Advice about school nursing

[AFwife727]

I am a hospital nurse working night shift and I'm looking for a change of pace... Wanting to get out of the hospital environment and have a more normal life! I should mention too - I have a 5 year old starting kindergarten in the fall and a 3 yr old. Kindergarten starts at 8am and I'm not even home until at least 8am! So I had an interview for a school nurse RN position (I have a BSN) and I feel that it went very well. I was told it would be awhile until I heard anything due to school being out and principals being out of office. I was also asked whether I wanted elementary/middle/high school. At the time, I told her I wasn't sure and was open. After thinking about it, I think I would like to avoid high school due to the nature of the issues there - teen pregnancy, drugs, etc. Does anybody have advice about which area of school nursing they like and why? Also, I know the pay is very low.. I'd make $7 less than I do in the hospital with my shift differential. I was told I'd be eligible for a $2 raise in 7 years, lol. I'm afraid that I wouldn't be able to afford to live on such low pay. I'm just wanting some advice and/or perspectives on school nursing from nurses who actually do it :) Thanks in advance!

[AFwife727, BSN, RN]

So I was thinking about all of this. And came to realize I had more questions than I initially thought. I'm concerned. I was told by a retired nurse who worked for the district for 17 yrs that they are using Health Aides at the schools and they are allowed to administer medications and handle the day-to-day in the nurse's office. Is this a normal thing when there's a multi-site RN who is in charge of multiple schools? During my interview I was only told that there's LPNs at the schools and wonder if they are not being honest. The older nurse did tell me that she does not know why the district isn't honest about the fact that they use HA's in the schools when the nurses are not there. What are the implications if the HA at a school makes a mistake with a medication or something?? Isn't it my license then since I'd be the RN overseeing? What about Liability Insurance? Are you required to carry your own? I'm so used to working in the hospital that I know I'm covered under the hospital should anything happen.