Excited new school nurse!

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Hello, I look forward to being part of this group. I had an interview yesterday morning and was offered the job yesterday afternoon!! They had a few candidates. I was sooo nervous during my interview I was beyond surprised they offered but excited. I knew for a loooong time I wanted to be a school nurse. I have been a RN almost 11 years. I spent 2 years on an adult surgical care unit. 4 years as a pediatric nurse case manager, and 3 and a half years working in a pediatric clinic. I had some time gaps due to caring for my babies. I will be working in a school with grades 7-12. Any advice/tips would be truly appreciated. I am going to join the national school nurse association, my state nurse association. I will read through this board as well.

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Congratulations!!

Everyone says the first year is the worst - keep that in mind when it gets tough, and remember that we're always here for you!

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Congratulations! Reading this board will help a lot! Fetch is right the 1st year is the hardest. It take a while to get into a routine and figure out what works for you and what doesn't.

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Specializes in kids.

keep your sense of humor!!!

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Specializes in School Nursing, Public Health Nurse.

Remember they may be big kids, but they are still little kids at heart. They go crazy over stickers and can throw tantrums like the kinders. Big kids = bigger injuries = bigger drama = bigger attitudes. Also, become familiar with minor consent laws in your State especially as it pertains to sex. In my State if a student is under 14 and having sex with someone over 14 I have to report it or if they are under 16 having sex with someone 21 years or older. I had to make 2 reports regarding that this year.

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Specializes in Psych, Hospice, Surgical unit, L&D/Postpartum.

congrats! I interviewed for a school nurse position last week and was called yesterday with a job offer. My position is a summer school nurse position with potential to go full time when Sept starts. You have great experience and I am sure you will do great! :cat:

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Thank you!!

Yep, I know all about the drama and attitudes. I have 3 teenage girls. Well, one is 19 now, the other will be 18 in August (They are my "step" daughters). My biological teen girl is 16. I also have a 3 year old daughter.

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Specializes in Psych, Hospice, Surgical unit, L&D/Postpartum.

Wow you are busy.... i have a 13 year old girl. Girls can definitely be a handful!

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I'll be starting as a new school nurse too this upcoming school year. Excited and nervous!! I'm so ready for this change!!!

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Specializes in School Nursing, Telemetry.

Congratulations! I am also going to be a new school nurse for the 2014-15 school year. Can't wait for this change, but I definitely have some nerves about the whole thing, too!

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If any of you new school nurses need an email buddy please contact me! [email protected]

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Specializes in School Nursing, Hospice,Med-Surg.

Congrats and welcome!! I have been a lurker here on the boards for months and have learned so much.

I start as a "really for real" school nurse in August. I have been an RN for 15 years and my primary focus has been hospice. Never did I have even the tiniest desire to work with kids! I've always loved geriatrics.

10 years ago we adopted our only daughter. She now attends a private Christian school for K-8. They staff a full-time RN. Last year I began to sub for this nurse anytime the need arose when suddenly, 6 weeks before the school year ended, she resigned effective immediately.

i had spent the past 2 years as a stay at home mom after emotional hospice burnout and a cross country move and was trying to decide if I needed to find another area of nursing to work in for awhile. I took over the school clinic for the end of the year and will admit that I FELL IN LOVE. With the kids, the staff, the job satisfaction, working the same schedule as my daughter, just everything. We also have preschoolers in the building so I even treat them prn until noon. I can't say which age is my favorite. I absolutely love something about every single age group! I never ever imagined liking kids this much!

Anyway, when the position opened for applicants I was first in line and thrilled when I got the offer! It's the lowest nursing pay I've ever received but there are so many rewarding benefits: for the next 4years I'll be in the same building and on the exact same schedule as my daughter & for 8 more years we'll at least be off together for holidays & summers, I get half off her tuition as a staff member which I consider salary, there is a much easier pace and my patients are generally less acute than when I worked hospital, I'm happy to wake up and go to work every morning-that's worth A LOT, and there's a general peace and quiet most of the day which I love. I am a solitary type person so being alone in the clinic so much doesn't bother me although company is much welcome!

My school has just under 400 students so the workload is quite low. Also, with it being a private, paid school I've found that most kids are very well cared for. It's unusual for kids to be sent to school extremely sick and a case of abuse or neglect would be shocking although I know it can happen in this population, too.

i think our clinic may be different in that our parents sign releases on OTC meds for their kids and I medicate for headaches, tummy aches, etc where it seems most public schools don't do that. So I stock a wide variety of kids and adult strength Advil, Tylenol, Immodium, Pepto, Tums, Midol, etc. in fact I am bargain shopping now to stock for the upcoming school year.

anyway, my name is Shawna. I'm in a suburb of Atlanta and I look forward to getting to know each of you. Thank you for sharing in the past because I learned from it in those last 6 weeks of school as I was literally dropped into the clinic in "sink or swim" fashion!

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