I've been an RN for over a decade. The most recent four and a half years, I was a School Nurse - something I assumed would be temporary, but has turned out to be "my calling". Halfway through my fifth year, I felt that I was left without any option except to resign.
My coworkers, the parents and kids were fantastic. But Administration was not supportive. They refused to follow through with state immunization laws or the school board's own policy & procedures. This resulted in a slew of "non-compliant" immunizations, and children allowed back into the school after having just been diagnosed with illness such as Strep (without having been on abx for 24 hours OR asymptomatic). You will have to trust me that I worked tirelessly to promote adherence to laws and policies and would end up pleading with Administration to comply. But at the end of the day, I did not have the authority to "exclude" the kids from school (as was supposed to happen) until they were compliant.
The last straw was when a student with newly diagnosed severe allergies (to unknown triggers) went into anaphylaxis. I administered the Epipen, as well as supplemental O2 as the student's sat was in the low 80's. I immediately initiated our school's response system (school in medical lockdown, instructed the office to call 911 and request the Principal's presence). The short story is that the Principal "popped-in" a couple of times to ask if I "was sure that we needed an ambulance", but otherwise I was alone, without any assistance (lockdown happens to ensure that staff is on-hand to help). Additionally, my actions were seen as (exact quote) "jumping the gun" and needlessly requesting an ambulance.
So, I broke my yearly contract, gave them a one month notice, and resigned. I live in a very small community and the two local school systems work hand-in-hand. I fear I've become 'unhireable'. And I simply don't have the love for any other form of Nursing anymore. My husband works and we can afford for me to stay home for now. But I'm becoming very depressed. This job was a passion of mine - I truly felt like I made a difference.
Has anyone else been in a situation similar to this? Lost their love for Nursing? Any school Nurses out there have anything to add? I guess I'm a bit desperate to feel validated and supported. Where do I go from here?
