It's been a little over a year....

[KeeperOfTheIceRN]

...since I started my SN job and I still feel like there are A LOT of things that I still don't know, mostly about the workings of a school. Like 504's and where I come into play with them, what requires an IHP and what doesn't, how involved am I supposed to be in regards to kids who are absent for illnesses, stuff like this among other things. When I started, I had no background in a school at all and the nurse who trained me focused on hearing, vision, and scoliosis screens and our immunization report. I'm pretty good at those! But nothing else was covered and I didn't know to ask about other things. It might be a little late in the game to still be confused on these roles, but I still am! Did you go to any official trainings when you started or was it just a "figure it out as you go" kind of thing?

[KKEGS, MSN, RN]

I'm sure like most new jobs it takes a loooooong time to feel really comfortable. I know in my former life as a NICU nurse it was a good two solid years before I felt like I knew what I was doing and felt comfortable caring for any baby on that unit no matter how sick. I guess it's the same in school. So many moving parts and things that come up unexpectedly.

I don't know if your state has a school nurse professional organization but here in Minnesota we do. The School Nurse Organization of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Education put on a 2 day sort of crash course in school nursing every August. I went before I was even officially hired in my district and it was overwhelming but very helpful.

Otherwise I've been leaning on these boards and other school nurses both in my district and others (3 of my friends recently left the NICU for school nursing too ) to give me advice. My school psychologist and social workers have been pretty good resources too.

Just some ideas.

[Running Cat Lady]

Gosh, I didn't realize how lucky I have it. You nurses doing this on your own are amazing! My district has over 20 non-credentialed nurses and over 10 Credentialed School Nurses plus a supervisor. We are constantly e-mailing/calling each other and the supervisor is always a phone call away. Credentialed nurses leave detailed instructions for non-credentialed nurses regarding what has to be done when and the supervisor does her best help new nurses afloat.

[FloridaBeagle]

Did you go to any official trainings when you started or was it just a "figure it out as you go" kind of thing?

We've got a year-long preceptorship. In the first few days, we have another school nurse with us full-time. Then they're available by phone for the rest of the year. We had a gradual taking over of responsibilities from our preceptor: first we tackled med orders and emergency plans, then training and delegating staff, then finally SPED screenings and report writings. We have monthly meetings with new staff only, with additional time at the end of the meeting to work on things we're struggling with.

I'm in a pretty great place. :)