New Nurse

[WickedSmahtRN]

I am a new nurse (no previous nursing experience, worked in CCU for 2 years as a tech). My dream job is working as a school nurse at the elementary level, though starting out as a lone wolf may not be ideal. Is it possible to jump right in and thrive? There is a school nurse position open at a local elementary school, as well as a school nurse sub position for a rural school district (k-12).

What do you recommend- starting where I want to be and growing from there, or starting in a more collaborative setting first? I do have children, and would prefer to stay away from working 12 hr shifts again until they are older (otherwise, I would totally start out in NICU, as I LOVED that rotation). 

Looking forward to your replies! 

[k1p1ssk, BSN, RN]

The general consensus here is that it is best to hone your assessment skills in some other sort of pediatric care setting before jumping in to school nursing. It is an incredibly autonomous position and while it is possible to do well jumping right in, should you take a SN position as a new grad and decide it is not for you, it might be MORE difficult to find an inpatient position afterwards. 

If you search this forum for "new school nurse" there are a lot of older threads on the topic with a TON of great advice; I typically recommend trying to get at least a year or two at a pediatric office, inpatient peds, or pediatric nursing home/pedi home health to really get a grasp of "abnormal" assessment... It might be good to try and sub in a school, for a bit, too! 

Good luck! And know that we're always here to help you out whichever direction you take!

[zoidberg, BSN, RN]

Agree with other poster. I have a close friend who enjoyed a long career in an elementary school. You need to be able to act quick and trust your instincts. If you don't like 12 hr shifts, explore clinic options. At least in my area, peds offices still utilize RNs quite a bit and you may be able to find something like that. 

[NutmeggeRN, BSN]

It can be done, but it is not generally recommended.  Many jobs require pedi experience. I would suggest trying the sub role (be sure to get an orientation) to see how you like it. It requires a tremendous amount of independent thinking and assessment. We are often the Only medical person in the building. Keep us posted

[CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN]

My district is hard up for school nurses, as are most!  I substitute there (they've asked me to be FT but I can't at the moment).  I asked whether they'd consider a new grad, as I have some friends graduating, and the answer was a resounding YES.  So it's a good time to get into it.  If you decide to work elsewhere, see if you can be a substitute in your school district.  I have learned so much over the past year-- not what you'd typically think of as "nursing skills," but just procedures at the school, how things work, who all the personnel are.

Most districts have several nurses (one at each school).  In my district, all 5 are immediately reachable by phone, almost all the time. Meaning, if I called the middle school and the nurse didn't answer because she was with a student, I would call the high school and that nurse would likely pick up, or the elementary school, etc. If you get a sense that your district is the same way, that is HUGELY helpful.  I have the confidence to handle most things, but I have called a more experienced nurse to say "Okay my T1DM's blood sugar is XX, which isn't super low, but she's about to go out to recess, what do you think I should do?"

 

[raebabelvn, LVN]

What are the responsibilities and roles for each position? I'm a site nurse at the elementary school, so I manage day to day things - injuries, illness, field trips, COVID, etc. Our district RN is mainly administrative - IEP's, vision/hearing screenings, back up for site nurses/health aides, etc. While the district RN is hands on with kids, it's not nearly as much as the site nurses or health aides. 

For me, I need strong assessment skills, critical thinking, as well as have knowledge about allergic reactions, minor/major first aid, common illnesses. I love my job, and I'm finishing up year 5 of being a site nurse for an elementary school. 

[Glitternurse, LVN]

Each district is different. You should probably find out what the job description is for your desired area. You should look at how many schools you'll be responsible for and if you have other RNs or just LVN (LPN)s and aides then determine if you think you can do that. I am an LVN for the district and my supervisor is CSN for the district. We have 5 elementary schools and a preschool. She has to do all the IEPs and 504s for each site, and she has to do or arrange for the state mandated screenings (I know how to do and have done hearing and vision screens, but the state won't allow me to do it in a school setting), she also sees students in the health office.  Of course this year we have to follow up on all COVID like symptoms and keep track of all the COVID test results, plus keeping up with immunization compliance. This year the state decided to audit our immunization compliance, so that was an added task to our already full plates. My supervisor and I are very rarely at the same site, so I am on my own most of the time (and so is she).  Multi-tasking is a must for my us. Not only do we have multiple students in the health office we are problem solving at more than one site. One day My supervisor was in a meeting and couldn't answer her phone. I was catheterizing a student when another site had a student with a head injury so I was on speaker phone walking the secretaries through a head injury evaluation at one site while catheterizing a student at another.

Don't get me wrong. It is a rewarding job, the hours are great and being on the same schedule as my kids is absolutely a bonus, but it is not the cakewalk that many seem to perceive it to be. 

 

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

I think you can start at a school if you work for a district or private school, not for an agency that gets jobs for you and sends you wherever.  The district or private school should give you an excellent orientation, the agency will give you none.

And you do have your own kids, so likely some good assessment skills/experience with kids.

Get certified as a School Nurse.

Good luck.