6 months RN - become a school nurse?

Windchaser22 · Aug 12, 2017

Check out the thread "too young to do school nursing" in this forum.

3peas · Aug 12, 2017

I did it. Confidence is a must, but you won't have it at first. If you want to get into a hospital this is not the job for you. School health is under the umbrella of public health. Good luck in your nursing journey.

Lost_delirious · Aug 13, 2017

Thank you so much. I just have a lot of worry and anxiety. I don't know where I want to go and what I want to do. It seems like getting into a hospital is better in the long run to develop fundamental skills.

RatherBHiking, BSN, RN · Aug 13, 2017

If you want to develop your fundamental skills then yes the nursing home and hospital would be the best route for that. Also, our district wouldn't even consider a nurse that's only had 6 months experience. There is a good reason for this. I'd suggest staying where you are, eventually work your way into a hospital, get well-rounded, explore different areas and see where your interests take you. Good luck.

MHDNURSE · Aug 14, 2017

Thank you so much. I just have a lot of worry and anxiety. I don't know where I want to go and what I want to do. It seems like getting into a hospital is better in the long run to develop fundamental skills.

When you are a school nurse, you have no nurse's station and no colleagues to ask questions, so you have to have confidence in your knowledge and skills, and the ability to be resourceful to find answers to your questions. While it IS possible to be a school nurse, fresh out of nursing school, I do not recommend it, as you really need to draw from experience to have the triage skills necessary to safely take care of the kids, especially considering you would be working with high medical needs kids.

I would recommend doing a job search for something where you can work with other nurses, be precepted, have a proper orientation, etc. The 90 minute commute sound terrible. Are there any options closer to home? I would advise you to stay put where you are for now and spend the next several months looking for something closer to home. Hopefully you will find something that fits and then you can give notice after you have been where you are for a year. Good luck!

Jedrnurse, BSN, RN · Aug 14, 2017

In my state, school nurses are required to have at least two years related experience. (as well as having other hoops/requirements to jump through) You'd be more comfortable in the specialty later on in your career...

Lost_delirious · Aug 17, 2017

Thank you MHDNURSE. I asked for more information and was told they would assign me with an experienced nurse. I would have a month of orientation or more if I felt I needed it. It feels like there are measures put in place to give me support.

The chaotic and unsafe practices in the nursing home is killing me. There is one nurse who got me in trouble for her shady narcotic handling. How important is it to have that one year experience down? I was thinking of possibly working per diem at the nursing home if I took the school nurse job.

I feel like I am at a crossroad and I don't want to make a wrong choice.

WineRN · Aug 18, 2017

I don't know if I should take it because it's nerve wracking being alone with very little experience even with the support of supervisors. Kids also scare me.

Based on just this, School Nursing might not be the right fit for you.

Even with any initial support, a school nurse is a truly autonomous position. You need to always be ready to make both small and HUGE clinical judgements. You need to be able to delegate and prioritize when your clinic gets full. And if you are working with high needs kiddos, you will definitely need to be hands on and if you are afraid of them, you are helping no one.