2021-22 contracts?

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When do your contracts/offers to continue usually come out for the next year? Have y'all decided if you're signing up for another round?

(I don't know why I can't remember anything about signing my contracts for the previous two years!  I blame this, and everything else, on COVID)

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Nurses in my district don’t have contracts which is pretty interesting to me.

I toss back and forth with whether I am coming back or not.

I love school nursing for the schedule which is important to me as a Mother of a 4th grader, and helping my older Father who I recently moved in with.

However, I get more and more uneasy as more parents are not responsible. Example I dealt with 2 Asthmatic students with expired inhalers on Monday. Both parents already knew that as I have already informed them.

I have parents who also don’t send epi-pens like they should.

I just hate having a constant uneasy feeling and after almost 7 years of school nursing I want to do something different, but I honestly do not know what.

I have not worked in a hospital since 2005. I came from a clinic before school nursing.

Clinic positions are hard to come by. I suck at IV’s. So I feel even more stuck. 

 

 

 

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Specializes in School nursing.

At my school, we get them in April.

(And I'm waiting for it to be official, but I'm getting a promotion for next school year! Does mean I'm moving to 12 month position, but I'm actually very excited.)

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Specializes in Geriatric Home Health, High School Nurse.
13 hours ago, peaceful2100 said:

I have not worked in a hospital since 2005. I came from a clinic before school nursing.

Clinic positions are hard to come by. I suck at IV’s. So I feel even more stuck. 

If you are looking for a flexible schedule, I was PRN in home health for YEARS before coming to school nursing.  I did Medicare visits (the paperwork looks daunting but you can learn it pretty quickly), so I was able to schedule my 30-45 min visits around my kids' schedules.  I could load up on visits if I wanted to make extra money, or let my agency know that my kids were off for the Summer so I wasn't going to be as available.  It worked really well for us, I just needed a change so I came to school nursing.  I miss my flexible schedule but having the Summer totally off is nice too!

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Specializes in Home Health,Dialysis, MDS, School Nurse.

Our contracts usually come out sometime in April.   They are very simple, one pagers, that simply offer you the job at x rate of pay, for x amount of days, for total of x amount of money.   Only thing ever different is if we get a raise.   I plan on signing it, because nothing fantastic has miraculously appeared thats better.  

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10 hours ago, SchoolNurseK said:

If you are looking for a flexible schedule, I was PRN in home health for YEARS before coming to school nursing.  I did Medicare visits (the paperwork looks daunting but you can learn it pretty quickly), so I was able to schedule my 30-45 min visits around my kids' schedules.  I could load up on visits if I wanted to make extra money, or let my agency know that my kids were off for the Summer so I wasn't going to be as available.  It worked really well for us, I just needed a change so I came to school nursing.  I miss my flexible schedule but having the Summer totally off is nice too!

Interesting I had thought about home health, but feel since I have not worked in a hospital since 2005 I would not qualify. The only other thing I think about is safety and going into unknown environments.  

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Specializes in Geriatric Home Health, High School Nurse.
12 hours ago, peaceful2100 said:

The only other thing I think about is safety and going into unknown environments. 

Yes, depending on where you work this can be an issue.  I worked in a pretty rough area when I was in home health before I had kids.  Looking back, I wasn't always the safest, though I wore scrubs and that seems to afford me a certain level of protection and respect.  Once I was a Mom, I switch to a rural area.  Things still got dodgy a few times, but nothing I couldn't handle.  You quickly learn to enter a home and take charge.  That usually diffuses most things.  Being a school nurse will have prepared you for that! ?  Best of luck!

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Specializes in School Health.

I usually don't get my contract until around my last day of work for the year.  We do complete a Letter of Intent form in March whether we would like to return or not.  When contracts start, I am usually one of the last people to sign, since my principal starts with the teachers first.

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Specializes in kids.
On 3/25/2021 at 6:41 AM, JenTheSchoolRN said:

At my school, we get them in April.

(And I'm waiting for it to be official, but I'm getting a promotion for next school year! Does mean I'm moving to 12 month position, but I'm actually very excited.)

Congrats!!

Probably in mid April and yes I'll be back!

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Specializes in school nurse.
On 3/25/2021 at 6:41 AM, JenTheSchoolRN said:

At my school, we get them in April.

(And I'm waiting for it to be official, but I'm getting a promotion for next school year! Does mean I'm moving to 12 month position, but I'm actually very excited.)

I believe you had shared before that you work in a charter school. In that type of organization, how do you move up, I.e. what constitutes a promotion...?

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Specializes in School nursing.
5 hours ago, Jedrnurse said:

I believe you had shared before that you work in a charter school. In that type of organization, how do you move up, I.e. what constitutes a promotion...?

I'm moving from a 10 month position to a 12 month position. My official title will be School Nurse Leader and I'll be the chair of the Health and Wellness Department, re-building our health curriculum. I'll also be coaching the entire nursing team (1 RN, 2 LPNs) and coaching and co-teaching with our health teachers (our gym teachers). I'm excited because finally the health department and curriculum will be an official thing - teaching health is something I actually love doing as a school nurse. I'll also still be the onsite RN for our MS/HS campus, but the temp LPN I was given for COVID now gets to stay long term :).

(Oh, and I now take over all medical 504s and am the RN that attends when needed 504 meetings and IEP meetings.)

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Specializes in school nurse.
7 minutes ago, JenTheSchoolRN said:

I'm moving from a 10 month position to a 12 month position. My official title will be School Nurse Leader and I'll be the chair of the Health and Wellness Department, re-building our health curriculum. I'll also be coaching the entire nursing team (1 RN, 2 LPNs) and coaching and co-teaching with our health teachers (our gym teachers). I'm excited because finally the health department and curriculum will be an official thing - teaching health is something I actually love doing as a school nurse. I'll also still be the onsite RN for our MS/HS campus, but the temp LPN I was given for COVID now gets to stay long term :).

(Oh, and I now take over all medical 504s and am the RN that attends when needed 504 meetings and IEP meetings.)

Sounds almost like a 14 month position! ?     Congratulations!

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