Do school nurses do any sex ed?

JulzNDuane · Feb 15, 2005

At my school, the classroom teacher has sex ed as part of her curriculum. The school feels that my time is best spent taking care of the children who need medical attention. I am sure it is different everywhere.

presC. · Feb 20, 2005

hello, i'm a newbie in sch.nursing. would like to ask for links/website where i could find easy to discuss about sex ed.

thank you in advance for the infos.

allnurses Guide · Feb 20, 2005

Hi - I'm not a school nurse but I do know our school nurse works hand in hand with the health teacher. She also does presentations. One very important one last year was started because she had some girls admit to anal sex because their boyfriends said along with no risk of pregnancy, there was also no risk of STD's. arrggghhh!

What our school is trying to focus on, along with the fundamentals of sex, is teaching our kids to value themselves and others. Not to use people. Kids need more than just the birds and the bees talk.

steph

unknown99, BSN, RN · Feb 20, 2005

I did my RN mentorship with the school nurse. We gave a puberty talk to a group of 4th and 5th graders. That was NOT fun!!! However, it was very necessary and I feel for the most part, the kids really learned alot.

crich · Apr 1, 2005

I've always leaned toward labor & delivery of some sort of OB nursing. I'm curious if school nurses ever do much sex education with middle school and high school students, even if it's just answering student questions. If so, what sorts of questions do kids ask?
I realize this is a controversial area and I am pretty liberal about these issues. Just curious.

Hello What to do

I have been in ob for almost 20 years and it is a wonderful field of nursing. 5 years ago I had a school nursing job drop in my lap. I decided it was a gift from above, with the wonderful hours. Some people say the pay is bad, but that depends on whether you are an RN, state and system you work in. Mine is pretty comparable to other nursing jobs. I took the job, because I had 2 children in school, but it has been a very rewarding decision. When I started, there was no sex ed. I started by convincing my director of schools to let me do a 5th grade puberty class and have now worked up to a choices and consequences class for 7th graders, and STD, etc class for the 8th graders. i believe that knowledge is power. I started the 8th grade classes by asking two MDs to present, but now have gone to an organization that is Abstinance based, but very up to date and has young people as instructors. Both have been very effective. One thing that I added that I thought was very important was a speaker to talk to the classes about self esteem issues.

smk1, LPN · Apr 1, 2005

Hi - I'm not a school nurse but I do know our school nurse works hand in hand with the health teacher. She also does presentations. One very important one last year was started because she had some girls admit to anal sex because their boyfriends said along with no risk of pregnancy, there was also no risk of STD's. arrggghhh!
What our school is trying to focus on, along with the fundamentals of sex, is teaching our kids to value themselves and others. Not to use people. Kids need more than just the birds and the bees talk.
steph

it just amazes me what kids know about and do today! (and i am only 28!) i was so oblivious at that age i just didn't even know about that "type" of sex. Never even occured to me, even for gay people, i just never knew about it. :uhoh3: I am so scared for my 4 yr old. She may have to be homeschooled. Or maybe i can get a job as the school nurse in her school. :chuckle

MollyJ · Apr 6, 2005

I am getting ready to sex ed in my 4th and 5th grade classrooms--AIDS and "growth and development". The g & D is pretty much body changes and periods.

By and far, kids are avidly interested and want to talk about the topic. We do AIDS with boys and girls combined and it is mainly what is AIDS, how can you get it and that you cannot get it from being in school with an HIV positive student. 4th graders see a cartoon type movie about kids going to camp and there is a rumor afoot that there will be a child with HIV there. 5th graders see the Ryan White story.

The G & D we do in groups divided by gender. Young girls are really wanting to talk about the whole period thing. The boys are more far afield and I even had questions about where the baby grows, etc. 4th grade girls and 5th grade girls and boys see a movie that talks about body changes and periods. These movies are both produced by feminine hygiene companies. They cover the basics and are good. 4th grade boys see a hygiene and body changes movie.

We send a letter out ahead of time to parents advising that we are going to do the movie. Parents are invited to preview the movie or sit in on the presentation. I have had parents contact me to see the movie which is good. THose children are more likely to have a parent follow up discussion and that is probably the most important thing.

When I talk to the girls, I bring tampons, mini pads and pads. We hand them around but they only have to touch them if they want to. The movie I use with 5th graders has a young lady in it who professes to have used tampons "from the first" and if the girls mention her, I tell them it's an option but it is probably not typical that girls use them from the first period on.

http://www.always.com/en_us/pages/common.shtml?pageid=zn0005

http://www.kotex.com/na/talk/educators/eduKitInfo.asp

Above are two education resources. There just aren't many freebies out there any more.

menetopali · Apr 18, 2005

not sure if i'm a 'school nurse' as i work in college health. i do lots of 'sex ed' on campus among other things as health education is my primary function. i have a safer sex and std education program that i developed with the residence life office and i have a education kit that i grab and go with when sombody calls with a question that they didn't want to ask during a formal presentation. i also field questions from walk-ins to the office, nursing students doing school projects, and other departments.