Questions about becoming a school nurse.

Published Sep 28, 2010

111 Posts

I just started my BSN program and I'm thinking about what I want to do when I graduate. I keep saying I want to be a CRNA, but in my heart I feel like it's just because they are paid so well. Do I really want to do that for the next 40 years of my life?

I keep coming back to how wonderful it sounds to be a school nurse. I used to work in an elementary school and loved it. I also love the idea of having summers off to travel or work as a camp nurse (I had an amazing time being a camp counselor when I was younger.) And then, when my husband and I are ready for children, the schedule would be perfect.

But, I've struggled to put myself through school. I will have loans to repay, and if I want to have children, I need to know that I will be financially secure. So here are my questions, for all of you wonderful school nurses out there:

- Once I get my BSN, I know that I need to get one year of hospital experience, just to keep my options open along the line. What experience do you think would give me the best chance of being hired as a school nurse in a few years? Pediatric ICU? I used to work as a critical care CNA, and I really enjoy it, but I can't see myself doing it forever.

- The local school district has job listings for school nurses, and the salary range is $45,000 to $73,000. Besides experience as a school nurse (which I won't have,) what can I do to up my salary? Is it beneficial to be a NP (and if so, which kind) or to pursue another kind of graduate degree?

- Just from what I read on this forum, I know that nurses are either paid terribly or they are similar to the teachers. In my district, they have the same as the teachers. How common is this? If my husband got a job in another city/state one day, how likely is it that I'd be back to eating ramen?