New Elementary School Nurse

Specialties School

Published

Hi!

I'm sure there are 100 other posts just like mine but I haven't quite gone through the whole school nurse section yet :)

I'm 23 years old and will be starting at an elementary school in Texas in just a few weeks! My background is 2 yrs w/ adult inpatient leukemia at MDAnderson so it's quite a change, but I'm so looking forward to it.

Any advice with starting out? To handle the change? As far as I know, there's no assistant, ~900 kiddos, and there is a team that has been hired to come in and do all our hearing/vision screening at the beginning of the year.

Training starts this week so I just wanted to pop in and say hi :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in School nurse.

Welcome!! You are fortunate to have help with vision and hearing. PE teachers might help with heights and weights. Check if you need BPs, we do in NJ on all students and scoliosis age 10. Check your state statutes, know peds normal values and development. Refresh first aid if you haven't done it in awhile. The Selekman textbook is a good resource. Have fun with the kiddos! Make friends with the office and custodians. Be patient but firm with the teachers. Good luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.

Welcome! Top priority is student health and safety so put a lot of effort into identifying kids that have life threatening allergies or seizure disorders, stuff like that, and action plans to treat those guys at school, followed by other kids that need medicine at school, whether scheduled or prn. You'll have to look at a lot of immunization records since you are elementary. PK requires more immunizations than KG so keep that in mind if you have PK (in Texas). Don't let the kids start school if their immunization record is not up to date. Don't fall for the "appointment is next week, yadda yadda." If you let em in you're stuck because most principals won't withdraw them from school for delinquent immunizations. TDSHS has the admission criteria on their website. Next in order is your pertinent district policies (handbook) and campus administrative stuff. Sounds like the vision/hearing is taken care of but you still have acanthosis to do for 1st, 3rd, and 5th. We do acanthosis when we have the kids neck available during hearing screening. Good luck. keep on track, don't get hung up out in the weeds, don't hesitate to ask...let us know how it's going.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Welcome, also fairly new school nurse here!! Please share what you learn in training, any tips or tricks!! I haven't had any training, although I have repeatedly asked for it. Thank goodness for my peds, nicu,& picu experience. Best of luck!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment