I've been an LPN for the past 22 years, however Tuesday was my first day as a school nurse. I spent that day with the nurse (RN) I was replacing in my school. She spent most of the day complaining about the fact that she was being transferred to another school or surfing restaurants online. Anytime a child came to the clinic, the first thing she would do was take the temp. If it was over 100, she gave them an excused sign out slip and called for pickup. (That's per policy.) If afebrile, she sent them back to class with a peppermint (if c/o sore throat or tummy troubles). That was it. I asked her where the AED was, and she told me there was not one on the premises. She said if she doesn't see puke, it didn't happen. I totally get that. I hated school as a child and that was my #1 excuse to miss.
The second day, I spent the morning with a nurse at an elementary school. If a child who said they "don't feel good" claimed they puked at home before school that morning, or the night before, she immediately sent them home. That same day, I spent the afternoon with the nurse at a high school, but the only thing she saw during that time was kids coming in for routine meds and girls wanting tampons.
That was all the training I received. Yesterday was my first day solo. I had to wander around the school to learn where things are, and I found the AED I was told we didn't have! I still have no idea about disaster plans or drills. I guess I will have to ask the front office staff about that.
I just feel totally lost and thrown to the wolves. There doesn't seem to be anything else specific like the temp policy. Everything else is follow your gut, but then there is no uniformity between nurses. I'm just feeling completely overwhelmed! There is a SpecialEd classroom LPN there, but she is one of those "eat their young" type of nurses, and is the one who griped me out over sending a child home yesterday who c/o puking at home that morning. And the few times I've had to ask her a question, she's been very snarky.
