Student Health Center NP?

[daisychains11, RN]

I am thinking of becoming an NP, but I really would only want to work at a college/university student health center because of the flexibility and summers off, and also the population and type of work interests me and I have experience in it. I have been looking around at current jobs and the salaries and benefits they offer, not all tend to say the salary and also whether summers are off. Does anyone work in this, and/or have knowledge of it, and what I can generally expect in terms of pay and school breaks off?

Thank you.

[Julia Liou, RN]

Hi daishychains11,

If you are searching for a good NP Program, feel free to check out our AllNurses article: 11 Best Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) Programs in 2024 - Nursing Degree Programs (allnurses.com)

I do feel like working specifically as a NP for a college/university is quite niche, and the best place to start is actually landing a job as a nurse for a college/university so you can gain some connections. I would imagine they won't require as many people in that role, so I am not sure how easy it is to get in. Also, keep in mind, a lot of schools run all year round, so you wouldn't have the same days off compared to if you were working in an elementary/high school as a school nurse. I wish you the best!

[Corey Narry, MSN, RN, NP]

The Campus Health Center I'm familiar with is housed in the university I went to for my NP programm (I'm not trained in primary care, however). They are open all year round even in the Summer since there are students enrolled in the combined Spring/Summer terms. They, however, are closed during school breaks which are typically longer during the Winter holidays, Spring break, and observed university holidays.

[FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP]

I was offered a job as an NP for a community college.  The pay was not great, but it seemed like it would be a low stress job.  The benefits were great - as a CA state employee.  Lots of time off, which is probably why the pay was low.  For this position, 3 weeks off for Winter break, and reduced hours for the Summer.  Also breaks when the school has breaks.  As a state employee, 4 to 6 weeks of vacation (I forget which).  I was tempted, but opted for a different position.

There just are not a ton of these jobs out there.  If this is what you really want to do, then be prepared to move for the right position.

Something comparable might be occupational health.  One of my clinical rotations was in an extremely large senior living and nursing home - the place was HUGE.  They had their own occ health clinic for their employees on site and I did some clinical time assisting the NP there.  She only cared for employees, not the residents.  Seemed like a sweet deal - pretty low stress, not too busy usually, and the NP had a lot of autonomy.  She loved working there.  I also interviewed at a stand-alone independent occ health clinic, and that was total chaos, so be careful about those - I'm sure some are reasonable to work for.

Being an NP in that nursing home, caring for seniors, was also a good job.  The NP had a lot of flexibility and autonomy.  She worked 5 days a week, 8 hours per day, but she set her own schedule w/in those days.  She was responsible for seeing every senior at least once a month and made up her schedule to do that.  The job was pretty busy, but not unreasonable.  Mostly pretty easy stuff - checkups, colds, flu, etc., checking blood thinner levels, and so forth.  Wound care was a part of thejob and she was certified in that (that can be quite lucrative).  She enjoyed working there and had been there for several years.

Good luck