help, new to school nurse role

[OncallRN]

hello all,

I'm an experienced nurse ( 12+yrs) but new to school nursing.

most of my experience is in home care with the last 2 years in Hospice. and my pedi experience is with my own 4 children.

any suggestions on a "guide to school nursing"

I'm currently only in the school 3 days a week for about 2hrs to oversee a few diabetics BS and insulins ( the kids are really amazingly independant) and a couple of oral meds.

this summer I have plans for a 2 day class on pedi assessments and school nursing

for sick kids tend to do a basic quick assessment, temp and symptoms, but refer back to the principle for dismissal if I don't have a definative reason ( no temp, no N/V) as I don't know who's a frequent flyer and who never complains.

thanks for any input

[Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN]

Here is a link to an older thread about triage algorithms

https://allnurses.com/school-nursing/triage-algorithm-372673.html

It sounds like your strategy is a good one. You will learn who the frequent flyers are pretty quick! Does your school or district have any criteria for parents on when to keep kids home? If so, you can also use that as criteria for sending them home. I am pretty strict about a kid needing to have a fever, uncontrollable vomit in my presence, or severe cough, etc. before I send them home. Occasionally I will call home for a kid who does not have any of the above but just looks bad, especially they really little ones and if the teacher agrees they are just not themselves. There are many times I doubt my judgment, and I am sure I have sent some home who could have stayed, and I have probably kept some here that could have gone home, but that is just a part of it. Unfortunately there is no magic test to determine sick or not sick, so we just have to do our best!

[SchoolNurseBSN]

I think your experience in home health will be very beneficial even if it was with adults and not kids. You are used to working on your own out of the hospital setting.

There are no hard and fast rules about when to send a kid home. A lot of it just boils down to nursing judgement. I look at a lot of criteria before sending a kid that doesn't have an obvious temp or contagious condition home. Attendance, grades, number of visits to clinic, what is going on at school (getting ready for testing, etc).

I am in my 3rd year at a middle school. Every year - it seems the number of kids I send home decreases because I have figured out my role and new strategies to keep kids in class.

You are on the right track. However, the only thing that really teaches you how to be a school nurse is being one!!

[OncallRN]

I appreciate the feedback.