Hello Everyone! I hope you are all having a wonderful day! I am in need of some advice from any nurses with experience in school nursing.
I am currently a nurse on a busy ortho floor in Los Angeles and was offered a School Nurse job through LAUSD.
I interviewed because I want to leave the bedside after just two years. It is not a fit for me.
I love the work but feel like my fit is working in the form of public health outside of the hospital. Plus I am a mommy to five little munchkins who say they never see me and want me to be around more often and I love working with kids.
My question to you is, how in the world do I figure out the salary table?
Is the pay cut really almost fifty percent?
I have a BSN, MS, and BS in different fields with two years of experience on the floor and experience from a past career. Also, my understanding is I have to pay almost 20,000 for the school nurse credential on top of taking a 50 percent pay cut. Is this really the case?
I want to make this switch for my children and myself, but I'm not sure that the salary is liveable in Los Angeles.
Anyone with experience, I would greatly appreciate your time. Have a wonderful day!!
Specializes in Public Health, School Nursing, Psych.
Hi There,
To answer some of the questions...
As a Credentialed School Nurse in central CA my initial pay cut was about 30%, but with contract changes, that gap has narrowed (started at $82K in 2015 - now at $105K w/grad degree). Lots of SNs do some per diem work in the beginning to supplement salaries.
I looked at LAUSD salaries and they are not very competitive. Check other school districts (Burbank, Redondo, Long Beach, Glendale, Covina, Norwalk, private schools, whatever’s close to you, etc.) since city school districts often have different/higher salaries than the “unified school districts.” Also, negotiate to come in above step 1. LA County Office of Education also has school nursing jobs, so check those, too.
Lots of SNs work for 1-2 years before doing the coursework to make sure they love it. It just keeps getting better for me. Hope you can find a way to make it work. The hours and vacations are wonderful for moms/dads.
Specializes in Public Health, School Nursing, Psych.
I worked as an on-call Hospice nurse for a while. The 3am calls to go out to pronounce and provide post-mortem calls wasn’t so bad, but the distances I had to drive in the dark, on country roads, was a killer.
I worked as an on-call Hospice nurse for a while. The 3am calls to go out to pronounce and provide post-mortem calls wasn’t so bad, but the distances I had to drive in the dark, on country roads, was a killer.
Patients were in private residences or SNFs.
Congrats on the job! When do you start?
I have a start date of Dec 7. I’m excited to see my children mire and am also on the hunt for some home health jobs to supplement my income now too? I decided to make the jump and have a better quality of life. The hospital job was draining my spirits??. I am so thankful to you all for taking the time to answer my questions ??
In my state you must take the Certification Exam within 3 years of hire and the pay was miserable until I took the exam which bumped my pay up almost 50% which actually put me over what I was making at the hospital. Also figure in the costs of working at the hospital versus school. Summers off and all holidays off are priceless for me! I am saving in before and after school care expenses (I am able to drop off and pick up). My supervisor is very flexible with me if I need to pick up a sick kiddo or go see them in the school assembly. I am much closer to home which means I am saving in gas. My mental health is much better and my children are happier.
I was going to move to LA and the credentialing stopped me, though I was told with 20 years of school nursing I might not have to get it. But the pay cut.... I took about a 25-30,000 dollar a year pay cut. It took quite a bit of getting used to the lower income, and I had to work a second job to supplement. Now, I don't regret my decision at all, I would make the same decision all over again if I had to.
One bit of advice, the nurse I replaced 20 years ago was a friend of mine. She hated school nursing and wanted to go back to the ED. She treated the school clinic like a mini emergency room, and in no way shape or form are we prepared to be one. You have to kind of let go of how the hospitals do things, and remember that this is a school clinic ands we don't have O2, suction, IV's, or anything that you would need in a major emergency. But we do have the ability to call 911 and let them assume care on arrival. I hope that you like it, I love my job and won't leave anytime soon! Best of luck!!
evelynkarirn, BSN, MSN, RN
44 Posts
Hi There,
To answer some of the questions...
As a Credentialed School Nurse in central CA my initial pay cut was about 30%, but with contract changes, that gap has narrowed (started at $82K in 2015 - now at $105K w/grad degree). Lots of SNs do some per diem work in the beginning to supplement salaries.
I looked at LAUSD salaries and they are not very competitive. Check other school districts (Burbank, Redondo, Long Beach, Glendale, Covina, Norwalk, private schools, whatever’s close to you, etc.) since city school districts often have different/higher salaries than the “unified school districts.” Also, negotiate to come in above step 1. LA County Office of Education also has school nursing jobs, so check those, too.
California State University, Fresno has a school nurse credentialing program that takes about 3 years, almost all of it is on-line, and you pay a bit each semester. It comes out to around $9K altogether. http://www.fresnostate.edu/chhs/nursing/degrees-programs/sn-credential.html
Lots of SNs work for 1-2 years before doing the coursework to make sure they love it. It just keeps getting better for me. Hope you can find a way to make it work. The hours and vacations are wonderful for moms/dads.