I’m struggling to choose between children’s nursing or primary school teaching. I have a couple of pros and cons.
Some advantages of becoming a primary school teacher:
I enjoy marking books, doing paperwork, planning lessons, and making PowerPoints. I love going on school trips and exploring new places. I enjoy arts and crafts, laminating, and creating classroom resources. I like teaching subjects such as History, French, ICT, Maths, and English.
I love making Christmas decorations and celebrating different festivals. I also really enjoy after-school clubs since they’re a bit quieter.
Some of my disadvantages:
I dislike teaching PE, especially if there’s no PE teacher available. School trips can make me anxious — I worry about losing a child in crowded places. Some Maths lessons can be difficult since I hate Maths, though I can prepare in advance. I strongly dislike working with children who have autism or PDA, as I find it challenging. I also don’t enjoy working in nursery or reception (play-based learning isn’t for me).
I prefer teaching Year 3 or 4, but I’m unsure if schools would accept my preferences.
I hate having to be energetic all the time, playing games, or being on the playground. I also really dislike assemblies, going to theme parks on trips, and sports day.
In the past, I had to work with autistic children who were non-verbal and had PDA, and they were really hard to work with — always rolling their eyes at me and showing attitude.
Here are some of my pros for working as a children’s nurse:
There are many pathways — oncology, ICU, theatre, GP, or emergency. I like the idea of helping and saving children’s lives. I don’t mind meeting new patients or families every day. I’d enjoy duties like feeding, making beds, reading to children, and giving medication.
I like that emotional engagement is mainly needed for babies or younger children. I also love doing night shifts and morning shifts, but night shifts are my favourite. For someone who has social anxiety and burns out easily, I find night shifts much calmer. Anytime I’ve gone to A&E at night when I’m sick, I’ve always found it very relaxing. I’ve always liked going to hospitals — they just don’t feel as crowded at night.
The only disadvantage of being a nurse is that there’s a higher legal responsibility. If I accidentally give the wrong medication, even unintentionally, I could literally go to jail. That’s my biggest concern, so I’d have to be extremely careful in my job.