New school nurse

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Hi all. My name is Chris and I have just taken a position in a charter school of 1018 students. I hope I did not take on too much. At this point in my career I need to do something else. I have been a nurse primarily ltc for 20 years. I also have done some peds through home health as well as drug and detox. I just went back to get my R.N. in 2013 and now have B.S.N. as of May. I know school nursing can be stressful but a different kind. I honestly don't expect to be any easier then what I do now. While I feel confident that I can do this I am nervous. Any suggestions. I am in Pennsylvania. I will have a week of orientation . I will also have a second nurse 2 days a week. :D

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Welcome to School Nursing! It is great you will have an orientation and a nurse to help you. That will make a HUGE difference!

I really love school nursing. I would stay here until I retire if I could. The only drawback for me is the low salary.

You may want to familiarize yourself with immunization requirements for certain grades before you begin. I was not able to do that, so it was confusing at first. At least here in NY it was.

if your previous nurse had a policy/procedure manual, take that home for "light reading" as well.

This forum has a wealth of info as well. It can be a life saver.

Best of luck!

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Specializes in kids.
Hi all. My name is Chris and I have just taken a position in a charter school of 1018 students. I hope I did not take on too much. At this point in my career I need to do something else. I have been a nurse primarily ltc for 20 years. I also have done some peds through home health as well as drug and detox. I just went back to get my R.N. in 2013 and now have B.S.N. as of May. I know school nursing can be stressful but a different kind. I honestly don't expect to be any easier then what I do now. While I feel confident that I can do this I am nervous. Any suggestions. I am in Pennsylvania. I will have a week of orientation . I will also have a second nurse 2 days a week. :D

Welcome! It will he a huge learning curve for sure but we will be here for you!

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Good luck! The orientation is HUGE! SO many of us started with none! My first few weeks were figuring out what my job actually was! Ask questions here, it's quiet now that most of the school nurse's are off on summer vacation but come Fall there are a lot of people ready and willing to help! We have all been there!

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A second nurse is a home run.

Many of us have waaaay more students than 1000. You will be fine. Remember, these are not ill "patients" but primarily healthy students.

Your years of experience will serve you well.

Welcome! This forum is CHOCK FULL of info. Because of our more solitary nature of job, we are very close here, support each other, stick up for each other, and laugh together.

I wouldn't trade these men and women for anyone else here. They have ranked up with some of my best co-workers in words of wisdom.

No question is lame or dumb.

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Yes, WELCOME! This forum has been so much help for me as a school nurse! Learned many "tricks" to dealing with the little darlings. And such great advice. The school nurses here are also some of the funniest people I have "met"

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Specializes in School Nursing.

You've been a LTC nurse for how long? You've got this!!! I have 1 school year behind me and I will say my biggest mistake was not taking the advice of the district health and medical nurses who had been doing this for years! When they tell you that the school administration will use you like para-staff and pull you from your job as a NURSE.. believe them. You truly are the only medical person there.. and they will use you for anything and everything else if you let them. Stick to your guns and do your job. State mandates first. "Other duties as assigned" second.

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I'm also a Pennsylvania school nurse. I would be happy to answer any questions specific to PA. Make sure to check out the PA department of health site and find out who your school nurse consultant is. They can help you with questions specific to school health. Welcome! It is a great job.

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Thank you all for the kind welcome. I am so excited cause I feel like I am on my way to achieving a goal. I hope to be able to learn a lot before school starts for the kids. Reading here will keep me busy. Thanks all

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Good luck! you will develop your own style. immunizations are important. it will be overwhelming at first but you'll do fine

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Specializes in Cardiac Critical Care.

Hey y'all! I'm new too - I'll be starting my first year as a school RN in an elementary school this fall. My background is all acute care thus far: telemetry and cardiothoracic ICU. Any pointers for transitioning are more than welcome! It looks like y'all have a really supportive group here!

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Specializes in school nurse.
Hey y'all! I'm new too - I'll be starting my first year as a school RN in an elementary school this fall. My background is all acute care thus far: telemetry and cardiothoracic ICU. Any pointers for transitioning are more than welcome! It looks like y'all have a really supportive group here!

I've found the School Health Alert's "Clinical Guidelines for School Nurses" to be very helpful for basics about common situations in school. It's a bit expensive, but worth it (for me anyway).

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