2 Nurses in one

OldDude · Oct 6, 2015

I can see how that would be awkward and frustrating. It's easy for me to give advise since I'm not walking in your shoes but I would recommend you to continue practicing nursing the way you practice nursing and let her practice the way she practices. There are a lot of dynamics going on there at this time. I would, however, recommend you refer all the students she saw that are return visitors, back to her to deal with. Maybe over time she'll realize she's working twice as hard as you and want to emulate your nursing style. Good luck.

nyy2 · Oct 6, 2015

I agree with OldDude; I would continue on with that I believed was the right thing to do and keep referring the frequent flyers that she caters to over to her. Before my current position, I worked part-time at a school as the third nurse and the other 2 nurses that were there were very different. One was lenient and the other very strict. At that school the 2 different styles somehow worked to complement each other so it wasn't an issue. The "strict" nurse did tell some students, "now you know I think that's a ridiculous reason to be here" and the lenient nurse would take them if she believed it was warranted, but if it was an unnecessary visit she would agree and send them back to class.

If everything stays the same and it continues to bother you, I would kindly approach the subject with your co-worker. Sometimes we just have to agree to disagree!

guest83140 · Oct 6, 2015

I appreciate the comments to stay the ship. I did have a quick morning chat about hopefully not sounding overly harsh and she said something like you go girl we need that or to that effect. So maybe she wanted to be firm but found it hard since she is young and can relate to the student interests. So also I prayed and today was a better day and I actually saw her turn some frequent visitors away. Knock on wood, it's rolling at least today. I will stand by what I know to do and allow her freedom to choose whatever her nursing judgement steers her and let her accept her decisions. It will hopefully balance out on it's own. Thanks again.

lvnforschool · Oct 6, 2015

Some days I wish I had someone to give that second opinion, other days I am thankful it's just me sitting here! I am younger and tend to relate to kids that see me. Sometimes they just need to chat and instantly feel better. I work for a small school so that might be the reason. Every kid is different and reasons to see the nurse vary from kid to kid, which is why I let some stay a little longer.

good luck

peacockblue · Oct 6, 2015

I have a LOT of kids who just stop in to see me. I consider part of my job to be mental health and I consider the relationships I build with the kids to be very important. That's how I like to run my office. Is it better than anyone else? Probably not. You do your thing and let the other nurse do her thing. You will find some kids prefer your style and others prefer the other nurses style.

100kids, BSN, RN · Oct 7, 2015

I agree with the other comments and think you should stay the course and practice Nursing the way you think you should (unless it goes against school policy, etc). Also as a new person I would wait it out and see how you feel in a few months. I know in my first year as a School Nurse I changed some of my thinking. Schools are such a different environment than hospitals and I needed to adjust some of my ways of thinking about nursing in general for this job. I am still a tough nurse and the kids know that but I am also working with a lot of generally healthy, little kids who sometimes just need a hug and that's part of Nursing here too. My school only goes up to 6th grade so I'm not used to your HS population but even my 6th graders need me as a trusted adult a lot of the times and that's a good use of my Nursing skills as well. See how it all unfolds as you become more accustomed to it and I'm sure you will find your own groove where you and your coworker compliment each other's style.