[sChOOLRN48]

As a nurse I pride myself on being flexible and creative. I know there is always a way to get things done. I am a team player, I thrive in critical situations, my assessment skills are great. I know I am a good nurse. But how do you handle people/leaders who don't know what a good nurse is?

I am a school nurse in a smallish & growing district. There are 5 schools all with RNs in them. My building has the "least amount of needs" I get pulled to other schools which is somewhat Ok with me..sometimes.

My biggest issue is that my prinicpal and the staff here have no idea what a nurse is. I am a babysitter, a dress code police, a hall monitor, an extension of the secretaries, blah blah blah! I am a highly trained professional with as much if not more education than most of the teachers in the building! Yet...I don't know! Does anyone else have this problem? The other nurses in the district are more well respected and the other prinicpals are more leaders, so I know that it has a lot to do with the administration, but

I guess I am just venting....any support or comments or constructive criticism is welcome! ADVICE would be welcomed on how to deal with this situation! Thanks!

[luvschoolnursing]

Welcome to the lovely world of school nursing. Yes, I have watched kids who had to do make-up work during recess, kept a cupboard full of clothes and of course am responsible for fixing all the "smelly" kids...
It seems like different schools have different personalities and some are more difficult than others. I guess my only advice is to continue to try and educate the staff about your role and what you do for the kids. Good luck!!

[Heart Hands and Mind]

And administrators who would rather not have to pay for a nurse. Who tell you daily that they could do this themselves as they hadasister law who had type two diabetes so they don't need a nurse to handle a 6 y/o on a pump and refuse to write a 504. And take the doctors orders and cross thingas out. And in the same room is a parent who teells you you will be sued because what she ids programming in to the pump is not what is in the doctors orders, and a school lawyer who states that the nurses care trumps the doctors order legally ( even if the doctors orders are not accur

[okschoolnurse]

It is very important as school nurses that we market ourselves. Public perception in general is that any female who give health care is a nurse. They do not know our level of education and expertise.
Also, as a school nurse, it is important to be able to speak the educational language so that we are taken seriously by the education setting that we work in.
Bulletin boards, newsletters and staff communications are good ways to do this.
I send everyone to my favorite sites, but School Nurse Perspectives and www.nasn.org have some wonderful ideas on promoting yourself as a school nurse.
Also, link up with your state/national organization for more ideas and support.
Good luck

[bergren]

Some of your problem might be your predecessor - perhaps he or she was very content to do clerical and low level work as opposed to health promotion and illness and injury prevention?

Does your name tag have your credentials on it? Is your College diploma hung on the wall? how are you dressing? As good as teachers, as good as your education?

I agree with previous post re resoruces - so others:

Bays, C.T. (1991). The school nurse: Enhancing professional recognition. Journal of School Nursing, 7, 18-20, 22-4. (oldie but goodie)

Brandt, C. M. (2002) Enhancing school nurse visibility. Journal of School Nursing, 18, 5–10. (availaable via web www.nasn.org)

Start filing a monthy report with your principal so she / he knows what you actually do. You can use this tool as a guide for what to include:

Tustin, J., Canham, G., Berridge, J., Braden, D., & Starke, T. (2002). Professional development and appraisal system for school nurses. The Journal of School Nursing, 18, 229-236.

I would prefer to be full time in a school with lower needs than part time if there is not enough to do. In my last position, I was asked to write grants during my down times and was able to bring some very valued dollars for the health program. You need to make sure you are perceived as a team player. In most districts, the teachers and principals all do a little of babysitting, dress code policing, hall monitoring, and secretary work. If you are not busy, it is hard to object to pitching in. Volunteer for those jobs that can enhance your status and your ability to assess the children and the environment. Have you conducted the SHI needs assessment yet - what needs are unmet? http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/shi/default.aspx
So plan each night before you leave what you need to accomplish the following day - until your work is not getting done, work that makes the school run better and enhances the kids learning, there is no reason for them not to expect you to help out.

[sChOOLRN48]

Thank you for all of your help!! I am trying to get my ducks in a row to make this work! Christmas, Thanksgiving and a whole summer & no arguing about having to work the same holiday for the last 3 years!!! I can't help but make something like this work! BIG INHALE!

Thanks!!!!!!

[manna1qd]

Originally Posted by okschoolnurse

It is very important as school nurses that we market ourselves. Public perception in general is that any female who give health care is a nurse. They do not know our level of education and expertise.
Also, as a school nurse, it is important to be able to speak the educational language so that we are taken seriously by the education setting that we work in.
Bulletin boards, newsletters and staff communications are good ways to do this.
I send everyone to my favorite sites, but School Nurse Perspectives and www.nasn.org have some wonderful ideas on promoting yourself as a school nurse.
Also, link up with your state/national organization for more ideas and support.
Good luck

Have you done anything specific that you can share that worked?

[careerchoices]

Originally Posted by sChOOLRN48

I am a highly trained professional with as much if not more education than most of the teachers in the building! Yet...I don't know! Does anyone else have this problem?

Ugh. Sorry.

I am not working in medicine right now; I was pre-med and as part of that, I worked as an OR tech for seven years. After I came down with again with what turned out to be Crohn's dz and finally had to give up on my MD, I left and got my MS in Electrical Engineering. I was working on a PhD, but my professor sued the University and things got rough.

I'm here on allnurses because I hate my life and I am considering a career in nursing, perhaps as a CCRN. I'm healthy enough to go to medical school now, but you can't pay me enough to sit with medical students for four years. Besides, I want to hands-on care for people, and that's nursing.

That's the introduction.

Right now I'm working as a System's Administrator for a large University's Computer Science department.

I work with professors who are in charge. Yet I have more years of education (two BS degrees, plus pre-med, plus an MS and part of a EE PhD) than most of them. Yet they talk down to me and make it clear that I will never even be at the social level of a first-year PhD
student, even though I have more education, both engineering-specific and in general.

What has that got to do with your situation?

I totally understand how you feel. I have professors come to me and ask me to move their office furniture. For this I spent from age 18-34 in school?

I've seen it with different professions and in different places, but it always "sucks". I'm sorry.

School Nurses are very important. We did not have them where I went to school; they were too cheap. We had one come by once a year to supervise an eye exam.

I imagine my Crohn's would have been diagnosed when I was in grade school if there had been a school nurse.

[sChOOLRN48]

The grass is always greener on the other side!

I am feeling better and I know that burn out can happen at any moment in every job. I am planning a PIP...found in another posting, and am starting a bunch of suggestions from this thread! But I want to take it slow so as not to get burned out on change!

Its hard not to love a job with no weekends, no holidays, no trauma rolling in (ok that would be fun in the ED, the "controlled" ED!), and summer OFF!!!

Thank You! all!
Theresa