I've been a RN for 4 months and work on a Med/Surg unit in a hospital. I HATE it. I am trying to venture out and see what else is out there for RNs. I have applied for a position as a school nurse in an elementary school. I feel like it would be a nice fit for me, plus I need a break from the 14 hour shifts at the hospital. No one seems to be happy for me. Here are some comments I've received from family, fellow employees, and my current supervisor:
-I am better than that.
-Anyone can be a school nurse.
-I would be degressing, not progressing.
-There is no money or advancement in school nursing
-You don't have to have a degree to hand out bandaids.
-Anyone that took one nursing class can give a kid a pill.
-I would be bored.
-I would lose my skills.
-School nursing is for old women that have school-aged kids.
I am offended by all of the above comments. Are there any school nurses out there that would like to comment or give advice as to what I should do? Also tell me a little bit about what it's like being a school nurse.
I agree. Most of those remarks are pretty offensive but I just consider the source. These things were very likely NOT stated by anyone who has actually been a real school nurse. I've been a nurse for 34 years, the last 4 years in school nursing. So i've had plenty of time to be a NICU nurse,a PICU nurse, an OB nurse, an ER nurse, even a telephone triage nurse. I don't need to prove anything. Yes, I'm an old woman with young adult children. I've lost those ICU skills--I couldn't hit a vein with a bulldozer. But I really could care less. I don't want to be an ICU nurse anymore, but i still have all that ICU knowlege packed away inside my head. i don't need a degree to hand out bandaids or give a tylenol. I need the degree to help me figure out whether I can safely treat this injury at school or whether this child needs to be moved to home, pediatrician or ER. I am never bored because every day is a little different. Most days I start with a sort of skeleton schedule--I know I'm going to see certain regulars, my chronic kids. But anything can happen. All it takes is one kid to tell his teacher "My mom's boyfriend is touching me" and your day turns on a dime. I will never get rich in this job. I'm not paid as much as the teachers are, even though i have as much education as they do. But I just love what i'm doing and i know that I'm making a difference in these kids' lives. And that's what keeps me going.
I second this post!
I'm am also an old woman with adult children but I'll add adult grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
I retired from full time adult MICU in 1992, but continued to work very part time in that unit and worked contingent shifts in the PICU and NICU at the Childrens' hospital until 2009, usually working from 8-32 hours week.. more in the beginning of my semi retirement, less in the end. I now work as a substitute assistant school nurse for a large urban district a few days a month, working with special needs students who have been mainstreamed into regular schools. I am not the actual school nurse, although there are many occasions that I assist her/him on a regular basis when I am not busy.
I used to be ignorant about what school nurses did until I worked in the schools. I used to make comments like "I need to be a school nurse and give out bandaids".
School nursing is NOTHING like that. There are the routine health screens and kids who come to the office who need minor things (frequent flyers). There are mandatory staff trainings that the school nurse must do. There is often a constant stream of kids coming in and out of the nurse's office, and sometimes they have rather serious needs. Pregnancy, STDs, diabetics, severe asthmatics, and students who have complex medical needs are all very common. There are family challenges that require the assistance of a social worker. I often work at one school that has a special unit with kids with GTs, trachs on vents and even kids on TPN. Its not like working in the ICU where I am constantly titrating drips and calling the docs and pushing meds, but I still use some of the same skills that I used to, just not as many and not as often. (No suctioning q hour, no running multiple lines, no drawing labs, no dealing the docs, no watching over the cluless new grad fresh off orientation and making sure she dosen't kill her patient).
The actual school nurse (again not me) is often the only health care professional that some of these kids see on a regular basis. School nurses need to have excellent assessment skills, and I may be biased, but critical care nursing forces you to have good assessment skills or you simply don't make it there. Many many school nurses are former critical care nurses. You are responsible for the health of the students and the staff. In the hospital, there are so many people to help you...other nurses in the unit, the charge nurse, the house supervisor, the resident, the attending etc. In the school, the school nurse works autonomously and is like the attending physician...the buck stops with her/him.
The pay of the school nurse is the same as the teachers as they share the same contract and are members of the bargaining unit with their own union representation. There are significant raises for completing the MSN or MEd degrees, for a masters with 30 hours, and another step for the PhD or DNP. There is a director of nursing for the district and an education coordinator as well, so there are opportunities to move up if that is what you wish to do.
The pay of the assistant school nurse (RN without the school nurse certification or LPN like me ) is a bag of peanuts and a candy bar of your choice every other week. One time they threw in a diet coke too when I helped out in an emergency.
Do not listen to folks who haven't been a school nurse or have worked with school nurses, because they speak out of ignorance, like I used to.
... I still use some of the same skills that I used to, just not as many and not as often. (No suctioning q hour, no running multiple lines, no drawing labs, no dealing the docs, no watching over the cluless new grad fresh off orientation and making sure she dosen't kill her patient).
Specializes in Urgent Care, Family Health, Long term Ca.
"A School Nurse has to have the technical skills of a Med/Surg nurse, the resourcefulness of a Public Health Nurse, the tender touch of a Peds nurse, the assessment skills of an ICU nurse, the pre-hospital skills of a trauma nurse, the teaching skills of a nurse educator, and the organizational and negotiation skills of a nurse manager. All the while dealing with being the only medical professional in a sea of educational people. There is no backup, you are IT! Anything that can happen to kids at home can and does happen at school, so we have to be ready for anything at a moment's notice. "
I couldn't have said this better myself!! I work in a Private school, we have grades 1-12 and not a single child is without a medical need. In fact its a requirement to get in!! I have everything from nuerogenic bladder to crohn's disease to allergies and everything in between. Any job is what you make of it and if you feel like this is the path you are supposed to be on then don't let them sway you. :heartbeat
I have heard the same misconceptions. I love school nursing. Depending on the number of students it can be a little slow at times but boy when its busy its busy !
"Everyone thinks they know what a school nurse does because they have been to school."
Your "support group" has no idea what a school nurse does. And they don't know what it is like to be the only health professional in a school with no resident or another nurse down the hall or in the next room. You are on your own.
Ahintonrn- hi! Curious if you got the school nurse job and how it is going? I'm thinking of applying for a similar position in my county and would love any ideas you have. Hope things are good.
mycsm
206 Posts
It's gonna sound harsh but since you asked...........
THE HECK WITH THEM!!!! You are the only that can decide what you want to do with YOUR life. School nurses rock!!
seriously, dont be influenced....use your gut