Today....

[KeeperOfTheIceRN]

....today I'm feeling overwhelmed with everything... .

***ADMIN, PLEASE DON'T POST ON FACEBOOK***

When you were hired, was it just assumed that you knew everything there was to know about school nursing? I feel like that's how it was when I was hired and to be quite honest, there's A TON that I'm realizing that I don't know and am frankly, just not aware of. And I don't know how I'm supposed to know about these things if I'm never told about them. Does that make sense? Everyday it feels like I learn about something that I was SUPPOSED to be doing but wasn't even aware that it was expected of me.

For example, apparently I was supposed to do teacher training on epi pens during staff training this past summer. However, I wasn't even aware that there was a scheduled staff training event. I'm apparently not included in those kinds of things and was never told I needed to be there. Had I known about it, I would have been there and the training would have been completed. Now before you jump on me about training and delegating epi pen administration, please know, as it was needed, it was done. Kind of a case by case situation. I just didn't know I needed to do a "mass training" during the summer staff meeting.

That is just one example of something that has popped up this year but it makes me wonder what else am I missing.

Am I the only one who wishes there was a clear cut outline of all of the "non hands on nursing" tasks that are expected of us that I can print off and keep as a checklist???

Staff training? CHECK!

Immunizations? CHECK!

Update policies? CHECK!

Insert other important things for check list? CHECK!

How did all of you seasoned school nurses learn all that you know? Were you ever in a position where you felt you were probably forgetting to do something but you didn't know how to find out what exactly you were forgetting to do??

Bleh. Like I said. I feel overwhelmed today and I hate feeling like I'm dropping the ball.

[Have Nurse, ADN, RN]

It's o.k., Keeper, you've got a good head on your shoulders. Just be assertive about what information you should be up on. Ask questions and if the person you ask doesn't know, find out who does. Well done to you!

[NutmeggeRN, BSN]

I had a great mentor who guided me thru those first few years. I took every training and opportunity I had to further my skills and knowledge.

As we moved toward certification in NH, one of the most contentious pieces of the legislation was the requirement that a new school nurse has 3 years of pedi experience.

[BeckyESRN]

When I started here, I was handed my keys and told "your office is over there". That's it! I didn't meet the building principal until I had been here a week. One teacher showed me around the building after she realized that no one had done that already. Luckily, I'm 1 of 4 nurse's for the district, so I had people to call for guidance, however each building is run a little differently so a lot of it was make it up as you go.

[Amethya]

Trust me, we ALL been there. This is my 2nd year at a school and I know how you feel. I was only given the basic information and just told how to input immunizations on the computer and that's it, here's the keys, figure it out yourself. So a lot of what I do is all first hand experience, learning on the job. It takes time and eventually you will get used to it. As someone said, if you forgot and didn't know, don't let it cause you stress, acknowledge the issue, and let it go and just try next year to do a better job. If you can fix it, that's fine, but if you can't, try again. If I didn't have this mentality, I would be still posting threads of anxiety and stuff on here.

I'm not a nurse, but I have so much exp on SN, I'm pretty sure once I become a RN, I can get a job quickly for SN because of that experience.

Good luck and don't hesitate to PM some of us for some help (Mostly the others, I'm just a MA.)

Also when in doubt, call your Nurse supervisor or call the other nurses in your district, a lot of them probably know more than you and can give you advice and help!

[audreysmagic, RN]

New jobs are always a learning curve, and I sympathize with you. When I first started school nursing, I was sent in by an agency, so there was no one to orient me in many cases, and so much, "I was supposed to do that? Crap." Especially on cases where I was the permanent sub (filling in for a vacancy in the district). I returned to the hospital world a few years ago, and in November, I was asked to take over staff education. Awesome! DREAM JOB. Only caveat? This is a small facility, so it came paired with Infection Control.

And, yeah, I routinely feel like I'm in over my head. The hospital is paying for additional training for me, and my MSN bridge courses are tying in nicely - so that helps. Experience is a great teacher. I'm learning so, so much and catching up, but going from helping the IC nurse to BEING the IC nurse is one heck of a transition. I sometimes look around my office and feel like they're going to catch on sooner or later that I'm just faking it til I make it.

If it helps, what I remind myself is, I'm learning how we do many of these things here. I know what I'm doing overall; I just have to apply the skills I already have in a different way. And, as others have said, there's no shame whatsoever in seeking resources/help. That's what smart people do. I read a statistic somewhere (don't have the source handy, alas) that it takes a good 6 months to feel comfortable in a new job. I feel like that's an under-estimate in some cases, depending on what your learning curve was going in.

[Rubor]

You are not alone. I have been at this for a bit and I still have those times, especially as things change and responsibilities get added on.

[palli]

My old school "forgot" to include me in on a meeting for a transgender student and for the whole first month I was calling her a him when I should have been doing the opposite......why wasn't the nurse included in THAT meeting??????

Admin in my old building was such a clique it sucked

[KKEGS, MSN, RN]

My old school "forgot" to include me in on a meeting for a transgender student and for the whole first month I was calling her a him when I should have been doing the opposite......why wasn't the nurse included in THAT meeting??????

Admin in my old building was such a clique it sucked

I had a student last year who was adopted by her foster family. This family adopted a lot of special needs children and all of the girls had names that began with the same letter so when this little one was adopted she chose a new name for herself so she would match her sisters. Guess who they forgot to tell?

[Queen of Icepacks, RN]

I have a student who at 7 is undergoing premature puberty and no one thought to tell me.

[djh123]

Don't feel alone. I wasn't trained remotely enough in my former LTC position and was handed the keys, and there I went, learning as I went, and frequently answering questions from mgt. and others by saying "Nobody told me!" as I went along. But as we know, that's not the greatest way to go about it for our patients, or in your case, kids. If you don't know everything you're supposed to do, then it's not you 'dropping the ball', it's whomever was supposed to train or tell you what you're supposed to do, and what's expected.

[Amethya]

Don't feel alone. I wasn't trained remotely enough in my former LTC position and was handed the keys, and there I went, learning as I went, and frequently answering questions from mgt. and others by saying "Nobody told me!" as I went along. But as we know, that's not the greatest way to go about it for our patients, or in your case, kids. If you don't know everything you're supposed to do, then it's not you 'dropping the ball', it's whomever was supposed to train or tell you what you're supposed to do, and what's expected.

That is true, but most of the time it's a learn as you go to all of us. That's why it's more suggested to call our supervisor to all the nurses or other nurses and ask them for advice, which helps a lot in the long run