My first time feeling like school nursing is where I am supposed to be

Specialties School

Published

I was approached by a teacher the other day out of concern for a student who had been dropping weight like crazy. I called the student's mother to see if it was ok that I talk with him. She agreed that he had been losing a lot of weight and wasn't sure why, since he had been eating like a horse. She said it was ok for me to talk with him. After talking with him, I was highly concerned because he had all the symptoms of type 1 diabetes. I called his mother and strongly urged her to take him to the doctor that day to get his blood sugar checked. She emailed me later that night to tell me thank you and that he had been admitted to the hospital with type 1 diabetes.

I can't even begin to explain how it feels to be a part of discovering something so serious and so life changing. I was moved to tears after reading that email. I have been running from nursing since I became a nurse at 40 years old in 2011. I have been doubting my abilities and praying for the day when something happens where I finally say to myself, "So this is why I became a nurse." Well that moment has come and I could not be more thankful. Maybe I have found my calling by being a school nurse.

I would love to hear why others love school nursing. It is terrifying yet awesome at the same time. The responsibility is huge by being the only medical person for like a 1000 kids and staff. But the things I see students for sometimes you just can't make up. "My elbow hurts in my shoulder and it is making me dizzy."... "Can I have ice for my leg?" "why" "I don't know it just started hurting.".... "My mom told me to come to the nurse if I still was feeling sick and she would come pick me up." (well duh...of course they are going to come to the nurse)... "miss, do you have anything to help me put my fake nail back on?" A teacher came to me the other day and asked if I could give him his allergy shot. In his butt no less. People think we just put bandaids on all day. I wish I could have these people sit with me just for a day to see what we actually do.

I was thinking about leaving school nursing, but after helping with saving this new diabetic's life, I am now rethinking it.

0 Votes
Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.

Good job Mary...Another day in the boring, nose wiping, job of the school nurse..."snatching kids from the jaws of death, one kid at a time!!!" You too make us proud!

0 Votes

maryel, your post made my eyes tear up. This is a perfect example of why nurses belong in schools (and not MAs or CNAs!) You changed this boy's life by insisting upon getting him the medical attention he needed.

I'm still not quite sure about me. I love my kids, but I haven't had that "moment" yet with School Nursing. The closest I have come is stuff I have posted in The Bad Day thread here. The psych stuff, the cutters, the suicidal kids, the almost lost kids- they have stayed with me.

My problem is I miss...suctioning, and wound care, and codes, and collaborating with other medical people, and most of all, I miss other nurses.

I want this to be my niche. I don't feel it yet.

0 Votes

Way to go! Nice catch for both you and the teacher!! You will probably be playing an important role as this young man learns to manage his disease.

0 Votes
maryel, your post made my eyes tear up. This is a perfect example of why nurses belong in schools (and not MAs or CNAs!) You changed this boy's life by insisting upon getting him the medical attention he needed.

I'm still not quite sure about me. I love my kids, but I haven't had that "moment" yet with School Nursing. The closest I have come is stuff I have posted in The Bad Day thread here. The psych stuff, the cutters, the suicidal kids, the almost lost kids- they have stayed with me.

My problem is I miss...suctioning, and wound care, and codes, and collaborating with other medical people, and most of all, I miss other nurses.

I want this to be my niche. I don't feel it yet.

I know what you mean though..... I miss all that too. I especially miss the company of other nurses. I am trying really hard to get a PRN job in the hospital but I am coming to learn quickly that the longer you are out of the hospital the harder it is to get back in. I don't miss floor nursing at all. I miss the skills and the company. I would love to be in a procedural area or an out patient center on the side or even full time and maybe do school nursing as a sub. I feel like I need so many more first aid skills. It is hard coming from the hospital to the school because it is so different. When I first started in the school I had to learn about inhalers and nebulizers and epi-pens. I had to google how to put a triangular bandage on as a sling!! (That is embarrassing to admit.) We had to come up with a crisis team and run an AED drill. THAT was scary. We are required in my district to be CPR instructors. I am terrified of public speaking so that is a challenge. I still haven't taught a class yet due to that fear and not feeling confident in my ability to teach something so important. I definitely don't feel comfortable in the school yet. I am on edge all day waiting for that emergency call on the radio. If there was another nurse in the clinic with me it would be the greatest job ever. Some days (and I mean SOME since there are days when I see so many I want to punch the next kid that tells me he has a headache or stomach ache) when I only see 10 or so kids I am like, "This is the best!" I never found myself with down time in the hospital and some days in the school I feel almost bored! Hang in there.... it's definitely not for everyone. When I left the hospital my supervisor told me I was going to be so bored and missing my skills. She was half right. I do love the independence but the responsibility is a killer.

0 Votes
Specializes in kids.

Well done!!! I have had several AHA! moments and am so grateful for those. They are the oasis in a sea of crap some days!!

0 Votes

and most of all, I miss other nurses

.

This is THE worst part of my job right now. I call my office the "cave" because no one comes down here unless they're sick!

0 Votes
Specializes in School Nurse, Pediatrics, Surgical.
I know what you mean though..... I miss all that too. I especially miss the company of other nurses. I am trying really hard to get a PRN job in the hospital but I am coming to learn quickly that the longer you are out of the hospital the harder it is to get back in. I don't miss floor nursing at all. I miss the skills and the company. I would love to be in a procedural area or an out patient center on the side or even full time and maybe do school nursing as a sub. I feel like I need so many more first aid skills. It is hard coming from the hospital to the school because it is so different. When I first started in the school I had to learn about inhalers and nebulizers and epi-pens. I had to google how to put a triangular bandage on as a sling!! (That is embarrassing to admit.) We had to come up with a crisis team and run an AED drill. THAT was scary. We are required in my district to be CPR instructors. I am terrified of public speaking so that is a challenge. I still haven't taught a class yet due to that fear and not feeling confident in my ability to teach something so important. I definitely don't feel comfortable in the school yet. I am on edge all day waiting for that emergency call on the radio. If there was another nurse in the clinic with me it would be the greatest job ever. Some days (and I mean SOME since there are days when I see so many I want to punch the next kid that tells me he has a headache or stomach ache) when I only see 10 or so kids I am like, "This is the best!" I never found myself with down time in the hospital and some days in the school I feel almost bored! Hang in there.... it's definitely not for everyone. When I left the hospital my supervisor told me I was going to be so bored and missing my skills. She was half right. I do love the independence but the responsibility is a killer.

You are not alone in those feelings! I have been a school nurse only for 5 years. It is a lonely profession especially for a hospital nurse. I find myself bored because I am constantly go, go, go until I have done everything I can possibly do (still stuck in that world of hospital too). In our district we have health room assistants that are in the building all day. I only get asked to see a kid a few times a day.

My other thought, nurses in the hospital are highly regarded and are very involved in the care of patients. In schools we are sometimes struggling for people to see our value and understand what we do and our knowledge. This is what gets to me most. Anyways not trying to hijack your thread but I get where you are coming from.

I can't see myself going back full time to a hospital, per-diem maybe but the other perks of this job outweigh the things that work my nerves!

Great job on being there and caring enough to question, ask and respond to the need of this student!

0 Votes
Specializes in IMC, school nursing.

Excellent catch. The best feeling are the next few weeks as you see him improve. I lucked into a few instances where I recommended follow up that improved a student's life. It does feel good. Farawyn, these instances in schools are FAR more appreciated in the school system. I found a basal fracture that 2 physicians overlooked and I literally saved the man's life, and... crickets. There are perks to being the only medical person, if you look. We do make a difference.

0 Votes

That was a good catch! Glad the kiddo made it to see a physician.

I became a nurse at 40 which was almost 19 year ago. So I worked in the hospital (acute;L&D;ER) before all this EMR . . . baloney. :sniff: I did school nursing for 5 years and left that position last October. I've worked part-time in hospice after leaving hospital nursing for about 9 years.

I needed more hours to qualify for medical insurance so a part-time position came up in outpatient and I took it. The most frustrating part is that computer on wheels that we have to bring into the room with our patient. I hate it. In the "olden days" I took care of the patient and then returned to the nurses' station and charted on paper. The patient got my attention.

I was trained BEFORE the cusp of old-time nursing and new-fangled EMR . . . and I'm looking forward to retiring someday but don't like the idea of having to get old to do so. :sarcastic: I plan to stay with hospice as long as I can and still go on medical missions though.

I guess my personal point is going back to hospital nursing after EMR started is not what I ever though nursing was all about.

Rant over.

0 Votes
This is THE worst part of my job right now. I call my office the "cave" because no one comes down here unless they're sick!

Count your blessings!😁

0 Votes
Specializes in School nurse.

Great catch! And those moments are truly rewarding.

I have a T1D and of course she is the student I spend the most time with. My husband wants me to find a job that pays more and I thought about it but I couldn't stand the thought of leaving her. Nope.

I like connecting with patients and watching them grow and develop over time. I love teaching them about how their bodies work when they're healthy and when they're sick. I love it when I see their "aha" happen!

I love the hilarious things the kids say. Today I had to put a bandaid on a small scrape because the boy was concerned it might "bleed out"

HA! What tv shows are you watching? I actually feel more challenged in this setting exactly because we are the only medical professional in the building. Because we are the ones in charge of whatever situation might come, we don't have a team backing us up and we have to be prepared and ready for anything. That is a huge responsibility.

The part I miss the absolute most is spending time with other nurses. We just get each other you know?

But swapping questions, stories and jokes on AN is filling that void a bit.

We should meet up for kool-aid one day y'all! :yeah:

0 Votes
+ Add a Comment