CNA working as the "school nurse"

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

hello,

as you may of noticed i just found this forum today and i have so much to share. first let me describe what i am and what i do.

i'm a cna/gna and certs in first aid/cpr/med tech/... on top of that i'm also a nursing student going for her rn but is becoming a lpn this july. anyway my title is school health assistant and i work in the health room full-time. i provide treatments, administer meds, document, call parents, take care of injuries, provide first aid, and basically there to ensure everyones safety. on occassion i also do little presentations to the kids to teach them basic first aid( applying band aids) and good hand hygiene. there is a rn with a bsn that delegate to me and is my supervisor. she is in charge of doing careplans,communicating with the md, reviews new records, and she is the go to person if i have any problems, questions, or concerns. i also communicate with her on a daily basis and give her all the updates on certain problems. she's in charge of two health rooms which is why she is there only part-time, and she hardly ever provide direct care to students.

in my area cnas work in the health room and rns with bsns are their supervisors. there is one cna to each school and one rn to two schools. the problem is that people often call me the "school nurse" because i'm who take care of the kids all the time. i never call myself a nurse or school nurse. i where my badge everyday and it says big and clear " health assistant" when ever someone calls my office i answer" miss x school health assisstant speaking" some times parents will say " is this the school nurse?" and i say " no this is the health assistant" no matter how many times i remind and tell teachers, staff, parents, and students that i'm not the " school nurse" they still call me that anyway.

so do you school nurses think its ok for me a cna to run the health room. i never do anything out of my scope and if something came up out of my scope i call my boss to help.

its said that there is so much of a nursing shortage that nurses can't be in every school.

oh i have another dilema. i will be a lpn this summer however the system does not hire lpns. i would be able to keep my job however i would still be recognized as the health assistant and will be paid as such. there will be no change in my skills, pay or title.

i thinking about taking my lpn and working in long-term care or a clinic, or another area where they hire school nurses as lpns. what would you do ? thanks for reading, i know its long.

[bergren]

First, thank you for correcting everyone. Please continue to do so. In most states, not to correct them is to risk "impersonating" a registered nurse. Arizona has cited several school health assistants for impersonation. In Minnesota it is illegal for anyone except a nurse to even answer the phone, "school nurse's office". So thank you for emphasizing your role.

Second, it depends on what state you are in whether health aides can staff health offices independently.

Last, having said that, with the right student mix and the right supervision, health aides can stretch health coverage in a district and let teachers teach, let secretaries run the main office, and let principals principal. Your ratio of one nurse to 2 buildings is better than most, and depending on how far apart the schools are, how many students the RN covers, and the percent of chronic illness and medically fragile you have, in my experience it can work quite well. Over time, I worked with several health assistants in set ups like this, and each and everyone was a Godsend. The very best thing you can do to help the RN is to communicate. The RN is ultimately responsible for your care of the students until you are licensed, and even though you are close to the LPN, until licensed, the RN needs to be called and aware of anything out of the normal routine. After the LPN, you will be accountable for your own practice, except for the things that your state says are "RN only" territory - and then again, it is the communication that is most important.

Congratulations on your impending graduation!!