Anxious New Jr/HS school nurse

[RNqueens]

Hello,

I just started as a school nurse for a JR/HS school with over 1200 students. I already had an almost 911 emergency which was scary ! There is very little guidance as far as policy and procedures. For example, a student was referred to me by guidance that the student is c/o of trouble seeing the board and if the parents do not check it out within 3 weeks she was calling cps. I do not have a eye chart in the office only the vision machine (which I do not know how to use). All I could do was talk to the student and call the parent to state the vision complaints and the urgency of getting the vision check by an MD. ( I didn't mention the threat of CPS). The other nurses in the school district have been very helpful but, have their own work to do plus every nurse in the district does their own thing. I am winging it everyday and this makes me very nervous and somewhat uncomfortable. I was hoping that some of the school nurses on this site will be able to offer some advice to get me through my first year. I do think I will eventually love this job once I get a handle of everything.

Thank you in advance.

[Farawyn]

Why CPS?

I called CPS for a fist fight between a student and her aunt, if I called CPS for every parent that didn't follow through I would be calling all day long.

Tell your principal you need an eye chart asap. You will need it for sports clearances which is ongoing at our level. Make sure you tell him/her you don't have one. Make a list of what you think you need. Double check the list with he other nurses in your district. Open a group email so you can touch base with each other during the day.

The hardest part of this job is not having another nurse to bounce stuff off of.

[Wave Watcher]

CPS isn't going to do a darn thing about not getting an eye exam. The teacher needs to move the student to the front of the class if needed and contact the parents again about her concerns. I would not want CPS using their over-worked, under-paid, under-staffed group to take time away from other major issues like abuse to focus on a child who can't see the board. I agree with Farawyn about starting a group email with your district nurses so they can help you when needed. We do the same thing all day (10 nurses total) and we solve most of our issues through email. Hang in there!!

[mom_nurse_cathy]

I know from experience the first year of school nursing is the hardest!! Is there a Health Services department doe the school district or something similar that oversees you? My principal is not my boss, the director of Health Services is. They hired me. And that's where I get all my supplies etc. And yes parents will get referred for all kinds of stuff for their student and NEVER do it (failed eye exam, acanthosis nigricans and obesity issues, scoliosis, asthma paperwork etc) but it rarely will be dealt with by CPS. Hang in there!!

[fetch, BSN, RN]

You might be able to get in touch with the local Lions Club to come do a group screening at your school - I'm not sure what your local laws are about that.

As far as 911 -- I was TERRIFIED the first time I had to call (even though I'd had to call a few times in my previous job as well). Part of it was uncertainty - an asthma kid was going downhill, I had no meds at school, mom had answered the phone once and then started ignoring my calls. Luckily the principal looked at me and said "this is your area, this is your call. I will support your decision but you have to be the one who makes it." The support of admin makes a huge difference! After that, I've accepted the fact that I may call when it's not really needed, but it will still be the right call to make bc otherwise I'll second-guess myself on a child who really needs it.

The nurses on this forum are great, keep in touch with the other nurses in your district as well, and good luck!

[RNqueens]

Fetch you are so right about having admin support! After that scare that was exactly what my principal said to me which made me feel more confident in my decision making. Everyone on this forum has given great advice thus far. The support is greatly appreciated! !:)

[coughdrop.2.go, BSN, RN]

What vision machine do you have? Look up the manufacture and there many be excellent instructions on their website and videos for help. You can even call their 1-800 number and someone should be able to help you. Look for your local School Nurse Organization for support and guidance as well. And that counselor, CPS is unnecessary, but you can tell them if they want to call they have that right. No one can tell you whether or not to call CPS. It is YOUR decision. Also, you need to know that if there is a reasonable situation in which CPS needs to be called, say a teacher is talking to the student and says they have been abused and the teacher approaches you to make the call. No. Whoever the child spoke to first needs to make the call first. You can provide supplemental information and/or be in the room with the staff member when they make the call, but it is not your responsibility to make the call and the statement just because you are the Nurse. It's also not your job to do an "investigation" to gather more information or see if the child is lying or not. If you have enough information to make a good faith judgement to call CPS then that's enough. And finally, put your foot down. That was hard for me to do, but it gets easier with time. That goes for students, staff, and parents. Good luck!

[GF801]

hey just curious how the interview process was for becoming a school nurse for the DOE? Mine is coming up in a few days and I am also nervous