General Questions

[Keepstanding]

Just curious ??? How many sick days does your school system give you per year?

And do you work on teacher professional days. (teacher work days)?

How many days are you contracted to work per school year ?

Thanks everyone !

[ClinicCarrie]

I just started working in one of those Georgia public schools (high school) in Roswell. I am a former RN who co-shares 2 days a week. My partner is still registered, and she works the other 3 days. She receives health benefits, I do not. My "salary" is pittance since a nursing background is not required to work in the clinic. My high school likes having folks with nursing backgrounds if possible. The cluster nurses get salaries I think comparable to teachers - but I'm brand new so I don't know for sure.

I consider my work kind of like paid volunteer and I chose it as I had so much free time, and my daughter started this year at the school. I would say the turnover is high - I'm the 3rd "clinic assistant" in 3 consecutive years. My non-nursing friend quit her high school this summer after only 2 years. It's too soon to tell how long I'll stay.

The ratio at our school is 1:2500 - so far I've seen about 30-40 students per 8 hour period. Some of the schools only do half day clinics, some do full. The cluster nurses visit the various schools in their cluster and do teaching, assisting, and emailing us lots of forms. They do way more than that I'm sure but I'm still learning the scoop.

Hope that info helps a little. Oh, and we're on a 190 day schedule.

Carrie.

[luvschoolnursing, LPN]

wow, this info is really helpful. my hubby is a teacher and i've considered year to year walking away from hospital nsg to start school nsg.

the hr info is great but i have some other questions re: experiences as a school nurse.

1) are you confronted w/ social issues? how often? and what is the chain of follow-up? (i.e. if a child confides to you that they are the victim of abuse in their home, they may be pregnant, they are suicidal, they need information on abortion, they seek treatment for an std . . . )

i work in a high school so i see all sorts of issues. if a student confides abuse, we are required by law to report it to our local agency. we fill out appropriate forms and the agency takes over and will come and interview the child, take pictures of bruises, etc if appropriate and follow up with the family if they feel that is necessary. as far as pregnancy, if a child suspects they are pregnant, i encourage them to either go to a local clinic or do a home pregnancy test. (we do not give pregnancy tests in my health office) i then encourage the child to tell the parents. i do not call the parents. in pa, i believe the age is 14 where a child can give consent for pregnancy treatment and abortion. if they are considering abortion, again, i strongly encourage them to talk to a parent and offer to meet with them and their parents if they are more comfortable. if they choose to have an abortion, i keep quiet about it and support them however i can. i really don't know how many students choose to terminate a pregnancy, because they really have no reason to confide this to me.

a student who states they are suicidal immediately gets referred to one of the counselors. i am not a mental health specialist and will not decide if that student is safe to go home or back to class.

a student who is seeking treatment for an std is given general information by me and then referred to the local clinic. i also discuss safer sex practices as well as the emotional toll multiple sex partners can have.

how far reaching is the scope of a school nurse expected to be to deal w/ these types of issues?

2) do school nurses regularly "take heat" from disgruntled parents like many teachers receive?

only occasionally. i must say for the most part, i have a very good relationship with my parents. usually, i hear how evil the teacher, principal, etc are. and i give no opinion on that. just like in the hospital, some people aren't happy no matter what

3) do school nurses have a significant, daily role in the care of dev. delayed students? do nurses give tube feeds & meds or does the 1:1 assigned "caregiver" accompanying the child do those tasks?

i currently have no tube feeds in my school. i have one student in a w/c who i assist with toileting and another student with more severe cerebral palsy who is in diapers. this student has an aid and i only assist if she needs me. i give all my own meds. this answer would be on a case by case basis as to how signifigant the student's needs are.

4) is documentation in the school setting as horrendous, or even more horrendous, than most institutional settings?

maybe a little less horrendous. still annoying though! definately not worse.you'll never get away from documentation no matter where you go.

thanks for any experiences . . .

hope this helps!