Love or hate school nursing?

[Genista, BSN, RN]

I'd love to hear from any school nurses. I did a school nurse internship in nursing school. Now, 4 years post BSN & after 4 years floor nursing, I am thinking about school nursing again.I live in CA.I know I would need a school nurse credential to be a school RN. Pros & cons of the job? How many "pts" or students in your district? Who makes P&P about health issues where you work? I am worried about legalities of being the sole RN for large district.The school RN I worked with had a health aid (EMT) and nobody else to help the RN. I am used to working in hospital setting & being able to collaborate with MDs, other disciplines, etc.The school nurse I worked with worked with school administrators re: policy. I am curious as to job prospects, satisfaction, pay, etc. Thank you!

[bergren]

For any of you interested in school nursing, it can be quite different from state to state, from district to district. One fo the first things I'd recommend is getting in touch with your state and or local school nurse association. California has a very active organization and hosts a tremendous state conference every year that rivals the National Conference in the number os attendees and the quality of the presentatons. There is a listserv schlrn-l that discusses school nurse issues that some nurses sit in on just to give them a flavor of what the job entails.

Links:

NASN - http://www.nasn.org/

State affiliates: http://www.nasn.org/affiliates/governancemap.htm

California: http://www.nasn.org/affiliates/california.htm

SCHLRN-L:

http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=schlrn-l&A=1