Is school nursing stressful?

stockmanjr, BSN · Apr 12, 2020

I'm thinking about school nursing as a new grad who did two months in the hospital setting and hated my life. Would school nursing be appropriate for me to think about? In my city they accept new grads and give six weeks of training. Curious at everyone's thoughs as I think some form of public health nursing is for me just want to be sure I'm finding the correct fit.

k1p1ssk, BSN, RN · Apr 14, 2020

On 4/12/2020 at 12:00 PM, stockmanjr said:
I'm thinking about school nursing as a new grad who did two months in the hospital setting and hated my life. Would school nursing be appropriate for me to think about? In my city they accept new grads and give six weeks of training. Curious at everyone's thoughs as I think some form of public health nursing is for me just want to be sure I'm finding the correct fit.

In a nutshell, yes, school nursing can be stressful; It is NOT easy. In most instances, you are the only medical professional in a building, sometimes a district, and you are responsible for the health and well-being of everyone in your building (And every building is different.) For example, I work in an elementary school serving pre-k through 6th grade, with around 190 students. I see an average of 18 illness and injury visits per day, plus 5 daily medication visits. However, you will see on here nurses who see 70+ visits per day. As the school nurse, you are not only a nurse, but a record keeper, social worker, psychotherapist, first responder, and case manager, to name a few of your jobs.

I think to be a school nurse, you need to have a lot of self-confidence in your assessment skills. There is rarely another qualified adult available to bounce thoughts off of. You also have to be organized as there is a LOT of paperwork.

Spend some time reading through some of the topics in this sub. You'll quickly get an idea of the kind of things we encounter. In general, I wouldn't necessarily recommend the job to a new grad unless they have very good previous pertinent experience that makes them highly qualified. I think if I were you, I would try to become a substitute school nurse in the district you're interested in working. Per-diem work in the schools gives you a really good idea of what school nursing looks like, without the commitment.

Some other questions to ask yourself:

-Can I work by myself (and I mean rarely any contact with another adult)?

-Do I want to work with Children/Adolescents?

-Do I feel comfortable with handling an emergency situation by myself?

-Do I feel comfortable with my communication with families?

NutmeggeRN, BSN · Apr 14, 2020

On 4/27/2018 at 10:22 AM, Farawyn said:
On Wednesdays we wear pink.

It has been a while since we have seen Barb...that thread has been pretty dormant...might be time to resurrect?

Stay well everyone!!

stockmanjr, BSN · Apr 14, 2020

4 hours ago, k1p1ssk said:
In a nutshell, yes, school nursing can be stressful; It is NOT easy. In most instances, you are the only medical professional in a building, sometimes a district, and you are responsible for the health and well-being of everyone in your building (And every building is different.) For example, I work in an elementary school serving pre-k through 6th grade, with around 190 students. I see an average of 18 illness and injury visits per day, plus 5 daily medication visits. However, you will see on here nurses who see 70+ visits per day. As the school nurse, you are not only a nurse, but a record keeper, social worker, psychotherapist, first responder, and case manager, to name a few of your jobs.
I think to be a school nurse, you need to have a lot of self-confidence in your assessment skills. There is rarely another qualified adult available to bounce thoughts off of. You also have to be organized as there is a LOT of paperwork.
Spend some time reading through some of the topics in this sub. You'll quickly get an idea of the kind of things we encounter. In general, I wouldn't necessarily recommend the job to a new grad unless they have very good previous pertinent experience that makes them highly qualified. I think if I were you, I would try to become a substitute school nurse in the district you're interested in working. Per-diem work in the schools gives you a really good idea of what school nursing looks like, without the commitment.
Some other questions to ask yourself:
-Can I work by myself (and I mean rarely any contact with another adult)?
-Do I want to work with Children/Adolescents?
-Do I feel comfortable with handling an emergency situation by myself?
-Do I feel comfortable with my communication with families?
Thank you!