I am lamenting my job these days... I am feeling so fed up with these kids and their arbitrary complaints.
Last week I had a girl in pretending to have visual/auditory hallucinations. Of course I can't say that I think she is faking it, but my experience and the convenient on/off quality of the hallucinations raise enough suspicion that I wanted to tell the girl to quit it and buck up. Meanwhile, I can't do anything else in my office or even really treat other kids because WHAT IF?? What if she isn't faking? What if she is experiencing an episode of psychosis? What if I ignore it? What if she leaves my office and hurts herself? What if.... argg!!!!!
Kid after kid crying about a belly ache and begging to have me call home for something that they never should have even left the classroom for.
I know I will stay because I am not giving up this schedule/pension. But I am so salty about it all for the whole last week. I need a vacation....
Edit to add- I am also fully aware that this is a stressful time in my personal life with holidays, graduate classes, single mom life, etc.
Which brings this as my first thought after reading your reply. Part of our job, as school nurses, is to help shape and raise students to become strong, healthy, contributing adults in society...not helpless, needy adults. And, sometimes, just sometimes, this necessitates a tough love approach.
On the flip side, I scooped up one of my young elementary autistic students, who came walking to school, crying tears big and deep enough to float a ship, into my arms. I rocked and talked to the student until the student could function, then I walked to student to breakfast and helped the student get their tray. That is just a drop in the bucket of what we do. EVERYDAY ALL DAY.
Sometimes it takes tough love and sometimes it takes a "Granny" to take a student in our arms and love them like I would want someone to love my own if they needed it.
The education system, is. like. no. other. for. a. nurse. to. work. in. But, one has to truly be in the education system to really "get' it.
"one has to truly be in the education system to really "get' it."
So what I hear you saying is.. my 35 years of experience and my 40 years of motherhood means diddly squat on the school nurse forum.
If a school nurse would post a question, or an opinion.. regarding critical care, medical surgical nursing, or case management .. I would not discount their input.. simply because they have NOT specifically worked in those areas.
If your big on compassion & empathy, you might look back on earlier posts that prompted this thread & discussions about struggling marriages, single parenting, job stress, major upheaval at work, nurse burnout (which is a real thing).
Sometimes as a nurse we realize we've spent years caring for all the needs around us and begin to wonder if anyone cares what we need. Then a fellow nurse strolls in & basically says, "boo freaking hoo! Get over yourselves, whiners!" See where I'm coming from?
You've been working for 2 months now,that must be brutal:sarcastic:. You will get a week off in November, 2 weeks off in December, that should count as a vacation.
Perhaps you should stop focusing on the daily first aid, start some health care teaching and try to help a child that is so screwed up , they are faking hallucinations.
Telling a fellow nurse (I don't care what specialty you are in or how many years experience you have) who is obviously struggling both professionally and personally at this point in her life to basically "suck it up and try harder" while rolling your eyes is not helpful for anyone.
And I also fail to see how "you've only been at it for 2 months" determines how much stress one can be under. Seriously.
Us school nurses come here to vent and get support from one another because most of us don't have coworkers that we can commiserate with at the "nurse's station" about how awful a shift has been. We come here to do that. I wouldn't waltz into an ICU nurse's station and tell someone who has had rotten shift to "suck it up, you only work 3 shifts a week and you have a vacation coming up. Oh, and while you at it, could you dig a little deeper into why that psych-medical patient in room 3 keeps having hallucinations while they are actively having hallucinations?" See what I'm saying?
"one has to truly be in the education system to really "get' it."
So what I hear you saying is.. my 35 years of experience and my 40 years of motherhood means diddly squat on the school nurse forum.
If a school nurse would post a question, or an opinion.. regarding critical care, medical surgical nursing, or case management .. I would not discount their input.. simply because they have NOT specifically worked in those areas.
We are all nurses, we learn from each other.
No - not saying that 35 years as a nurse and 40 years as a mother disqualifies you from having an opinion. It does, however disqualify you from having a snarky attitude of what it's like to work in education if you've never actually done it day in and day out. I have never worked in ICU day in and day out. I spent a whole lot of time there and ran a heck of a lot of codes there when a was ADN, but I would not go into a vent thread of theirs and tell them to suck it up because they are mostly 1:1 with sleeping patients.
You've been working for 2 months now,that must be brutal:sarcastic:. You will get a week off in November, 2 weeks off in December, that should count as a vacation.
Perhaps you should stop focusing on the daily first aid, start some health care teaching and try to help a child that is so screwed up , they are faking hallucinations.
I really love it when people make assumptions and make snippy comments about our job when they have no clue what it entails . I do not have a week off in November nor 2 weeks in December so possibly the OP does not as well but how brilliant of you to imagine we all do. We should probably just write posts all day about how wonderful our jobs are and how lucky we all are. I mean what could we possibly have to complain about? Give me a break! Try adding something constructive to the discussion instead of just piling on when someone is having a bad time.
Specializes in School Nurse. Having conversations with littles..
"one has to truly be in the education system to really "get' it."
So what I hear you saying is.. my 35 years of experience and my 40 years of motherhood means diddly squat on the school nurse forum.
If a school nurse would post a question, or an opinion.. regarding critical care, medical surgical nursing, or case management .. I would not discount their input.. simply because they have NOT specifically worked in those areas.
We are all nurses, we learn from each other.
OK- then learn from us, who are School Nurses. Especially, since this is the School Nurse Forum. (What did you say that we could actually learn from anyway?) Unless someone has actually been in education, it doesn't mean near as much. I am not being mean, but seriously, if a person has never been in the education world, there is no way to wrap ones mind around all the logistics. I would expect the same thinking from other nurses in other areas of practice. Who have A LOT of experience in their chosen area of practice. And here...is...the...kicker... I would be totally OK with that. And I absolutely would not be bad mouthing on another specialty forum, of which I have very little hands/heart on experience. Sure, I took care of my mom at home until her body was eaten up with Cancer. I was the only nurse in the family. I thought and did things that I never thought possible. Does that make me qualified to go on a Forum that Oncology nurses may be on (maybe they had a bad day, and needed to vent to other nurses who have been in their shoes time and time again?) NOT.A.CHANCE.
You've been working for 2 months now,that must be brutal:sarcastic:. You will get a week off in November, 2 weeks off in December, that should count as a vacation.
Perhaps you should stop focusing on the daily first aid, start some health care teaching and try to help a child that is so screwed up , they are faking hallucinations.
You've been working for 2 months now,that must be brutal:sarcastic:. You will get a week off in November, 2 weeks off in December, that should count as a vacation.
Perhaps you should stop focusing on the daily first aid, start some health care teaching and try to help a child that is so screwed up , they are faking hallucinations.
This post is insensitive and unnecessary. The wording and choice of emoji do not convey any semblance of professional courtesy or respect.
You don't know anything about my personal life, with the exception of what I added in and you apparently ignored.
Pray tell, what lesson were you trying to teach me with your first post? Do you think that addressing someone so condescendingly opens the door for meaningful learning?
Going on my 5th year and I think it will be my last. I have lost patience with kids and parents. I love my schedule and being with my daughters everyday, but that it about all I enjoy about my job. I am glad I am not the only one feeling burned out.
Specializes in School Nurse. Having conversations with littles..
Going on my 5th year and I think it will be my last. I have lost patience with kids and parents. I love my schedule and being with my daughters everyday, but that it about all I enjoy about my job. I am glad I am not the only one feeling burned out.
viki- I am so sorry to read this. If you do leave, please come back here and hang with us. And...you can still wear pink on Wednesdays :)
. I do not have a week off in November nor 2 weeks in December so possibly the OP does not as well but how brilliant of you to imagine we all do. We should probably just write posts all day about how wonderful our jobs are and how lucky we all are. I mean what could we possibly have to complain about? Give me a break! Try adding something constructive to the discussion instead of just piling on when someone is having a bad time.
Been there,done that, ASN, RN
7,241 Posts
"one has to truly be in the education system to really "get' it."
So what I hear you saying is.. my 35 years of experience and my 40 years of motherhood means diddly squat on the school nurse forum.
If a school nurse would post a question, or an opinion.. regarding critical care, medical surgical nursing, or case management .. I would not discount their input.. simply because they have NOT specifically worked in those areas.
We are all nurses, we learn from each other.