Published
I don't know if I would necessarily take it as being disrespectful but rather a sign of the times. In my area, central IL, there are few to NO school nurses of any kind so actually the teachers DO take care of everything. In the K-12 school my sons attended there was no school nurse.
The budget cuts have hit schools very hard and one way to crunch the numbers is to get rid of ancillary personnel: where once there were three secretaries, now there are one, where once you had a school nurse, now there are none.
ChristineAdrianaRN, BSN, RN
1 Article; 168 Posts
I was at a wedding this weekend, and doing the requisite mingling with people I don't know, got to talking with a bridesmaid that was a teacher. To make conversation, I mentioned that I was in the interview process for a school nurse job.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, clearly feigning interest. "I didn't even know they still had those anymore!"
I know she was just also trying to make conversation, but it came off as so patronizing.
Really? You think school nursing is antiquated and unnecessary? Thanks!
She told me at her job, "we just take care of it ourselves and if it's serious enough that the student needs to go home, we call the parents." Oh. So you're a teacher AND a nurse. Cool.
I mean, I KNOW our jobs are necessary, especially when I think about the post in here about the kid with the broken hand and the teacher and principal just getting in the way and not letting you do your job, but geez....I don't like the idea of getting into a job where I'm even less respected than the one I'm in now!
Sigh...