Questions about school nursing

darlenemangum · Jan 25, 2012

what are your hours at work?7:30 to 3:30

would you mind sharing your salary and if it's for 12 months or just the school year? salary for school nrses is not good. based on years experience and time working for stae in my district. got to love it because pay is not good, but great benifits a nd time off!!!

do you work during the summer else where? no

how long were you a nurse before you started school nursing? (experience) no experience. found a great boss who was willing to give me a chance and i agreed to a low salary. in sc it is usually 2 years of expierience.

was this a hard field to get into? yes what steps did you take? as stsated before, i got lucky and was at the right place at the right time.

what do you do and do you have an assistant? no

do you have your own office? yes

do you get a lunch break? yes, in my office between students. mostly eat a bite, cover food and continue this way until finished!

do you have to stay for meetings like teachers do? no

what school do you work in (elementary, middle, high school, etc)? high

what's your least favorite thing(s) about this job? the saff that thinks i know all the answers to their problems. and when i state to them to see a doctor, they ignore me and keep coming back to me for the same issues.

if you could do it over again, would you still be a school nurse? yes i love being a school nurse.

SchoolRNAmy · Jan 26, 2012

hello!!!!

i'm not in sc, i'm from ct.

what are your hours at work? 830-230 (30 hours per week)

would you mind sharing your salary and if it's for 12 months or just the school year? my salary is for the school year. i am actually a contract employee for the town, and get paid monthly (that was an adjustment to get used to!!!!) i get paid $40/hour, but do not receive benefits, so i had to take out my own policy for health insurance, etc.

do you work during the summer else where? this is my first year here. i do have a per diem job, that may (hopefully!) offer me some hours during the summer.

how long were you a nurse before you started school nursing? (experience) i am a new nurse, i graduated in april 2011. prior to going to nursing school, i had 16 years experience as an emt, have some experience as an er tech, and a medical assistant.

was this a hard field to get into? what steps did you take? i actually applied to the job on a whim. i had been unemployed for a year and a half, and had been applying to every/any job that i might be qualified for. thankfully, the school called me, and everything worked out the way it did!!

what do you do and do you have an assistant? i am in a small private school, so i do not have/need an assistant

do you have your own office? yes

do you get a lunch break? for the most part.... lunchtime seems to be the busy time... have a couple of kids with adhd meds. but other than that, i take my lunch when i have time.

do you have to stay for meetings like teachers do? i can stay to do annual trainings, but we haven't really had any teacher meetings due to how much school we've already missed due to that awful storm in october.

what school do you work in (elementary, middle, high school, etc)? private school, pre-k - 8th, about 90 students.

what's your least favorite thing(s) about this job? the only thing i really didn't like about the job was the fact that i am pretty much all by myself. in the beginning, it was a huge learning curve. now that time has gone by, and i've had the opportunity to network with some other school nurses in the area, i feel much more comfortable.

if you could do it over again, would you still be a school nurse? absolutely! i love the kids, and communicating with parents.

Sudsy · Jan 27, 2012

[color=#ee82ee][color=#ee82ee]i'm enjoying reading the responses of others, so i figured it was only right that i add in my own :)

what are your hours at work? i work 16-20 hours/week. i generally start at 10 and finish between 2-4 (when most of the students at my school go home. some stay until 6 for after-car, but the latest i've stayed is 5 for paperwork)

would you mind sharing your salary and if it's for 12 months or just the school year? $30/hr. no benefits. school-year only

do you work during the summer else where? i was the nurse at an overnight camp last year and will likely do it again this year.

how long were you a nurse before you started school nursing? (experience)

i have a great education (msn in pediatrics) but had not worked in many, many years while i was home w. my kids.

was this a hard field to get into? what steps did you take?

the school i work at is the private religious school two of my kids attend, so i emailed the principal over the summer. they have never had a school nurse on-premises before, so this has been a pretty big change for all of us :)

what do you do and do you have an assistant?

no assistant, nor do i need one for the number of kids i see/day (school of approx 320 kids)

do you have your own office?

i work in the former library (there are bookshelves all around [which actually makes it nice when students need to relax for 20 mins while a stomachache or h/a goes away). nearby is the office of the reading specialists. they have 4 people in an office that used to be a closet.....so oftentimes, one of them shares my space. i tell them it's fine as long as they're okay w. the fact that a kid might throw up while they're in there :). i'm doing vision screenings now and i ask them to leave so the kids can concentrate.

do you get a lunch break?

no. the lunch food i have worked out is a small bottle of yogurt kefir, an apple and a home-baked muffin or banana bread. everything that i can bolt down in two mins or less and is nutritious.

do you have to stay for meetings like teachers do?

no

what school do you work in (elementary, middle, high school, etc)?

ages 2-grade 9. very varied!!!!!

what's your least favorite thing(s) about this job?

in my case, lack of job security. it is unclear that they'll keep me on for the whole school year b/c, since they've never had/"needed" a nurse, they aren't sure they "need" one. i'm trying to make myself indispensible

if you could do it over again, would you still be a school nurse? yes!

thanks!!!!!! :) :) :)

Sudsy · Jan 27, 2012

p.s. SchoolRNAmy: do you find yourself w. too little to do w. 90 students? I find that sometimes w. 300 (although there ALWAYS seems to be paperwork to catch up on!)

And I agree about it being hard to be alone and with a learning curve. I feel like I am constantly "inventing the wheel" since there has never been a nurse at my school.

SchoolRNAmy · Jan 27, 2012

@Sudsy...

Sometimes, when I think there isn't enough to do (for the brief couple of seconds, lol), I go out and find something to do. I offer help to the office staff (ALWAYS make friends with the office staff!!), always have paperwork that can be taken care of, or check into things that I'm still learning about. If there's ever a day that is slow, I enjoy taking a breather.... because there are days my wheels are spinning!!

I feel ya on "inventing the wheel".... but that's part of what makes this job great. :lol2: Plus... the kids are pretty great too!

mmmiller · Jan 27, 2012

What are your hours at work? I work 8:30-4:30

Would you mind sharing your salary and if it's for 12 months or just the school year? Salary is for the full year (I have a 12 month contract, not just the school year). After taxes, it's a bit over 2k a month.

Do you work during the summer else where? I have a 12 month contract so I keep working at the school during the summer

How long were you a nurse before you started school Nursing? (experience)

I graduated nursing school in May 2011. I worked the summer at a camp and then started as a school nurse in the fall. My final semester of school, I was interning in a school.

Was this a hard field to get into? What steps did you take?

It was not too difficult to get into. I routinely check local school district websites and the Minnesota School Nurses Organization page for job openings.

What do you do and do you have an assistant?

No assistant, although office staff sometimes help out.

Do you have your own office?

Yes. It's small, but big enough for two beds and a desk.

Do you get a lunch break?

Sort of. The office assistant is supposed to cover for me as I eat, but she mostly just lets me know that I have kids waiting. I eat in the staff work room that is right next to my office. I take about 10 minutes to eat, and I am usually interrupted at least once while eating.

Do you have to stay for meetings like teachers do?

No. I do stay for conferences and open houses, in case there are questions, but the meetings I attend are during school hours.

What school do you work in (elementary, middle, high school, etc)?

My school is K-8, 850 students.

What's your least favorite thing(s) about this job?

Least favorite thing would be the isolation. I work in a charter school that is it's own district so I do not have any other school nurses to talk to or get opinions from (other than this website - it has been my savior!).

If you could do it over again, would you still be a school nurse? Yes.

danceluver · Jan 28, 2012

Do any of you who currently work in school nursing able to do it part time (ie 2 days a week) and work in a hospital or clinic/office the other days of the week to help supplement your income? I would love to do this, but the salary seems extremely low and i would love to be able to work in a school and possibly something else during the week.

AFRNtoAFSpouse · Jan 30, 2012

Sudsy,

I was also recently hired as a School RN at my kids school. Do you receive a tuition discount? Do you do any teaching? I am contracted for only 1 hr/month at $25/hr, but there seems like so much more to do! It is a very small school of 100, PK to 6th grade, but will be adding 7th grade next year. Any advice on how you are making yourself "indispensible"? The office staff has been handling everything fine, but I think they would welcome me there more often!

Thank you!

allnurses Guide · Jan 31, 2012

I love the kids, and I love my job; but sometimes its the staff that can make you crazy. In my building, it is the aides. It seems on some days, everyone and anyone has a better idea of how you should be doing your job than you do. They all know that a child must go home, even though you may know more about a kids social situation that makes you think a bit harder before sending him home than meets THEIR eyes.(if they vomited, it is a MUST, in their eyes, even though you know that GI pain and stress is an everyday occurrence in some little lives!) If you don't give an ice pack because you see no bump or bruise, you should have. If you don't put bandaids over scabbed up areas, you should have. I make a very sincere effort to avoid telling anyone else how to do their jobs, but it appears that mine is always fair game.

I had to chuckle at your post. I'm a new school nurse.

We give out ice packs that we make ourselves from Baggies and ice with a tissue taped around it to any child who comes in the office c/o a bump or bruise, even w/o evidence. It helps keep them from whining on and on and usually they end up using the pack for a few minutes, feel vindicated, and forget about it.

Vomiting? You go home. Except for one student (high school) who is bulemic and we handle that in a different way but she stays at school.

Band-aid's for any boo-boo - scabbed over or not. Today a Kindergarten student came in c/o a splinter on her hand. She kept trying to get the splinter out but there was no splinter. Just a raised pinpoint area - so I put a bandaid on it and she forgot about it.

:coollook:

allnurses Guide · Jan 31, 2012

what are your hours at work? 24 hours/week. usually tuesday, wednesday, thursday. another nurse covers monday and friday for diabetic students only.
would you mind sharing your salary and if it's for 12 months or just the school year? i'm allowed to get my salary either for 9 months or twelve months and it is about $32,000 a year. i also have medical benefits. i'm paid on the teacher's scale.
do you work during the summer else where? i work part-time hospice year round but only hospice in the summer.
how long were you a nurse before you started school nursing? (experience) 14 years - l&d/er/med-surg/hospice.
was this a hard field to get into? what steps did you take? you need a bsn and school nursing credential (like a teacher has to get) but they give you 5 years to get it. it takes about a year and costs $15,000 and you do not get any financial assistance from the district.

what do you do and do you have an assistant? health clerk at the d.o. office (she and i share). paraprofessionals trained to help with diabetics and other students but cannot give insulin. only the nurse can do that.
do you have your own office? share a large office with health clerk at the d.o. have a small office at one elementary school but not at the other.
do you get a lunch break?yep, and i take it.

do you have to stay for meetings like teachers do? no - in fact there is a union meeting right now but i don't have to go because this district let the nurse opt out of joining the union.
what school do you work in (elementary, middle, high school, etc)? two high schools, two elementary schools, preschool, special ed, continuation schools.
what's your least favorite thing(s) about this job? being tossed in with no training. you have to take a class to get certified in hearing testing. no policies and procedures to help a new nurse find her way around. bureaucracy.
if you could do it over again, would you still be a school nurse? i would for now because it works well with my goal of being home for my 10 year old. i haven't signed up for college classes yet for my credential. . . not sure i will. that means i'd be out of this job in 4 years if i don't. i've been given an temporary credential to practice.
thanks!!!!!! :) :) :)

you are welcome.