Not sure this is the right place for me after all...

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Specializes in School Nursing.

I'm not sure what I'm looking for other than to vent and maybe see if others have felt this way and eventually felt better.

A little background...I'm a new school nurse in an elementary and middle school (about 1600 kids). Prior to this school year I was a bedside nurse for nearly 3 years in a Level III NICU and, although I loved it at first, eventually I grew more frustrated with the schedule (rotating day/night 12 hours; every 3rd weekend; every freaking holiday!), the terrible staffing ratios, the lack of support from our management, the emotional burnout, etc. I never wanted to be one of those people that dreads going to work and that is what eventually happened. I thought school nursing would be great because it would keep me in pediatrics (my passion!) and be a "normal" schedule that would be more family friendly.

Well 2 months in and I'm not sure this is for me either. I do virtually no direct care anymore because I have 2 full time health aides. It feels like the majority of my job is case management, reviewing health records, doing hearing and vision screening and writing reports for Special Education evaluations. I sit at a desk on the computer all day. :banghead: It's also very hard not being surrounded by other nursing colleagues. I knew going in that this job can be very isolating but thought I'd do ok anyway. I do like the autonomy and the short work day but not the job itself.

Part of me wants to just suck it up and stick it out for the family friendly schedule alone! Part of me wonders if I should go back to school and become a PNP (a goal I have had for a long time). Part of me wonders if I should try to find a clinic job. I also have the option of picking up shifts in my old NICU once in a while so I thought maybe that'd be a good balance for me. A shift a month in the hospital and full time at school.

Advice? Experiences? Reassurances? Thanks for "listening."

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School nursing is incredibly difficult to get used to. It's a sharp change from what most of us were doing, and a lot of times it may not feel like "nursing" (at least, I feel that way sometimes).

If you're missing the direct contact, I think picking up shifts at your old job IS a good compromise. Are able to squeeze more direct contact at school? With 1600 kids, I feel like it still might be overwhelming for 2 health aides? Could you schedule it in your day that your do the care for any diabetics or scheduled meds?

I wouldn't make any drastic changes your first year. It's rough getting started. In my experience most school nurses question their decision, but most love it or at least like it a whole lot. (Very few school nurses leave before retiring in my state, it's crazy!)

I'm sorry that you're having a hard time though. Is there a school nurse association you can reach out to? Or just hang around these boards. They're my school nurse colleagues and they're pretty great. :)

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Specializes in School Nurse. Having conversations with littles..

Wow. So sorry. I would try to stick it out for the school year as well. But, I think that keeping a shift a month, or whatever works is a great idea. I would guess if you do this. You will begin to see that you do not want to give up the school schedule to go back to the hospital full time. Please hang out here with us. Good luck!!

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Specializes in School Nursing.

I did promise myself that I would give it a good try and do a whole school year. I don't want to give up and give in too soon. And there are aspects of the job that I do enjoy. I really like the elementary school. I'm there every afternoon because I have to straight cath a student so I do actually feel like a nurse on those days! LOL The middle school is not my favorite and I don't know if it's the age group or the high needs of that particular school -- high needs in terms of unresponsive parents, kids coming from really crappy home situations, lots of behavior problems and attendance problems, etc.

Thanks for responding! Between the responses I've gotten here and a couple of other school nurses I know (who also left my NICU around the same time as me) I feel better. :up:

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Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.

I stay in school nursing because of the schedule.

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Specializes in School Nursing.

Yeah I can't give up until I've had my first whole summer off!

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Specializes in School Nurse. Having conversations with littles..
Yeah I can't give up until I've had my first whole summer off!

Good call :) Now....you are speaking School Nurse language.

Hugggs to you. I hope you have a nice long evening with your family :)

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I wish I could offer more insight, but I've been at it 3 wks. I told myself when I got this job I'd give it a whole school year (with the idea that some people have jobs they hate till they retire) so if I didn't like it I could do a few months.

That being said. Sometimes I feel lonely, I miss my old unit (day surgery) and my old coworkers and being around nurses... but I can't beat the schedule and time with my 1 yr old. My husband gently reminded me that I said the same things when I moved from my first job to then one I just left for school nursing. It's a natural progression of something new.

So I say give it some time, give it the school year and see how you feel after a whole summer off. :sarcastic:

Hugs from Texas. í ½í±í ¼í¿¼

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Specializes in School nurse.

Remember too that having aides allows you to focus on the public health nursing component of school nursing where you can look for trends, create educational opportunities etc.

Hang in there!

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Specializes in School nursing.

What about sticking out this job for the year and seeing if there is another job in school nursing where you manage one school and get to do your own direct care? I have no health aid, and yes, the paperwork/admin side can drive you a little batty, but I also get to get hands on care to the kids. Usually it is not any type of stuff you did at the hospital, but still hands on first aid, diabetes management, asthma management, etc.

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Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

It's a definite culture shock when you go from doing total patient care to having a population that's not sick. The kids coming through the door mostly do come in for minor complaints and nit picky things. Not to say that we all don't have our really complex kids and medically fragile students - but even my most medically fragile student isn't in my office NEARLY as much as some of my platinum level malingerers. NOT. EVEN. CLOSE.

So yes, the paperwork is a drag, and the parents - hoo boy -don't get me started!! there are some doozies. But there are also some diamonds out there!! Hold on to those ones!!

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Specializes in med/surg, clinic, school.

Ive mentored new school nurses in my district for the past 2 years. I think they question themselves daily on why they made the change for all the reasons mentioned in other posts. Isolation, uncooperative teachers/parents, lower pay than hospital setting, feeling like you are not using any nursing skills, paperwork etc. But i tell them to hang in and wait until they have that first summer off and it will all feel worth it. June-July-August.................nuff said!

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