Teacher who would like to shift to nursing profession

SlightlyMental_RN · Sep 8, 2009

too much stress, staying late for grading and recording, doing the same things again and again, etc).

I hate to burst your bubble, but this is what being an RN is all about: stress, staying late to complete the charting, doing the same things again and again. Really. I'm not kidding. Good luck, though, making your decision.

LifelongDream · Sep 8, 2009

I just completed an accelerated BSN program at Texas Tech in Odessa, Texas. I too was a teacher for 5 years. :yeah:During my first semester of nursing school in 1998, I learned I was pregnant and decided to go into education instead. Last year, I saw an ad in the paper for this program and jumped on it. It took me one year to finish *August-August*. I've been working in Pediatrics at our local hospital for one week and I love it!!!!!

Texas Tech has programs in Austin, El Paso, Lubbock, Abilene, and Odessa/Midland. If you have enough savings, it's definitely doable! Another advantage is that if your school pays into TRS, our county hospital pays into a sister program that will build on you previous years of experience. Just food for thought.... The biggest advantage to nursing is that if one unit/specialty isn't working for you, then you always have other choices!!!!:typing

HappyBunnyNurse · Sep 8, 2009

I too left teaching to become a nurse. I did an accelerated 2nd degree BSN. I love it! I only had 6 years as a teacher so i didn't take a pay cut. My pay is actually much better! Nursing is so much less stressful (and I work NICU). I usually get a lunch break, I haven't had a UTI since my career change, and I get PAID for overtime! I do get a little nostalgic when I see back to school supplies and summer was tough because a lot of my friends are teachers. But over all I have few regrets. An option for you might be to wait a few more years, retire and then pursue nursing. Many people in nursing school are in their late 40's. Good luck!

doubleplay · Sep 8, 2009

In my opinion, you would have to be crazy to become a RN. You have 3 months off a year and the stress may be great but wait until you become a nurse. This is the only job I have ever had that I work 12 hour shifts with no breaks and you are lucky to get a lunch. As far as caring for people, you barely have time to talk to them you are so busy and this is on nights.

wife&mommyRN · Sep 8, 2009

I alsoo got my first degree in teaching. I did it a little different, my senior yr. I decided to become a nurse. Thats when I started researching the accelerated programs. I taugh part- time while completing my pre-reqs, it took me two yrs. I am in an accelerated BSN program that is 1 yr. So it really took me 3. I think teachers make excellent nurses, I have been told this numerous times, because we are educators. Nursing does alot to educate their pts. I made the decision to become a nurse very early and I love it! I became a teacher bc I fell in love w/ the glamour, summers and holidays off. In reality, I knew it wasn't for me, teachers are expected to be parent, friend, teacher, and anything else the child needs. Teachers are not appreciated, not respected, and underrepresented in their profession. I can understand why u want to transition, would I recommend it, no. U have alot of years and dedication to teaching. When it is time for you to retire, there is plently of time for you to transition into nursing. It's a heck of a part-time job on top of you teachers pension. U could always get your masters as a CNS, and still educate that background will always be used. Think long and hard about your decision, honestly in this economy there is no time for transition especially when you have a secure position, Best of Luck to you.

retiredlady · Sep 8, 2009

Most places now do 12 hour shifts, which usually means you stay for 13+ maybe before you get out. You have to work weekends and holidays and be on call for your days off. You sometimes miss having Christmas with your kids. There are life and death situations and you sometimes worry about your patients when you get home. Patient families are under stress and they might not be nice to you, as well as the doctors you work with. Coworkers will probably back stab you. If you can deal with all of this, then you will make a wonderful nurse and it is very interesting work and I did enjoy working for many years. I too switched from studying teaching (I don't know how you do that!!!!) to nursing in college. Good luck in your decision.

Foxfour · Sep 8, 2009

I was a teacher too. I loved teaching, but I love my job as a NICU nurse more. I live in TX, and without getting specific, I make way more than 58,000/year. Yes, it can be a very stressful job, but you have those days when your bored. There are days when I want to quit, there are days when I go home and cry, but when I get off, I go home and replenish my soul and dive back in there. I truly love, love, love what I do. Each one of us have to decide for ourselves. If you feel it in your heart as I did, then go for it. Something you might not have thought of--when I was teaching, I supplemented my income by working at a home health on a PRN basis. If you become a nurse and it doesn't work out for you, your teaching degree will always be there for you. At the least you will have two professions with jobs that are easier to find than a lot of others. Good luck to you.

JennNJ83 · Sep 8, 2009

In terms of salary, I'd definately go the RN route,especially because you already have a BS. This website: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Education/pdf/APLIST.PDF lists accelerated BSN programs by state, Texas has quite a few, I don't know how many are very close to you, many hospitals offer tuition reimbursement if you sign on to work with them for x amount of years. There is a ton of info on the internet about scholarship programs for nurses. Good luck!!!

tencat · Sep 8, 2009

Hi. I was a teacher for 12 years and switched over to nursing. I love it. It is very stressful, so if you are looking to get rid of stress, this isn't the job for you. But the stressors are different. I don't feel the pressure in nursing to be responsible for every little thing I have/had no control over like I did in teaching. And if you plan to stay with a hospital for a job, it will be just like others have described it. You don't have to stay at a hospital. I work home hospice, and I don't think I'd be too happy going back to the hospital routine. That's one of the great advantages nursing has over teaching: You can work in many different kinds of areas and the opportunities for advancement are greater.

Coworkers......I'd have to say they are WAY more devious and backbiting in nursing.....haven't figured out why yet. The pay is way better than what I was getting, or could have hoped to get, teaching. I really miss those summers off, though. Also, I went through an accelerated BSN program, and I'd really recommend that if you can find such a program. Some days I feel like I've gone from the frying pan into the fire, but I'm not sorry I switched careers.

Vito Andolini · Sep 8, 2009

Well, you are getting lots of varied answers. Here's my take.

You will not enjoy working Thanksgiving, Christmas, July 4th, all the other holidays that you now have off. You will dislike getting maybe 3 weeks of vacation in a whole year. You will not see your chiodren if you work when they are off of school, that is, you work evenings, they are at their games, concerts, parties, etc., who is supervising them? If you work Days, you'll have to be at work before they are even awake, Night shift can go either way as far as when you see them, depends on when you sleep.

School is tough and there are many choices in schools to attend. The way to decide this is to research all of them. Maybe a guidance counselor can help?

There are few jobs just now for new graduates. I expect this will turn around but when?

What field of Nursing are you wanting? babies? sick kids? doc's office? ICU? many, many, many other areas to choose from and that is a plus. Something for everyone.

I'm glad you're here researching and hope you get some good info to help you decide. If there is a community college near you or state U that has a Nursing program, talk with them to learn the pre-req's and maybe get started on those. Just having a BA or BS won't cut it, I don't think, if you don't have Chem, Physics, Anatomy and Physiology (A & P), Microbiology, Sociology, Psychology, and maybe college Algebra. English Comp, maybe foreign lang, too. Not sure. I've been out of school many years and we just took all of these in N. School.

The pay ranges from horrible to not bad. The top end would likely be as an anesthetist (more school after working in ICU a couple of years), midwife, or NP. Go to the Specialty tab up above on this page and check into all the specialties and to the Student tab, also.

I wish you well.

You will need excellent back up babysitting plans. Absenteeism is unacceptable in N. School, largely, as the state requires you to have a certain number of lecture and clinical hours to sit for the state exam. NCLEX, as it's known now. I guess attendance is still a requirement.

LVN is quicker, true, but lower pay and harder to get work, I think, except maybe n. homes, which might be your thing, who knows? Check out Bridge programs.

Best wishes.

Can you just take a sabbatical or work in a private school that is not subject to so many regulations as public school? Or become an Administrator of Education. Or switch to or from Special Ed, become a private tutor for wealthy people or for kids who work, like in Hollywood, and must have tutors, or something exotic like that. Become a Fine Arts teacher or teach a different grade/topic. Best wishes, again.

What do you suppose is right and what is wrong about Education these days?

Jean1313 · Sep 8, 2009

Hi,

My mom is a teacher, so I (sort of) know where you are coming from. She has complained about the poorly behaved children and parents, been awake all night grading papers, etc. This is what I do:

Get in to work early every shift. Review my pt labs/procedures/meds/test etc. Get report, run from room to room, assessing, putting out fires, calls on my phone all shift, meds, prns, drains, oh no there goes a BP (up or down), always trying to make the right decisions. And making a mistake can be fatal. Not to mention very brief breaks (with the phone on) if you even get them. I have gone 12hr shifts without peeing, most nights I go once. As others have said, holidays are few and far between. And those elusive 12hr day shifts? Very hard to get one that doesn't rotate nights. Although I can only say for sure that this is my experience, I suspect it is that of others as well.

My suggestion... Think about it. If you have a passion for nursing, like long hours on your feet, and don't mind lives in your hands at all times, go for it. But nursing is (though rewarding) the hardest thing that I have ever done.

And yes, I have considered going back to be a teacher :-)

lucyshuman · Sep 8, 2009

Here are some things for you to think about, in addition to the good points that everyone else has brought up. I have never been a teacher, so I can't speak to that portion of the equation. But my sister is a teacher, and we speak almost daily about our jobs, including the frustrations, the high points, the concerns. I never cease to be amazed at how parallel our jobs are in many ways. For instance, much of how we do our jobs in nursing is dictated to us by administration or the government (Medicare regulations, reimbursement, and SCIP project). In nursing, one patient can use up a huge amount of resources, time and energy, often with a less than desirable outcome. I believe both of these situations could apply to your students and situations. So you may just be trading one frustration for another. Here are a few more things to think about. First is job security. Once you are tenured into a district, your job is secure. That is not necessarily true in nursing. Nursing wages have risen rapidly over the past 10 years and as a result many administrations are looking for ways to "off load" the more experienced and thus higher paid nurses. Mind you, these nurses are not being fired directly; there are more subtle forces at work. Another thing you should consider is retirement benefits. If you become a nurse, there is no pension. Most companies contribute a minimal amount (2-4% match to a 401k), but for the most part you will be funding your own retirement. Along these same lines, there is no defined early retirement for nurses like there is for teachers. You work until you drop or until you can afford to retire. I 'm not trying to be negative, I'm just trying to give you some more things to consider before you make a decision. Best wishes to you in whatever you decide to do! Lucy