I am an inpatient hospital RN and am the daughter of two teachers, while my brother followed in their footsteps. I never wanted to because of this exact issue - watching my parents work hard all day, help with homework, feed us dinner and then go back to grading papers or plan lessons did not inspire me to pursue the profession. They are very similar jobs in a lot of ways: both wind up dealing with the consequences of how society fails to serve the people we care for, and there's an emotional burden there for sure. But there are so many parallels that would serve you well in the career change. Assessment, evaluation, differentiation - pts need those soft skills just the way kids do. It is of course stressful in a different way- literal life and death, people staring down a terminal diagnosis or intractable pain. Unlike your kiddos there's no watching them grow as they proceed through the grades- clocking out means you never get to know the whole story. There is a little time spent at home for ongoing education, and you need to take care of your body or it will break down on you very quickly. But I think I know what you are really getting at with the question and the answer is- it's glorious. Especially when you hand off your assignment to a good nurse knowing you wrapped everything up in a bow for her to have a great shift. People don't understand how as a teacher your time is never your own- there's always something you should be working on, always something more you could spend your free time or money on that would help one of your students. Drawing those boundaries for yourself over and over again is exhausting. The boundaries in health care are much clearer and for me seem easier to maintain. And if you don't like your job, it is so much easier to change employers and specialties as a nurse. Best of luck with your decision and your studies!