A "real nurse" or school nurse

[jnemartin]

After nearly 2 years of school nursing, today I finally got asked the age old question (from a 6th grader): "So… are you, like, a real nurse, or just a school nurse"

LOL.

To balance things out, yesterday a teacher told me how grateful she is to have "an actual nurse" at the school to deal with medical issues, especially because she was always made to dispense meds which made her uncomfortable (of course!), and with such a terrible flu season/now COVID19.

[tining, BSN, RN]

Only 39 - geez

[NurseBeans, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

These comments used to irritate me until my sister sent me a picture of a flyer from one of her childrens' schools, it basically said they would pay substitutes a little extra to sub for the "health office". Which it is called because they do not have a nurse per school, they have a nurse per district and then just whoever wants to work the health office in the school...she then proceeded to say she might do it...despite the fact that she gets woozy when I mention blood or scabs or vomit. She had no idea she might encounter those things.

It really is just that not every school in the country has an "actual" nurse, and people don't realize what we do.

Having said that, as a substitute school nurse now, somehow my name made it on to the list of district-wide subs for teachers. The first time I got a call to sub in a classroom I actually said "OMG no, I'm just a nurse! I can't be in a classroom!"

[amoLucia]

Hey! For all of you interested in that poster --- Google it as "nurses posters".

I googled and they had it there. With a bunch of other NICE posters.

But the real reason I post now is to alert you that they have posters that may be of mucho interest to those of you who want something to decorate your offices or classrooms. All different kinds of 'health ed' poster for very approp content (handwashing, food allergies, STDs, asthma, concussions, flu, etc). Even current topics - surprised me.

Some posters I would have seriously considered for my own jobs as Staff Dev/IC in LTC. There's even a couple I really like now for my own condo decorating use (the ones with the heart lungs, kidneys & ? are quite nice).

Just passing on the info.

[BagelBomber, ASN, BSN, RN]

5 hours ago, tining said:

Pretty sure it is illegal to call yourself a school nurse if you do not have the credentials.

I live in Baltimore City, and the school "nurse" at my son's school is a CNA that attended a two-ish hour course on medication administration. My son attends an elementary/middle school that easily has 300+ students, and they are LUCKY to have even a CNA available- sad truth of Baltimore City public schools. A great deal of the city schools here don't even have a health suite, let alone someone with actual training in health care.

But I digress- I'm in my final semester of nursing school now and I cannot IMAGINE being a school nurse. You guys have to deal with absolutely everything from paper cuts to broken wrists and it all needs to be documented- on top of dealing with an administration that seems to be against you far more often than they're on your side. I salute all of the school nurses out there.

[Daisy Joyce]

That’s so weird a kid would think to phrase the question like that. Maybe one of the grownups in their life has that attitude?

I’m just a sub nurse, and sometimes work in the health room and sometimes go on the field trips. The littlest kiddos have asked me if I’m the “doctor” for the trip LOL.

[Sunshine In My Pocket]

I’ve been a School Nurse for 18 years and a nurse for 25. I had been in the schools for about 10yr and my 25y(@the time) son told his Friends that his mother used to be a nurse , but now his mother is “just a school nurse”. I have not felt like a real nurse since. Very defeated.

[Jedrnurse, BSN, RN]

On 3/11/2020 at 8:33 AM, SandIsMyGlitterRN said:

I had a parent ask me if she could apply for the open school nurse position further south in our county. I asked her qualifications and she told me that she graduated high school.........um, NO!!

Don't shoot her down too quickly.

What did she major in in high school...?

[InSchool4eva20, MSN, RN]

I worked as a Public District RN for a large school district and of all the jobs in my career, by far this was the hardest. I also carry a pet peeve of the term "band-aid" nurses. The hours were great, but the social work aspect of the job and parents neglect or the other end of the spectrum over zealous parents. I now teach nursing and always share my experiences so new nurses understand these roles. When I left my school district was trying to justify sharing me with another district to save money. I would try and hire people with previous CNA experience or any medical experience, but they were paid minimum wage so this was very difficult.