for a year. Now I am taking some time off from paid work to be a SAHM. Thinking about next career steps, I believe in the power of health education and also teaching the young how to prevent the development of health problems through healthy habits. Could those of you with experience in school nursing please share your experiences and advice on this specialty? What are the pros and cons? What if I didn't especially love my peds rotation (understatement of the century) but love working with children? Are there opportunities to educate in a school nursing role? Do I have to be certified as a school nurse? Thank you so very much for any insight you can provide.

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I am a lurker but I wanted to comment because I am former teacher turned med/surg nurse turned school nurse. I love being back in a school! I love the schedule and the environment is just so much more positive than a hospital. Being a school nurse is very different from being a teacher, though, not in a good/bad way just different. I also hated my peds rotation in nursing school but I work in a high school so my students feel more like adults than kids anyway. I didn't need a certification to get this job (Texas) but I think some states require it. I get tons of opportunity to educate because my principal expects me in the classrooms a lot teaching (partially because of my teaching background and partially because my clinic is fairly slow, small school). In your interviews emphasize your teaching background, that you are familiar with IEPs, ARDs, 504s, discipline, how important it is that students are in class as much as possible (as long as they arent contagious of course), almost all principals seemed very exciting about my teaching background. Also, keep your teaching certification current, I think that is a great thing to put on your resume and its much easier to keep up with it then than to let it lapse and and try to renew it later. Plus, I see it as having a back up plan in case budget cuts/other circumstances eliminate my position. Good luck!

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Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

I would inquire with your state. If you already have a teaching certificate you may not be obligated to get a school nurse cert. It's possible that you may have to take some school nursing classes and not the entire thing or possible that you don't need any of it due to the teaching cert. So it's worth checking into

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I have been thinking about becoming a school nurse for some time now. I am a former classroom teacher and after I got my nursing license and BSN, worked in med-surg for a year. Now I am taking some time off from paid work to be a SAHM. Thinking about next career steps, I believe in the power of health education and also teaching the young how to prevent the development of health problems through healthy habits. Could those of you with experience in school nursing please share your experiences and advice on this specialty? What are the pros and cons? What if I didn't especially love my peds rotation (understatement of the century) but love working with children? Are there opportunities to educate in a school nursing role? Do I have to be certified as a school nurse? Thank you so very much for any insight you can provide.

Hi!

Welcome.

I would go to your state nursing board and see what's what.

I hated my Peds rotation too, but I work in Gr 7-12.

Keep us posted!

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Specializes in IMC, school nursing.

You may want to seriously self evaluate the nurse part of school nurse. Your prior experience as a teacher makes you very comfortable in the school part of the title, but one year MS experience leaves the nurse part uncomfortable. You will be the sole health care personnel in the building. Your assessment and triage skills must be well developed, which is impossible to do in one year, save prior experience as an EMT or Paramedic. I admire your desire to be a SAHM, I really do respect it, but understand that time away from nursing, especially with only one year experience, is viewed negatively by employers. Nursing is a dynamic career that progresses quickly and time away from it shows massive changes in practice. Sometimes the answer is not no, just not right now. That may be where you are. I don't want to be the wet blanket, but sometimes some things can't be rushed, and experience is one of those. Good luck in your pursuits.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I am a lurker but I wanted to comment because I am former teacher turned med/surg nurse turned school nurse. I love being back in a school! I love the schedule and the environment is just so much more positive than a hospital. Being a school nurse is very different from being a teacher, though, not in a good/bad way just different. I also hated my peds rotation in nursing school but I work in a high school so my students feel more like adults than kids anyway. I didn't need a certification to get this job (Texas) but I think some states require it. I get tons of opportunity to educate because my principal expects me in the classrooms a lot teaching (partially because of my teaching background and partially because my clinic is fairly slow, small school). In your interviews emphasize your teaching background, that you are familiar with IEPs, ARDs, 504s, discipline, how important it is that students are in class as much as possible (as long as they arent contagious of course), almost all principals seemed very exciting about my teaching background. Also, keep your teaching certification current, I think that is a great thing to put on your resume and its much easier to keep up with it then than to let it lapse and and try to renew it later. Plus, I see it as having a back up plan in case budget cuts/other circumstances eliminate my position. Good luck!

Hi!!!!

Stop lurking and come out to play!

I would inquire with your state. If you already have a teaching certificate you may not be obligated to get a school nurse cert. It's possible that you may have to take some school nursing classes and not the entire thing or possible that you don't need any of it due to the teaching cert. So it's worth checking into

:inlove:

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You may want to seriously self evaluate the nurse part of school nurse. Your prior experience as a teacher makes you very comfortable in the school part of the title, but one year MS experience leaves the nurse part uncomfortable. You will be the sole health care personnel in the building. Your assessment and triage skills must be well developed, which is impossible to do in one year, save prior experience as an EMT or Paramedic. I admire your desire to be a SAHM, I really do respect it, but understand that time away from nursing, especially with only one year experience, is viewed negatively by employers. Nursing is a dynamic career that progresses quickly and time away from it shows massive changes in practice. Sometimes the answer is not no, just not right now. That may be where you are. I don't want to be the wet blanket, but sometimes some things can't be rushed, and experience is one of those. Good luck in your pursuits.

Valid.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, school nursing.

I am also a former teacher, then pedi triage nurse in private practice, and am in my fourth year of school nursing now. I love school nursing, and think it is a great next step for a former teacher. There are so many opportunities to educate the students, and I love the school environment. It's great to still be on the school schedule, and not be responsible for state testing, grades, and lesson plans. I did let my teaching certificate lapse, and wish that I wouldn't have.

Another opportunity that combines the two fields is to teach the CTE classes in health science to high school students. I've looked into the certification, and it's not that difficult. If you still have a current teaching certificate, you may be able to just take a test to add on that certification. I'm in Texas, and we don't have a requirement to be certified in school nursing here.

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Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.

I think if your greatest ambition to becoming a school nurse is to teach the young how to prevent development of health problems through healthy habits...you are going to be disappointed. Yes, there are opportunities to educate in the role of school nursing but the multitude of health related issues, injuries, medication administration, and so on, and so on, will command most of your attention. Of course there are some exceptions where school nurses teach such classes but those situations are few and far between. Otherwise, for me, the Pros certainly outweigh the Cons regarding school nursing. Sounds like you may have a young child/children; if that's the case school nursing is a perfect fit. Good Luck.

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I think if your greatest ambition to becoming a school nurse is to teach the young how to prevent development of health problems through healthy habits...you are going to be disappointed. Yes, there are opportunities to educate in the role of school nursing but the multitude of health related issues, injuries, medication administration, and so on, and so on, will command most of your attention. Of course there are some exceptions where school nurses teach such classes but those situations are few and far between. Otherwise, for me, the Pros certainly outweigh the Cons regarding school nursing. Sounds like you may have a young child/children; if that's the case school nursing is a perfect fit. Good Luck.

BOOM!

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Thank you! This is great advice and glad to know I'm not the only teacher to nurse transplant! That is great insight keeping my teaching certificate. I am going to look into that.

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I would inquire with your state. If you already have a teaching certificate you may not be obligated to get a school nurse cert. It's possible that you may have to take some school nursing classes and not the entire thing or possible that you don't need any of it due to the teaching cert. So it's worth checking into

Thank you! I had no idea that a teaching certificate could help in this way.

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