RN as director of a daycare...talk about new frontier!!!

BanoraWhite · Jun 22, 2009

Good luck ! I don't really have any pointers to offer you but I know I would feel more peace of mind if I knew there was an actual RN at the daycare center I use. It would definitely make it a stand out choice to parents.

roser13, ASN, RN · Jun 22, 2009

I think it's a great idea, and it would have certainly had an impact on my daycare choice back in the day.

I would suggest purchasing professional Liability Insurance, if you don't already have it.

nyteshade, BSN · Jun 22, 2009

Yeah, I got the insurance! Wouldn't be without it! :wink2:. Thanks for the input!

BlueMelon · Jun 22, 2009

I don't have any advice either, but I agree that I'd LOVE there to be an RN in my kids' daycare center. My little guy has life threatening food allergies and I'd feel so much more comfortable leaving him in a center with a nurse. Good luck!

pers · Jun 22, 2009

I also think it would be a great idea!

You might talk to school nurses. It was never something that interested me but a friend of mine is working as a school nurse and she does a lot of educational stuff not just with students but also the school faculty. Community health nursing and maybe occupational health might provide some direction for you as well.

I googled "nursing child care" and came up with a couple of links. This is a program in North Carolina, just gives a basic outline of the program but you may find it educational. Here is another program that links to the training their nurses go through.

I'd pretty much look at any program (anywhere) that involves nursing and kids/families and use what you learn to create something you can do that will fit in with your goals for the daycare.

catlover13 · Jun 22, 2009

Hi,

What a great place to post this question, here on allnurses. And welcome to the world of child care. :-)

I'm a new nurse, LVN, now working on bridging to my RN. Before attending nursing school, I was a licensed child care provider for 7 years. After that I worked for 7 years at a social service agency that held a contract with the CACFP (the Child and Adult Care Food Program). I worked for 5 years in the field with other child care providers, and the last two years as director of the program. It was nice to take my hands on experience and use it to work with other child care providers.

Now, with some nursing education behind me, there are some areas that you can bring your RN education and experience and have an impact on your child care business.

Food - it's a huge part of the kid's day. There are tons of resources through the CACFP, and I think that if you are licensed you are already using their guidelines? The CACFP is part of the USDA FNC - the food and nutrition service. This is the food pyramid, the alternate food pyramid, and I think now they even have an exercise pyramid? It is also the overseeing body for what is served in school breakfast, snacks and lunches. The licensed centers in the States that I was active in were, and the guidelines are federal, so I'm guessing that you have guidelines as to how often to serve and what types and quantities to serve.

But, here's the neat thing, and where your RN experience can make a difference. You and work with your food service staff and help make your menus the healthiest. Eating, overeating, and unbalanced meals and snacks are a huge issue in the US, and our kids are subject to commercials with all sorts of unhealthy choices. You can review your meals and snacks and bring a higher nutritional standard to what you are serving. You have most of your children for breakfast, am snack, lunch and pm snack, so you are feeding them the majority of their nutritional needs for the day.

There are some great resouces regarding kids and food. If you've never read Ellyn Satter, she is awesome regarding children and development of food habits. (not affiliated, just a FYI). I've seen her speak, and if she's on dvd, she'd be a great resource for you and your staff.

I also got my kids involved with food and their food choices. It was fun, and kids as young as 3 enjoyed having input as to what foods would be served. Kids can grasp the choice of two of the old four food groups to choose for snacks. It also is a good opportunity to discuss what healthy choices are. As director, you can work away from the traditional cheese and crackers, (nothing bad with that), and help introduce the kids to new tastes and textures and combinations. Food is also a great way to explore other cultures.

You can also work with your staff on how to incorporate more gross motor movement into the kids days. Another component in our overweight US is our lack of exercise. And our kids are getting bigger, and reaping the negative health benefits. Odds are, your kids spend a fair amount of time outside your daycare time sitting. In the car, in front of the TV, etc. While you may have children in your care 5 days a week, from 7a - 5p, you can have huge impact on just getting them to MOVE!!! And kids are designed to move. Culturally, we spend a lot of time getting kids to sit still, but really, kids want to get moving, wiggling, etc. And wouldn't it be great, if you and your staff could incorporate exercise/movement into your program. With the hopes of bullding some lifelong habits and enjoyment of exercise?

Staff development and retention are another huge area. There are some really great people who dedicate their lives to working with children. Mentoring them and encouraging them to continue their personal education goals will only enrich the environment of your center. Educational standards may be quite low for the qualifications of your teachers, having staff that continue to learn and grow will impact the quality of your center.

Hope that makes sense....and have a a great time with your new position!!!

catlover13 · Jun 22, 2009

Sorry, I thought of more...grin.

How does your center handle children with medical needs? Asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis? Are there medication administration areas? How is this governed by the State and your RN license?

And you could help move your center to be more inclusive. It can be hard to place children with special needs. Your expertise as RN could really shine to develop a center that cared for special needs children. And what an opportunity to help all the children you care for learning about the needs of others.

Good luck!!!

J9G2008 · Jun 22, 2009

As the mom of a former trach kid, I would have loved to find a place where I could leave him for a few hours, just to get some time when I didn't have to listen to him breathing. There are no resources for parents of chronically ill children, and I think that would be a very good market.

GooeyRN, ADN, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN · Jun 22, 2009

I have no advice, but I think it is an awesome idea! I would possibly consider daycare for my kids (instead of tag teaming with dh) if there were an RN available if the need arose. My son as food allergies and is sick quite often. It wouldn't make sense to put him in daycare to have to pay for that spot when we would get called to come get him all of the time and have to miss work b/c of it.