[MsGolightlyRN]

Hi Nurses! I am interested in exploring other aspects of nursing. I am a new nurse (less than a year out of school) work in adult inpatient oncology in Boston but the intensity/commute/schedule are killing me. I am planning on staying for a while longer to at least get that "1 or 2 years experience" needed to go elsewhere. I admit I don't know much about school nursing but I get a "good feeling" about it. I originally wanted to work in pediatrics and I am planning on shadowing a school nurse to really get a good idea about whether or not school nursing is something I'd like to work towards. I wanted to know though: what do you have to do to be a MA school nurse? are there certain certifications? I have my BSN, BLS and a few other certifications regarding caring for onc pt.s but I have heard MA school nurses need other things as well. Let me know if you can...thanks!

[okschoolnurse]

http://www.msno.org/
www.nasn.org
Above are the links to your states school nurse orgainzation and the national organization. Your state's organization has a very good page on the required licensure for your state. Another good site to check out is http://snp.homestead.com/contents.html Ms. Harvey has some excellent articles for new school nurses.
Good Luck
Lana

[michigooseBSN]

In Massachusetts you must have a DOE Educator's License to be a school nurse in a public school. This means you must take and pass the Communications and literacy skills exam that all educator's must take for their educator's license. You must either have a Master's degree, be working toward a Master's or have certification as a certified school nurse (through the National Board for Certification of School Nurses), community health nurse or Pediatric/family/school nurse practitioner. This sounds daunting but in actuality you can take up to 10 years to acheive certification and be working as a school nurse while working on the degree or certification. It is a super job and I highly recommend it. Good luck.

[MsGolightlyRN]

I responded earlier today but it looks like maybe it didn't go through... Anyway, thanks for your replies! That does sound like a lot of work but in reality, I am planning to get my masters anyway and am pretty confident I can pass the Comm/Lit exam. Another question: Is there a certain master degree that is necessary? Thanks again!

[michigooseBSN]

In my town they prefer a masters in nursing or public health but I think that is a preference rather than a demand.