Thinking about returning to the school system as a male nurse

[manofbess]

Hey everyone,

As the title implies, I'm thinking about returning to the school system as a male nurse. Before I was accepted into nursing school, which will begin for me in January, I was a middle school remediation teacher. I was on a provisional license because I am not a licensed teacher and did not major in education in undergrad. I applied to nursing school and was accepted, so I had to resign from my teaching position. In the weeks since school has resumed, I have discovered that I miss the environment a lot more than I thought I would. I've always said that my long-term goal would be to return to the school setting either as a nursing teacher (either high school or at the community/technical college level) or as a school nurse.

First off, are there any male school nurses here? Would I be the only one out there? I'm sure I wouldn't be, but I thought I'd ask anyway! :)

This question is for everyone--how long would you guys recommend a prospective school nurse work in the field before applying for a job as a nurse? Since I have no clinical experience, I'm not sure which specialty in nursing will interest me the most. Has anyone felt overwhelmed by going directly to work as a school nurse directly out of nursing school?

I should be asleep right now--I have a 6-hour lecture in the morning--but I thought to post this thread right before I hit the sack. I would really love to hear what y'all have to say. Thanks!

[bergren]

There are male school nurses. I know several, but they are a smaller minority than in the regular nurse population. You could contact NASN http://www.nasn.org to get a estimate.

I have known nurses who worked in schools right out of their nursing program. However, their situations were unique as they were a second RN at a school, which is becoming less and less common.The typical solo school nurse in my opinion needs at least 2 years experience. Any of the Peds specialties where you do a lot of assessment, or ER where there are pediatric clients would be good prep. Kids often cannot tell you why they don''t feel good, so excellent physical assessment and observation skills are important.

School based health clinics would be another option for the transition.

[zenman]

First off, are there any male school nurses here? Would I be the only one out there? I'm sure I wouldn't be, but I thought I'd ask anyway! :)

Nope you're not the only one. I'm one at an American International School in Bangladesh.

[live_N_scrubs]

i think it's great that you are considering school nursing. i think being a male nurse would be a great influence to all of the boys in your communitiy. good luck.

[chineezguy]

I'm a guy nurse. Been school nursing for 19 years. Worked on peds floor for 8 years prior to schools. I would recommend working in the hospital for a few years first. You gain lots of good skills there: how to think on you feet, how to deal with difficult people and people who are stressed out. You learn how to teach, you get exposed to all sorts of diagnoses.

I enjoy my job for lots of reasons: I get to work with well kids, it's a great schedule (I work 192 days), I am well respected and am an important member of the team, etc, etc.

So, go for it. Get through nursing school (my experience reminded me of basic training!) and then learn a ton of stuff when you start working. When you get burned out get your school nurse credential.

[royr]

I am also a school nurse. It is my first job fresh out of nursing school and I care for all the children in the school district from pre kindergarden to 12 grade. My job is a roving full time position where I go to any school in the district that has a need on any given day. Usually I am alone, but at the high school I am usually with at least 1 other nurse because of the large student population - over 1700 active at the high school on the average day. Although the pay leaves much to be desired - it is quite low compared to what many of my graduating class report making - there are in fact other rewards. For example - I have been caring for a child since the start of the school year that has been able to overcome many issues with the help of health related counceling involving her diet, excersise, and stress management issues. She reported to me today that after all her hard work - and in spite of her freinds trying to talk her out of trying - she has made 1st string on the high school cheer leading squad. Our long talks about never giving up on her hopes and dreams were in fact taken to heart as she overcame her anxiety and began to believe in herself, care about what she ate, and do the hard work needed to make the final cut. She faced her fears with the support of her school heath care professionals. She was just soo happy this day. She also said that when she grows up - she wants to be a nurse! How cool is that? And you just can't buy that with a Mastercard!