middle school/intermediate

I have K-12. I love the whole K-6 bunch! 5th and 6th are my favorites though. 7-12...not so much!

Iggywench, I laughed when reading your story- I was also a teacher for 7 years prior to nursing school, 4 of those years working with 6th graders. Out of curiosity, how long did you work in nursing before going in to school nursing? This is a long range goal for me. I just started my first job out of nursing school, working in peds. I know I want to take a while to get more confident with my skills before moving on to school nursing (since with school nursing, it seems like you are essentially on your own). What do you like/dislike about school nursing?

Thanks!

I worked in nursing for two years before going into school nursing. I did home health wound care for a couple of months (too much driving for me), then worked for a private pediatric practice for two years. I took all the triage calls, verified vaccine records, completed school/camp forms, worked with patients, managed the MAs, and anything else the doctors asked of me. I felt like I was ready for the school setting at that point. I decided while I was in nursing school that I never wanted to work in a hospital.

What I like about school nursing is the autonomy and the schedule. I do have a lead nurse to call on if I need help, as well as a part-time assistant. What I don't like about it is the age group that I work with (I really need to get out of middle school), and the increasing number of students with medical needs. There just isn't enough of me to go around some days. I have one with a catheter, two in wheel chairs with MD, one with a G-button, a diabetic, and many with medications. My school is growing quickly, and the job is getting to be more hectic than I would like.

MIDDLE SCHOOL AIN'T FOR SISSIES!! I have done middle school 7 out of my 10 years I have been a school nurse. It truly is the worst of both worlds. My 6th graders are still babies, my 8th graders are too cool and think they are grown. The 7th graders have all of those additional immunization requirements.....

You have athletics but no trainers available like at the high school. 2 full grades for screenings, hormones running amok, drama, drama, drama!!!

I did not particularly feel like I was an elementary nurse the 3 years I did it part time. But, I may be moving on to high school in the next couple of years.